The Structure of Support in Social Movements: An Analysis of Organization and Resource

Mobilization in the Youth Contra-Culture

Author(s): George H. Lewis
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Jun., 1976), pp. 184-196
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The London School of Economics and Political Science
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/590026 .
Accessed: 03/12/2012 16:05

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Wiley and The London School of Economics and Political Science are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to The British Journal of Sociology.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 of SociologyVolume
Journal
British 2 jtuneI976
27 Jetumber

GeorgeH. Lewis

The structureof supportin socialmovements:

andresource
an analysisof organization
mobilizationin theyouthcontra-culture
Manysocialtheoristshavepointedto problematicaspectsof viewingtile
I g60syouthcultureas an enduringformof socialmovement ;2 however
theseanalysesspringlargelyfromthe traditionalsociologicalframethat
sees the frustrationand deprivationof a populationleading (moreor
less) directlyto the rise of socialmovements.3McCarthyand Zald, in
their recentand cogent discussionof resourcemobilizationand social
movementorganizations,4 have pointedto the fact that this focusupon
frustrationsand deprivationsis in oppositionto the focusof practical
theorists(such as Lenin,Mao Tse-Tungand SaulAlinsky),who have
emphasizedthe waysin whichparticularsocialstructures makethe tasks
of resourcemobilizationmoreor less diffieult.
One cannot assumethat a particularpopulation(the beneficiary
group) experiencesdeprivationand formulatesgrievancesbeforea
social movementand accompanyingorganizationsdefine the de-
privationand the grievance;nor ean one assumethat the presumed
beneficiariesof the movementaccept the movement'sdefinitionof
the problemor the solution;nor can one assumethat all or mostof
the resources-men, money, energy come from the beneficiary
base.5
This theoreticalanalysis,viewingthe relationof socialmovementsto
of grievancebasenot asgiven,but asfullyproblematic
theirbeneficiaries
and contingent,offersan opportunityfor the examinationof specifie
social movementswithin a new, and possiblymore fruitful,frame. I
wish in this paper to addressthe questionof whetherthereis an en-
during base for contra-culturalsocial movements6acrossgenerations
of the young.Cana socialmovementpersistbeyondthe lifespanof one
generationwhenit recruitsfromwhatis claimedto be a short-termand
transitionalcategory?and if there is persistence,to what extent and
upon what is this persistencecontingent?Focusingmore specifically,
I shall examinethe head shop as a socialmovementindustry,7and its
relationshipto resourcebase and movementmobilizationwithin and
withoutthe youth contra-culture.
I84

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 Thestructure
of support
in socialmovements I85

THE PROBLEM OF A BENEFICIARY POPULATION: DOES ONE

EXIST ?

The firststep in assessingthe potentialfor a trans-generationalsocial

movementbasedin the contra-cultureis that of determiningwhether
or not a beneficiarypopulationexists.Is therea subsetof personswho
have experiencedstrain (tension, deprivation,blocked aspirations);
who have communicatedthe frustrationarisingfromthis strain,one to
another;and fromwhom leadershipstructuresand movementorgani-
zations (supportedby the deprivedgrouping)have arisen?The sort
of social cleavage based upon status, position and belief differences
deemednecessaryfor the continuedsupportof such social movements
is especially problematicwhen consideringyouth movements.As
Mannheimnoted, the social phenomenonof generationcan mean
nothingmorethan a 'location-identity', embracingrelatedage groups
embeddedin the historical-socialprocess.'While the nature of class
locationcan be explainedin termsof economicand social conditions,
generationlocationis determinedby the way in whichcertainpatterns
of experienceand thought tend to be broughtinto existenceby the
naturaldataof the transitionfrom one generationto another.'8Is the
cleavagebetweenthe largersocietyand the youth contra-culturedeep
and enduring enoughto constitutea suicient base upon which to rest
long termsocialmovements?
RichardFlacks9is one of the few socialscientistswho has recognized
the fact thatone cannotunderstandthe emergentyouth contra-culture
of the I960S without consideringthe earlierstatus definitionsof the
I950S adolescent.
The increasingwealth of post-WorldWar II Americansocietyled,
not only to increasesin disposableincome for existentgroupingsof
individuals,but also to opportunitiesfor othersto financedefinitions
of new groupidentity.10This, coupledwith the advanceguard of the
baby boom cohortattainingadolescence,set the stagefor the develop-
ment of a youth culturein America.The childrenof thosewith 'rising
expectations'had moreautonomy andmoremoney.EdwardShilshas
noted the emergenceof youth as a distinct consumerpublic in the
Igsos.ll Malone and Robertshave pointedout that the 'teenager'is
perhapsthe most revolutionaryAmericaninventionsince the auto-
mobile. 'In the yearsjust priorto WorldWar II, therewere no teen-
agers,no teenagemagazines,teenage music, or teenageculture.The
worditselfhad not even beeninvented.'l2Therewere,of course,young
people but they wereusuallythoughtof as eitherchildrenor workers.
Fromthe end of WorldWar II to the early I960S, the proportionof
thoseaged I8-2I in Americancollegesmorethan doubled.l3Not only
were there more American youth, but increasinglymore of these
youths were not being assimilatedby the Americanwork force for

