Social activism and resistance have always played a crucial role in society. There are many social inequalities in the world, and the call for social justice is growing stronger every day. Economic class has always been a source of conflict in society, with those born into privileged lives advocating for it and emphasizing its importance while those born into less fortunate circumstances battle against it to correct social injustices. In order to change the status quo that worsens disparities and fails to treat people equally as required by law, activism is a critical component of social justice. Social activists use protests to mobilize the masses to champion for a cause that restores justice in the hope of influencing the authority of the day to act for the greater good of many.
Religion has been a tool for protests and activism for centuries citing the fact that all men are created equal and therefore, should be treated as such. Social activists in their bid to avoid persecution from the government as a result of a cause they advocate for sought refuge in churches. Churches were used as venues for holding protests and a tool for mobilizing the masses as they came for spiritual nourishment. Religious movements have developed into social activists that advocate for equal and fair treatment of the poor by the rich in the society. History can attest to the fact that social justice has been advocated by religious movements. It is interesting to note how lay people with the backing of the church and religion as a source of inspiration can change the society for the better. This notion will be demonstrated as evidenced in the Book A People History of London by Lindsay German & John Rees. The purpose of this assignment is to trace the history and development of social protest and activism by examining A People History of London and matching it with the conclusions of Lollards.
The poor and social activism
Since the poor make up the majority of those oppressed, they are the primary drivers of social activism. Even if they don’t engage in acts of activism and protests by themselves, their plight inspires others to champion the cause on their behalf. When Royal Court decided to impose more taxes on the city, the poor would have borne much of the burden as they make a considerable size of London’s population. At that particular time, the city of London got most of its funds from the crown to provide essential services to residents of the city.1This kind of oppression was realized by William Long beard who took it upon himself to organize a revolt to challenge the Court’s decision. Lindsay & Rees observe the following about Longbeard, “becoming sensible of this, being inflamed by zeal for justice and equity…., becoming the champion of the poor, it being his wish that every person, both rich and poor, shall give according to his property and means, for the necessity of the state”.2 This revolt showed how economic class facilitates social injustice and the response it elicits. However, Longbeard’s efforts were quashed by the Archbishop of Canterbury who defended the crown’s policy on taxation. This act conforms to the conclusion of Lollard about the state of the church.3 The church of England had cut ties with the Roman church and put allegiance to the crown instead of fighting for social justice. The subsequent plot to apprehend Longbeard by the archbishop and his hanging demonstrate that killing one individual only increases mass protests while making the issues of social justice more relevant.4 This kind of revolt clearly demonstrate why London was an active place for activists and demonstrators
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The rich rarely experience social and economic oppression because of their privileged life and upbringing. Therefore, the lords in London lived a comfortable life cushioned from taxation burden while the commoners felt the pinch. In Feudal England, the peasants were the most oppressed people who enjoyed very low quality of life as compared to the Lords on whose lands they toiled. The peasants revolted at the request and leadership of John ball to protest against the implementation of third poll tax in 1381 amid diminishing wages and poor economic conditions of England.5 Although the revolt was not successful due to beheading of John Ball, it struck fear at the heart of the ruling class and proved the damage of what mass protest can accomplish when having a collective aim to improve their lives. The fact that John Ball was former priest leading a revolt against the Crown highlights how religion influences social activism. This phenomenon is in line with Lollard’s conclusion about clerics holding secular offices.6 The death of Ball led to the rise of similar revolts in other parts of England. The beheading also contravened the war, battles and crusade conclusion of Lollard that advocated for mercy towards one’s enemies.7
The city of London has earned a reputation as a center of activism where social. London’s residents have a strong sense of social justice. When the government passes laws that contravene the wishes of the people, residents resort to mass petitions that result in mass demonstrations to facilitate change. 8 The people will go on a rampage and participate in all manners of civil unrest disrupting essential services to pressurize institutions to act on their demands. Londoners have demonstrated and protested over variety of issues such as demolition of homes to pave way for road construction, the Suez canal and displeasure with the Vietnam war.9 Gender equality elicits heated debate in the city of London. Women also demonstrated in 1968 advocating for equal pay with men doing the same amount of job as them.10
Religious movements and activism
Religious movements have played a crucial role in social activism. Many of those religious movements trace their origins to London. One of the most recognizable and popular movements to arose was the Lollard’s. The Crown at the request of the church was concerned with suppressing the ideology perpetuated by lollard movement and their leader John Wycliffe. The movement exerted considerable political influence in the English society because of its dissenting views of the church.11 The lollards advocated for less political authority of the church and priests to reduce the level of oppression among the poor who made up majority of the congregation. Moreover, during the Black death epidemic, Wycliffe argued that the clergy who were untrained should perform funeral and burial rites to those who had dies instead of letting the corps lie unattended due lack of trained priests.12
The lollards also criticized the church of paying too much taxes to the Pope in Rome at the expense of the poor in England and evidently showed the poor state of the church in initiating social change.13 The fact that Wycliffe was able to question popular views that had been widely accepted as norm, made d people to think critically about the issues affecting the society. In fact, the church has been used to set and maintain the status quo in many parts of the world. Challenging and attacking views held by the church is a crucial step in criticizing evils in the society. This is because the government and the church in England have always ben intertwined, and so successfully offering dissenting views and eliciting mass support means that government policies can be changed too through protests.14
Conclusion
Understanding the history and development of social activism and protest helps individuals to confront social injustices and determine methods that work and those that don’t bear fruits. A peoples history of London offers insight on how the residents of the city have coped with social injustices. Economic class offers struggles that benefit the rich and giver burden to the poor increasing the disparity between the rich and the poor in the society. Social and religious movements facilitated activism through signing petitions, organizing mass protests to pressure the government to institute changes. However, it should be noted that social protests should be carried out in peaceful manner that upholds the rule of law and respects the properties of others. Although protests have been successful in making governments re-think their policies on equal opportunities, they have also served as a detriment to social and economic development. The issue of taxation has been the cause of major demonstrations in London but also points to a similar trend in other countries because it is the poor who feel the burden of being overtaxed.
Bibliography
German, L., & John, R. A people’s history of London. London, Verso, 2012.
Kim, M. Lollardy and the political community: Vernacular literacy, popular preaching, and the transformative influence of lay power. Wenshan Review of Literature & Culture, 7(2), pp.279-311. Retrieved from http://english.nccu.edu.tw/files/archive/185_9fd3035b.pdf http://english.nccu.edu.tw/files/archive/185_9fd3035b.pdf
"The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards", English Historical Review, 22, 292-304, 1907.
