The main political issue that I focussed on during my engagement activity was income inequality, and I considered a variety of dimensions in relation to the same. In the current world, income inequality is a significant issue that is affecting a relatively large number of people in society. The gap between social classes has continued to widen and it is becoming even harder to implement any strategies that could help to bridge such differences. Various factors lead to income inequalities in a society. Some of the common causes of such inequalities include the effects of education on wages since individuals with different educational qualifications are entitled to different wages. Any factors that have an impact on the wages of individuals has an effect on income inequality as well. Any element that contributes to difference in wages directly widens the income inequalities among the members of any given community.

There is a great need to respond to income inequality in the society based on the various negative implications that such inequalities contribute in the society and across the whole world at large. Some of the consequences of income inequality include the fact that it stifles economic growth. Higher levels of income inequality translate to higher levels of poverty which in turn affect the economic growth of any given economy. An inequality in income interprets into a decreased availability of capital for investment by the individuals. It is only a few individuals in the upper class of people who are able to afford the expenses associated with training and human development and as a result, a large group of people tend to lack the essential skills when the rate of income inequality is high. Production also diminishes when there is less equipped human capital in terms of skills and expertise. A combination of such factors makes it a necessity to manage income inequality so as to foster and promote economic growth in the society.

In my engagement activity, I chose a number of claims in attempts to respond to the issue of income inequality. My first claim was that social movements start discourse amongst citizens. To start with, Social movements are defined to be broad alliances of individuals who come together and get connected to push and strive for a common goal. Local movements have been identified to advocate for various social changes in the society. Local movements are a type of social movements that are formed when people who share a common locality come together to push and advocate for a particular goal and objective. Local movements can not only advocate for a particular change in the society but also they can be used to resist and fight against any changes in the society. Sometimes the national governments may implement policies that do not favour or that oppress the local citizens. In such cases, local movements have always been used to resist against such implementations. Other than government, local movements have also been used to oppose changes that have been initiated or advocated by other entities such as social institutions in the society (Escobar).

Local movements have in the history been a major cause of discourse in the society. Among local movements that have been used in the society to cause discourse include peace movements which advocate for peace in such communities that experience civil and ethnic wars. Local movements are always formed by the members of a community who try to achieve a common objective which may take the form of a change advocacy or change opposition. Even though there have been cases where local movement have often led to war and violence, local movements mainly involve peaceful demonstrations and organizations that try to push their agendas for the benefit of the local individuals or citizens. In response to income inequality, social movements start discourse amongst citizens by creating awareness in relation to a certain objective that could help to bridge the social gap amongst citizens. Social movements can be used to inform the citizens about various changes that may have been implemented by either the local or national government, or even particular institutions and that may be having a significant negative impact income inequality among the individuals, thereby promoting the levels of poverty in a given community. Discourse mainly arises when the members of such a community are informed of such implementations, causing them to react towards or against them. Social movements have historically been used by the members of the society to resist against the importation and hiring of foreign workers at the expense of local citizens, a factor that has often contributed to greater income inequalities in various countries (Krueger et al).

My second claim that I made during my engagement activity was that local movements can insight change in which the government cannot. During my activity, I came to realize that there are many changes that have been initiated by the local movements in the area that I undertook my activity. Some of the changes may have taken a longer time if the national government was expected to launch and insight such changes. National government often seems sensitive to the matters that affect the country as a whole or other crucial matters that affect a marginalized group of people intensely such that their local governments may be unable to be offer any positive solution to such matters or problems. As a result, local movements have always been there to offer solutions to most of the issues that are faced by the local citizen in their day to day activities. One of the things I discovered during my engagement is that the local movements are more effective in expressing the needs of the local citizens since the members of such movements are mainly the same local residents who are affected by the issues that they push and express. This contrasts to the national governments which normally uses agents to understand the issues and problems affecting the local citizens (Polletta).