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
I86 H. Lewis
George
longer periodsof time. As America'spost-waraffluencepushedinto
the I950S, then, it (alongwith the concomitantfloweringof American
technologyand educationalinstitutions)usheredin the beginningsof
youth culturein the formof the teenager.This youthculturecould be
broadly defined in a primarysense by the parameterof age, and,
secondarily,by economicstatus.Many workingclassyouthwouldstill
leave schoolat ages I5 or I6 to enterthejob market,assumingfamily
responsibilities and becoming'adults'earlierthan middle-classyouth.
John Howardhas estimatedthat the periodof dependencyof working
class people in Americain the I950S extended three or four years
beyond puberty, while that of middle class personswas likely to
extendanywherefromten to even fifteenyears.l4Economically,then,
the youthculturewascentreduponchildrenof the risinglower-middle
to middleclass,althoughby no meansconfinedto this socio-economic
stratum.
Socio-economic recognitionof the teenageras a distinctsub-grouping
was not all that occurred.Edgar Friedenberghas pointed out the
socio-politicalfact that the youth of the I950S comprisedwhat was
probablythe onlytotallydisfranchised minoritygroupin the country.l5
The State,in thiscase,retainedeventhe rightof strippingthe teenager
of his minoritystatus.He had no right to demandthe protectionof
eitherdue processorthejuvenileadministration procedure.
The teenageralso had aspectsof minoritystatusinformallyimputed
to him. He was seen as:
. . . joyous, playful,lazy, and irresponsible,with brutalitylurking
just belowthe surfaceand readyto breakout into violence.[He was]
childish and excitable, imprudent and improvident, sexually
aggressiveand dangerous,but possessedof superb and sustained
powerto satisfysexualdemands.16
As John Lofland has pointed out in his discussionof the 'youth
ghettos'of the I960S, these are attributeshistoricallysharedby dis-
franchisedminoritiesin the Americansystem,whethertheseminorities
have had their status definedfor them by virtue of achievementor
ascriptivecriteria.17 Effectsof this minoritystatus,as well, took similar
forms.Hinkle,in his social historyof the hippies,lookedback to the
'massiveharassment'tacticsof the I950S, 'by cops in San Francisco,
by the coffeehouselicenseinspectorsin New York,[that]led the heads
and the young middleclasstypeswho camein caravanproportionsto
test the no-more-teachers, no-more-booksway of bohemianlife, to
view the IRstablishment as the bad guy who would crushtheir indivi-
dualityand spiritualityin any way he could. This is the derivationof
whateverpoliticalposturethe hippieshave today.'l8GerhardLenski
has noted,in sum, that
. . . of all classstrugglesin modernsoeieties,the most underrated
may proveto be thosebetweenage classes,especiallythosebetween

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 of supportin socialmovements
Thestructure I87

youth . . . and adults. . . the basisforthisstruggleliesin the factthat

the youngergenerationis subjectto the authorityof the older,while
the oldergenerationenjoysthe lion'sshareof the rewards.l9
There seemssome evidence,then, of a twenty-yearpatternof dis-
criminationagainst a subset of Americans,originallydefined in a
generationalmanner. This fact alone, however,is not sufficientto
positthe enduringsocialcleavagenecessaryto definesocialmovement
baselines.In the firstplace, althoughmembershipin youth 'culture'is
involuntary,it is alsotransitory.Individualsinevitablymovethroughthe
age structureof society.The problemsassociatedwith this transitivity
revolve around the imputed lack of role models and articulatorsof
cultural experience,which leaves the grouping without a defined
traditionupon which to build enduringsocial movements.The argu-
ment goes as follows:(a) youthis an age categoryonly, and not socio-
culturallydefined; (b) this is because all individualspass through
youthon theirway to realizingadulthood;(c)thisprocessin inevitable;
(d) any 'culture'created is simplistic,cohort specific, and of little
consequencein defining youth as an enduringsocio-culturalsub-
grouping.The argumentis, of course,not only circularbut quite in
error.
It is true that a majorityof the middle class youth of the I950S
treatedadolescenceas a 'phase'and did passon to adultstatus.There
were, however,exceptionsto this those who were driven 'under-
ground'and, while being constantlyharassed,servedto forge cohort
linkagesthe traditionalargumentdenieswereevermade.Neal Cassidy
and Allen Ginsbergwere effectivelinksbetweenthe bohemianmove-
mentsofthe I 950S andthe emergingyouthcontra-culture ofthe I 960S.20
The early distantwarningsof the drug-basedculturethat would
dominatethe Haight-Ashburya decade later were there in the
earlydaysof NorthBeach( I 950S) . . . GarySnyder,. . . a highly
respectedleaderof the hippie scene . . . first experimentedwith
peyote while living with the Indian tribe of the same name in
I 948.21

