7 - “A Small Thing to Get By”

Summary

This chapter explores the trajectories of those activists who fail to develop attachment to their organizations. It argues that understanding disengagement from activism requires us to distinguish not simply between those who continue to participate and those who leave, but also separate individuals whose reasons for leaving are external (i.e., they face insurmountable obstacles to continued involvement), from people whose motives are internal (i.e., they do not find participation appealing enough). With that purpose, it introduces the distinction between potential dropouts (those who continue participating because they lack a better alternative), voluntary dropouts (those who choose to leave the movement for a more effective source of income), and reluctant dropouts (those who disengage forced by special circumstances). The chapter concludes by arguing that potential and voluntary dropouts have in common the fact that participation does not become an end in itself, while reluctant dropouts share with long-term participants “resistance to quitting”, a strong (but not infallible) inclination to overcome obstacles to participation.