In addition, I came to understand that local movements are only formed in times of need and they may remain dormant for a long time until another great need that requires their participation arises. Most of the local movements are mainly formed when the local citizens are facing various challenges and their main objective includes expressing such a need or problem to the national government so that they can get the necessary help. This mainly applies for those needs and problems that the local governments may be unable to respond to due to lack of enough capital or power to address them. However, sometimes local movements are also formed to emphasize and to push the local authorities tolisten to and respond to their requirements and solve their problems especially when the local citizens are sure that the local governments have the ability to respond to such issues. After engaging and interacting with a few individuals who had been members of a local movement in the past, I came to understand that local movements may also at times be formed to resist to changes and policies that may be implemented by the local authorities that may be oppressive to the citizens.

Local movements are highly effective in expressing the needs of the members of the local citizens. Some of the reasons that make such movements to be effective in their expression is that the members of such groups are the same subjects who are victims to the effects of the problems that the society is faced with and therefore, they are well aware of the problems that they face and they are aware of the solutions that could help them to overcome such problems. Local movements are some of the initiatives that lead to progressive social change in that they remain active and they monitor every change that is implemented, evaluating its implications on the lives of the local citizens. Governments may be unable to be as effective as the local movements since the government mainly relies on the suggestion and comments of its agents, who may not be familiar with the actual problems affecting the members of a certain society.

Moreover, for a long period of time, the local governments have been characterized by corrupt leaders who are less focussed and concerned on the issues affecting the general public. Such leaders are mainly selfish and they misuse their positions and powers to benefit themselves. They recruit their friends and relatives every time there are vacancies even without considering the qualifications of such individuals. There has been a trend of local movements been responsive to such leaders by highlighting their mistakes and behaviour and further advocating for change in their character. The national government is less concerned with evaluating and analysing how effective the local governments are when carrying out their functions since the government has much more responsibilities and issues to focus on thereby making it less effective in understanding the issues affecting the local citizens.

On the issue of income inequality, the local movements have been identified to be more effective in responding to such issues as corruption among the leaders since the local citizens are able to evaluate the usage of funds and resources by the leaders of local governments. They ensure that there is fairness and justice in administration processes. Such local movements are also highly responsive to cases of corruption such as unequal distribution of local resources and they tend to oppose such acts by creating awareness and insight to the local citizens who in turn respond intensely causing the national government to be responsive to such acts. It is through local movements that the needs of the local citizens are highlighted to the national governments, thereby paving a way for a long-lasting solution. ‘

The last claim that I developed during my engagement was that social movements are most effective when supported by NGO’s. Operational NGOs are significant in mobilizing resources; which are informed of a financial donation, and volunteer labour. This is crucial for the purposes of sustaining projects and various programs for social movements.  In recent times, mass mobilization has broken out and they have a large impact on public discourse. Social movements go through ups and downs. For example, these movements can be portrayed as unsuccessful due to the fact that their request and demands have not been met by the government. Through the support of NGOs, awareness issues voiced by social movements and their recognition of power possible by targeted and togetherness of peaceful unions can be very effective (Diani).

The long term effectiveness of these movements across the globe can be measured through small increments through some of the most significant and results felt through deeper involvement of the NGOs. They can be able to influence people to change a certain type of belief, mindset, and even attitude. These are some of the most difficult elements to modify and they are essentially an authentic social change. The evidence is that many people in a country can be able to express different opinions and demonstrates their rights so that they can be heard regarding their issues which affect their own lives (Staggenborg, 84).

In regard to a certain type of social change, the impact that is caused by the non-governmental organization cannot be disregarded. These organizationsare credible to change when they reflect what social movements’ campaign. At the same time, powerful figures and authorities, as well as the general public, accept their leader’ s ideas then the effectiveness of social movements can be felt. Through the gatherings of community and forums prepared by a non-governmental organization, people can be able to air their grievances and at the same time gather new ideas. A common goal will be essential in exposing concerns and revealing an image that the future can and should provide.

Work Cited

Diani, Mario. “Networks and social movements.” The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements(2013).

Escobar, Arturo. The making of social movements in Latin America: Identity, strategy, and democracy. Routledge, 2018.

Krueger, Dirk, and FabrizioPerri. “Does income inequality lead to consumption inequality? Evidence and theory.” The Review of Economic Studies 73.1 (2006): 163-193.

Polletta, Francesca. Freedom is an endless meeting: Democracy in American social movements. University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Staggenborg, Suzanne. Social movements. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015.

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