Americanrhythmand blues and early rock and roll music of the

I950S re-enteredAmericanyouthculturein the mid-Ig60s,and became
an importantculturalarenain which a time line enduringenoughfor
extensionand developmentof the formin the directionof the articula-
tion of social protest were possible.22The posters, broadsidesand
comicsof the I960S youth contra-cultureare directlytraceableto the
comicsmarketof the early I950S ---indeed, many of the artistsof the
I960S were 'over30' (RobertCrumb,as an example)and had begun
their careersdrawingfor I950S comicssuch as Mad magazine.23
Upon examination,the transitivityargumentwould seem, at best,
to warrantseriousmodification.Evenwithinthe I960S, studiesof youth
contra-culturetake exceptionto the prevailingexplanation.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 I88 GeorgeH. Lewis
Althoughthe ethos dependson personalcontact, it is carriedby
undergroundmedia, rock music and collective activities, artistic
and political, which deliver and duplicatethe message;and it is
processedthrougha generationflow. It is no longersimplya con-
structiveexpressionof dissentand thusattractivebecauseit is a vital
answerto a systemthat destroysvitality;it is cultureand the young
are growingup underthe wisdomof the old.24
It seems,then, that the enduringsocialcleavagenecessaryto support
socialmovementsis a realitywhen one focusesupon the youth contra-
culture.There does in fact exist a categoryof individualswho have a
common set of grievancesand who have been subject to common
strains.There has been a historyof persecutionof adolescentsby the
largersociety that has helped to form a base of enduringrebellion.
However, the mere existenceof a social categorywith a common
grievanceis not a sufficientconditionfor the emergenceof a social
movement.Group membersmust be able to communicatewith one
another,and this communicationmust resultin the emergenceof a
leadershipstructure.Again, the youth contra-culturefits well within
the model. Communicationlinkswere established,and leaders(many
of whom spannedthe so-called'gap' betweenthe I950S and I960S)
began to confrontgroup problemseven as they helped shape the
emergentideology of the I960S youth contra-culture.Differencesin
status and position,coupled with communicatedawarenessof these
differences,led to differencesin belief.25In turn, these differencesin
beliefhave helped createfroman age category,a socialsub-grouping
with emergentcultureof its own one that transcends age differentials
and gives the lie to the argumentof the inevitablepassingof cohorts
through'the stagesof youth'.26
The increasinglyaffluentpositionof the I950S Americanadolescent
wasreflectedin the emergenceof a youthmarketin this country,cater-
ingto increasinglyexpensive adolescenttastes.Followingfrom McCarthy
andZald;'asthe amountof disposableresourcesof massandelitepublics
increases,the absoluteand relative amount of resourcespotentially
availableto social movementsectorsincreases'.27 I proposethat this
wasindeedthe casewithAmericanyouthof the I950S and early I960S.
'The greaterthe absoluteamountof resourcesavailableto the social
movementsector,the greaterthe likelihoodthat newsocialmovement
industriesand socialmovementorganizationswill developto compete
forthese resources'.28 One need only recallthe almostovernightpro-
liferationof social movementsof the I960S with their youthfulcon-
stituenciesto makeone'spoint.It is withinthiscontextofthe contingent
characterof resourcemobilizationthat I wish now to focusattention
upona specificformof socialmovementindustry usuallythoughtof
assupportiveof the 'hippie'movement-that emergedwithinthe youth
contra-culture of the I g60s: the head shop.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 of support
Thestructure in socialmovements I89

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION: HEAD SHOPS AND FREE STORES IN

THE CONTRA-CULTURE

Perhapsthe mostimportantpoint to be keptin mindwhen examining

socialorganizationsand movementsbasedin the youth contra-culture
is that their value structuresare overarchinglyanti-capitalist.29This
reactiveframework seeminglya rejectionof the means, goals, and
values of the dominantAmericansystem30 would seem to signifya
deep and importantcleavagebetweenthe youthcontra-culture and the
largersystem.Althoughby no meansthe only Americanyouth move-
ment to reject the larger system,the 'hippie' phenomenonemerged
in the I960S as one of the mostemphaticand widelypublicizedof these
movements.An examinationof organizational formsassociatedwiththe
movement in this case 'freestores'or 'headshops' shouldbe of help
in assessingthe importofthe contra-cultureas a baseof socialmovement
support.
The authorhas, in a previouspaper,3lexaminedthe evolutionof
formthe contra-culturestorestook as they attemptedto embodythe
reactiveeconomicethic of anti-capitalism.The early storeswere, in
general,of two types:32
I. The exchange model,wherecommunitygoods and
andredistribution
serviceswere exchanged.This model rejectedtotally the medium
of money as exchange,relyingprimarilyon the conceptof redistri-
butionof goodsfroma centralizedlocation.
2. The communityoriented whereaccoutrements
model, necessaryforthe
playingof contra-culturalrolescould be purchased,whereinforma-
tion as to communityfunctionscould be obtained,and whererole-
modelscould be found'hangingout'.
The exchangeandredistribution model,as an idealtype,soonproved
unworkable.It was recognizedthat the mostimportantfunctionof this
type of shopwas to providebasicnecessities(suchas foodand clothing)
for communitymembers,and that this servicewould have to be fin-
anced in someway. This problemof fundingand resourceacquisition
saw severalattemptedsolutions.
I. A reliance on charitable organizationsof the larger society,
ranging from indirect governmentalfunding (welfare and food
stamps) to more direct and charitable church and foundation
support(Glide Churchin San Francisco,the Haight-AshburyFree
Clinic).This alternativeposedideologicalproblems,as well as lead-
ing to the perceivedpossibilityof movementco-optationand control
via manipulationof resourcebase.
2. The establishment of a drug network,intendedto take the place
of the economicexchangenetworkof the largersociety.Ideologically
more sound than the first option, this solutionhad its own set of

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 GeorgeH. Lezevis
I90

associatedproblems,not the leastof whichwasthefactthatorganized

crime, structurallydependenton resourcesobtainedfrom this net-
work,wasnot enthusiasticaboutthe prospectsof an enlargingmarket
being administeredto by any social groupingsother than itself.
Althoughan ideologicalrallyingpoint,the establishment of a drug
network,to the extent of being an importantresourcebase for the
contra-culture,was a dreamneverrealized.
3. The evolutionof the communityorientedshopsinto head shops,
servingthe communityby: (a) offeringfor sale 'at cost' (or giving
away) the accoutrementsfor communityrole performance,and (b)
sellingcommunitygoodsto 'outsiders'at higherprices,thusbringing
monetaryresourcesinto the community.The head shopswere im-
portantin a movementsensein other ways as well. They acted as
centersforthe distributionof informationconcerningtlle community
and the movementas well as being centersfor 'rap' sessionswith
emergingleadersand role modelsof the movement.
This thirdoption,the establishmentof head shops,seemedat firstto
be the mostviable of thoseexploredby membersof the youth contra-
culture,especiallywiththeincreasingnotorietythe massmediaafforded
the 'hippie'movement.As membersofthe surrounding system'invaded'
communityterritoryin largernumbers,as they did in Haight-Ashbury
in I967, it becamepossibleto chargemembersof the out-groupinordi-
natelyhigh pricesfor shopwares,with the statedintentionof injecting
these profitsinto the communitysystem-essentiallya processof the
mobilizationof resourcesfroma constituencyotherthanthe beneficiary
population.Much like earlier'Harlemslumming'behaviourpatterns,
as well as the I959-6I invasionpatternsof GreenwichVillage,33the
ethic involvedis summedup by one who owneda Haightshop:
Our productsexploitmiddle-classpeoplewho affect(sic) the idea of
hip. I'm not againstexploitation,you see. Everything'sexploitation.
Youjust have to be carefulwhom you exploitand for what reason.
In the processof the rip-off,I want to comeup with somethingin my
pocket.34
That 'somethingin my pocket'beganto takeon increasingvaluein
the casesof manyshopoperators.Moreof theirattentionwas spentin
cateringto the out-groupclientele,whilelessof the profitreapedwas
findingits way into the communitysystem.Benton,part-ownerand
operatorof a storein NorthwestCityin the late I960S put the problem
this way:
The store. . . anyhip store,really. . . hasto go one of twowayswhen
it's clear it's makingit. When money gets involved,naturallythe
ownermovesontoanotherlevel . . . of incomeandphilosophy. . . He
has to decidewho he worksfor himselfor the people. It's kind of

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Thestructure
of supportin socialmovements I9I

obviouswhich way he goes. PersonallyI don't thinkit can be done

. . . We'recertainlycoppingout right and left.35
This phenomenonhas long been recognizedin the study of social
movementsas the gradualdisplacementof the goalsof the movementby
the most attractivemeansfor realizingthesegoals.36
The majorityof the shopsthen becameincreasinglycapitalistically
orientedwhilethey playedlessand lessa rolein the communitycontra-
culturalsystem.
With dying ideologicalsupportfrom the community,many shop
ownersfound themselveshookedinto the systemthey had originally
fled,whileat the sametimehavingto increasinglycompeteforclientele
with a new type of head shop- that set up, owned and operatedby
entrepreneursof the largersystemwho smelledprofitsin the 'teenie-
bopper'and 'collegeand weekendhippie'market.This patternof dis-
illusionment,originallyestablishedin the Haight-Ashburyof I967, has
beenrepeatedmanytimesin morerecentattemptsin otherurban(and
rural) areas to establishsimilar organizationalforms based in the
contra-culture.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The ultimate failure of the head shop as a contra-cultural'hippie

organizationcanbe profitablyviewedas a problemof resourcemobiliza-
tion within (andwitllout)the youth contra-culture,even as it takeson
addedmeaningwithin the contextof McCarthyand Zald'sdiscussion
of professional socialmovements,whichtheydefineas characterized by:
I. A leadershipthat devotesfull time to the movement.
A large proportionof resources originating outside the
aggrievedgroupthat the movementclaimsto represent.
2. Averysmallor non-existentmembershipbaseor a papermember-
ship . . .
3. Attemptsto impart the image of 'speakingfor a potentialcon-
stituency'.
4. Attemptsto influencepolicytowardthat sameconstituency.37
The crucialdifferencebetweenthe traditionalmodel and this pro-
fessionalmodel, in the context of the youth contra-culture,is the
differencein origin of economic resources.The traditionalmodel
assumesthe resourcesoriginate withinthe movement-yet we are
speakinghere of a movementwith an ideology that rejectsmonetary
exchangesystemsand, in any case, commandscontrolof very little in
the form of economicresources,be they cash or property.With the
failureof the drugoption,the headshopbecameincreasinglyimportant
as a meansby which monetaryresourcesoriginatingoutsidethe youth
communitycouldbe channelledinto it (eventhoughthis optioncaused
many movementideologuesa good deal of moraluneasiness).
o

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 . X 1 " 7 X

GeorgeH. Lewis
192
With the intensificationof this patternand the media type of the
youth contra-culture,three things occurred; (a) the shops began
realizingmore and morein profitfromout-groupclientele,(b) less of
this moneywas funnelledto the community,and (c) the ideological
elementsof the communitywithdrewtheir support,even to the point
of physicallymoving away from the area, in searchof a 'new start'.
The massmedia had publicizeda way of life, definingthosethings
necessaryto 'become'a hippy-incense, drugs,music.The head shops
FIGURE I presentation
ChronologicaZ Gity headshops
of north-west z967 zg70
in operation,
11 - (By quarter years) i

/
10-

g-

8 - /
I
C
/
O .

._

I
a)
I

C I
- 6- X
}
en

O /

0 5- ;-@; ;

@ / \ /

E 4- *_ _

Z I
3- ja /

2- / * "

T t T t T I t t f t T t T X I T
0 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

1967 1968 1969 1970

offeredthesethingsat a price,andmanynoncontra-cultural individuals
were only too eagerto purchasethese accoutrements for role playing.
I7henumber(andtypes)of head shopsincreased sometimes literally
overnight.The precedingtable reflectsthis growthin 'NorthwestCity'
from I 967 throughI 9 7o.38
The greaterthe relativesizeand the greaterthe amountof disposable
resourcescontrolledby socialmovementadherentsn the morelikelywill
a socialmovement organizationform that expresses targetgoalsof the
individuals involved.Further, under these conditions, the morelikely
that more than one social movement organization will form (hence
the growtllof a socialmovementindustry).39 This is illustratedwell in

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
tlze structure of support in soczal movements I93
the case of the proliferationof head shops each a social movement
organization-withinAmericansocietyof the late I960S. In this case,
organsof the massmediapublicizedthe hip movement,bothaboveand
below-ground,acrossAmerica.This (romanticallydistorted)exposure
resultedin a demandon the part of a large audiencefor role-playing
materials(eventhoughthe ideologyof hip was not sharedby the mass
audience).Not only was this audiencelarge,it also controlleda great
amountof economicresource and was willing to spendsome of this
resourceto acquirethe productthe headshopscouldprovide.The head
shop as socialmovementindustrywas the result.
The head shopsinvolvedwere not all of a kind ideologically.The
earliershops,rejectingthe largersystem'svalues and beliefs,were a
prototypeof the sort of social movementorganizationthe traditional
sociologicalanalysisof social movementswould lead one to expect to
find. However,when the operatorsof these shops (and others that
sprang into being) recognized the existenceof a larger out-group
clientele,their dealingsincreasinglytook the form of a 'Robin Hood
rationalization' thatit waspermissibleto chargemembersof thisout-
group inordinatelyhigh pricesfor the accoutrementsof hip role per-
formanceas the profitsfromthese'rip-offs'wouldbe injectedinto the
communitycontra-culturalsystem as movementsupport.The insta-
bilityof thisoptionevidenceditselfin the increasinglysmallertrickleof
resourcemoniesinto the contra-cultural systemvia the headshoproute.
Moreand more,the ownersand operatorsof theseshopsbeganto turn
their attention to the problem of successfulcompetitionwith the
newerheadshopsspringingup-those thatneverdidshareideologywith
the contra-culture,but recognizedan easy and suddenlyemerging
market.
As increasingattention(and economicresources)becameavailable,
this situationonly intensified.Castin McCarthyand Zald'sterm:
The larger the relativeshare of societalresourcesavailableto the
socialmovementsector,the morelikelyit will be thatan organization
and industrywill formexpressingtargetgoals which respondto the
aggrievementof a group regardlessof the size of the group or its
control over disposableresources,or, stated more succinctly,the
largerthe relativeshareof societalresourcesavailableto the social
movementsector, the greater the proportionof social movement
organizationswhichareprofessional socialmovementorganizations.4
Thisprocessof the transformation fromtraditionalto professional
social
movementorganizationalstructuresevidencedby an examinationof
the head shop as a socialmovementindustrywithinthe contra-culture
can be seen in othercontra-cultureindustriesas well. Petersonchron-
icles a similarshiftin the rockfestivalphenomenon,4lwhile Sayrehas
addressedthe problem within the context of youth produced and
orientedcinoma.42

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
I94 GeorgeH. Lewis

A professionalleadershipand organizationalstructure(rangingall
the wayfromheadshopoperatorsto AbbieHoffman)hasservedto keep
the ideologyof the contra-culture alive if forno otherreasonthan the
fact that this also has kept the flow of economicresourcesinto their
handsaliveas well.Disillusioned,the committedmembersof the contra-
culturehave turnedtheirbacksupon this emergentprofessionalstruc-
ture,evenas it has successfullybuiltits imageof speakingforthe move-
ment and 'the people'.43
In conclusion,the 'youth'contra-cultureseemspotentiallyto be an
enduringtrans-generational baseforsocialmovements.Followingfrom
the traditionalanalyses of social movements,this conditionshouldbe
sufficientto predict that the contra-culturewill indeed continue to
supportsocial movementsgeneratedby a contra-culture,which now
transcendsthe traditionalage categoryof 'youth,'havingbeen cumu-
latively articulatedas an ideologicalbase for close to twenty years.
However,if one analyzesthe contra-culture by meansof McCarthyand
Zald's newer model, it becomes clear that failure to mobilize the
necessaryeconomicresourcesfrom within the beneficiarypopulation
(a conditionthe earliermodelassumes)will resultin manyof the social
movementorganizationsspringingfromthe contra-culturetakingthe
form Enally of professionalsocial movementindustries,with the in-
herentdangersof co-optationand hucksterism loominglargeas factors
in theirevolution and eventual effectiveness as agentsof socialchange.

H. Lewis,B.A. M.A. PH.D.

George
Professor
Associate of Sociolog)o,
Universityof thePacific

Notes

I. The author wishes to express appre- R. H. Turner and L. Killian, Collective

ciation to John D. McCarthy, whose Behavior,EnglewoodCliSs, N.J., Pren-
ideas concerning social movements were tice-Hall, I957; and N. Smelser, The
presented and debated in many late Theoryof Collective Behavior,New York,
evening sessions in Santa Fe, Tennessee. Free Press,I963.
Without such stimulation, this paper 4. J. D. McCarthyand M. N. Zald,
might well have not been written, though 'ResourceMobilizationandSocialMove-
the author takes full responsibility for its ments',VanderbiltUniversity,Nashville,
contents. Tennessee. Unpublishedmanuscript.
2. J. R. Howard, 'The Flowering of 5. Ibid., p. 2.
the Hippie Movement', Ann.Amer.Acad. 6. In this paper, the term Gontra-
Pol. &9Soc.Sci, 382 (I969), 43-55; T. culture is usedin the senseYingeremploys
Roszak, TheMakingof a Counter Culture, it. 'Wheneverthe normativesystemof a
New York, Doubleday, I 969; C. A. groupcontains,as a primaryelement,a
Reich, TheGreening ofAmerica,New York, theme of confiictwith the values of the
Random House, I 970; R. Flacks, Youth and total society,wherepersonalityvariables
SocialC7hange,
Chicago, Markham, I 972. are directlyinvolvedin the development
3. For examples of this approach, see and maintenanceof the group'svalues,

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Thestructure
of support
in socialmovements 95
and whereverits llorms can be under- 20. M. Shy and G. H. Lewis, 'Of
stood only by referenceto the relation- Time and Two Rivers: I9509S Under-
ships of the group to a surrounding currentsin I 960'S Culture', University
dominantculture.'S. M. Yinger, 'Con- of the Pacific, Stockton, California.
tracultureand Subculture',Amer.Sociol. Unpublishedmanuscript.
Rev.,25 (I960), p. 629. 2 I . Hinkle,op. cit., p. I 9.
7. Accordingto McCarthyand Zald, 22. J. T. Carey,'ChangingCourtship
a socialmovementorganization is a com- Patternsin the PopularSong', Amer.jr.
plex of formalorganizationthatidentifies Sociol.,Vol. 74 ( I 969) , pps 72>3 I; J
its goals with that of the broadermove- Ferrandiro, 'Rock Culture and the
ment and attempts to implement the Development of Social Consciousness',
goals of the movement.A social move- in G. H. Lewis (ed.), Side-Saddle on the
ment ind2lstry is composedof all social GoldenC7alf:SocialStrurture snd Popular
movement organizationsthat have as C7ulture inAnzrica,PacificPalisades,Calif.,
their goal attainingthe changesdesired Goodyear,Ig70, pp. 263-go; R. Rosen-
by the social movement,op. cit., p. I7. stone,'The TimesThey AreA-changin':
Head shops,then, each are organization- The Music of Protest',Ann.Amer.Acad.
specific,but takenas a category,can be Pol. e Soc.Sci., (I969).
betterconceptualizedas socialmovement 23. In I954, Mad magazine showed
industry. an artist(BillElder)beingdraggedaway
8. K. Mannheim.Essays ontheSociology by the men in white coats,while a writer
of Knowledge, London, Routledge and (Harvey Kurtzman) evaded the blue-
Kegan Paul, Ltd, I952, p. 358. coats on a street corner, still surrepti-
9. R. Flacks,op. cit. tiouslypeddlingmagazinesto a groupof
I 0. T. Wolfe, The Sandy Kolored grinning youths. The screaminghead-
TangerineFlake StreamlineBaby, New line read 'COMICS GO UNDER-
York, Farrar,Strausand Giroux, I965. GROUND.'
I I. E. Shils, 'Mass Society and Its 24. M. Brown, 'The Condemnation
Culture',in N. Jacobs (ed.), C7ulture Jor and Persecutionof Hippies', *rransaction,
the Millions,Princeton,N.J., Van Nos- vol. 6 ( I 969) n p 39
trand, I 96I, pp. I-2 7. 25. Polskyhas arguedthat the ideology
I2. ^4. Malone and M. Roberts,From of the I 950 beatslay behindtheirrefusal
Popto Culture, New York,Holt, Rinehart to work within the 'system', thereby
and Winston,I 97I, p. I 78. refuting the traditional'double failure
I3. A. Renetzsky and J. S. Greene theoryof retreatism'.Examinationof the
(eds.),Standard Educational
Almanac: I97I, emergent youth contra-cultureof the
Los Angeles, Calif., Academic Media, I960S might well lead furthercredence
I97I, p 33 to Polsky'sview that ideologicalrefusals
I4. J. R. Howard, The C7utting Edge, to performwithin the rangeof establish-
New York,J. B. Lippincott,I 974, p. I 65. ment norms are largely cultural (or
I5. E. Z. Friedenberg,'The Image of contra-cultural)in origin. N. Polsky,
the AdolescentMinority',in E. Sagarin Hustlers, BeatsandOthers, Chicago,Aldine,
(ed.), The OtherMinorities,Waltham, I 967, p. I 54
Mass., Ginn and Company, I 97I, pp. 26. Thispointis vital to the argument,
95-I o6. if only for the fact that the 'baby boom'
6. Ibid.,p.g6. cohort,teenagedin the I 960S, Wiu soon
I 7. J. Lofland,'The YouthGhetto',in commenceits own crossingof the 'over
M. Laumannet al., (eds.), TheLogicof 30' line.
Social Hierarchies,Chicago, Markham, 27. J. D. McCarthy and M. Zald,
I 967, pp. 756-78 op. cit., p. 24.
I8. W. Hinkle,'A SocialHistoryof the 28. Ibid., p. 25.
Hippies',Ramparts, vol. 5 ( I 967), p. I 6. 29. W. Hinkle,op. cit.; W. Wattsand
I9. G. Lenski, Powerand Privilege:a D. Whittaker, 'Profile of a Non-con-
Theoryof Stratification, New York, Mc- formist Youth Culture: a Study of
Graw-Hill,I966, p. 426. Berkeley Non-students', Sociology of

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 fs

I90 GeorgeH. Lewis

Edllcation,vol. 4 I ( I 968), pp. I 78-200; L. op. eit. Those operating stores of the
Yablonsky,TheHippieTrip,New York, exchange and redistributiontype were
Western Publishing, I 968; S. Cavan, primarily eoncerned with the redistri-
Hippiesof the Haight, St. Louis, New bution of subsistence goods. Those
Critics,I 972; N. Von HoSman, WeAre operating eommunity oriented stores
thePeopleOurParentsWarnedUs Against, were more concernedwith the exchange
New York,Quadrangle,I968. and redistributionof ceremonial(and to
30. LewisYablonsky,in analyzingthe a lesserextent,luxury)goods.
responsesof dropped out youth to his 33. N. Polsky,op. cit., pp. I48-9.
open-endedquestion, 'how do you feel 34. (::. Karpal, 'Das hip kapital',
aboutAmerieansoeiety',founderiticisms Esquire,vol. 6 ( I 970), p. 277.
falling in three majorareas: the laek of 35. G. H. Lewis,op. cit., p. 95.
human interpersonalrelationships,ma- 36. M. Zald and R. Ash 'Soeial
terialism,and hypoericy.L. Yablonsky, MovementsOrganizations:Growth,De-
op. eit., p. 362. I have found that many eay and Change', SocialForcesavol. 3
of thoseI lraveinterviewedpoint to these (I966), p. 334.
threeas symptomsof a eapitalistsoeiety,, 37. J. D. McCarthy and M. Zald,
thereby isolating the eause -eapitalism The Trendof SocialMovements in America:
-against which they are reaeting.John Professionalization and Resource Mobiliza-
Howard has aptly termed this reaetive tion,Morristown,N.J., GeneralLearning
staneeas one of an inuersion of traditional Press,I973, p. 20.
Ameriean values. J. Howard, op. eit., 38. For a more in-depthpresentation
I969, p. 46. For eogent discussionsof of the Northwest City data and its
hippie belief systems as articulatedin collection,see G. H. Lewis,op. eit.
Haight-Ashbury,see W. Hinkle,op. eit., 39. J. D. MeCarthy and M. Zald,
and S. Cavan,op. eit. op. eit., p. 26.
3I. G. H. Lewis,'Capitalism,Contra- 40. Ibid.,p.27.
ellltureand the EIeadShop:Explorations 4I. R. A. Peterson,'The Unnatural
in StrueturalChange', EouthandSociety, Historyof Roek Festivals:an Instaneeof
vol 3 (I972), pp. 85-I02. Media Faeilitation',i. PopularMusice
32. In a rough sense, the distinetion Society,vol. 2 (I973), pp. I-27.
between these two types of stores (with 42. N. Sayre, 'Revolt for Fun and
respeet to the wares they handled) Profit',Esquire,I970, p. 7.
parallels Nash's distinetion in non- 43. As example,Columbia,one of the
monetary eeonomiesbetween the sub- world's largest reeording industries,
sisteneeeireuitof exehangeand those of stated in an ad. in the 'underground'
luxuryand eeremony.M. Nash,Primitive press: 'The Man ean't bust our musie.'
andPeasantEconomic Systems,San Fran- This was importantall the way down
eiseo, Chandler, I 966, pp. 9X. A the eeonomie line even to 'the man'
similardistinetionis made by G. Lenski, who soldthe reeordingsin the headshop.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.232 on Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:05:37 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions