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> Grassroots vs astroturf movements differ based on what's in the best self-interest of the majority of it's members. I'm not sure what you mean by this. It
by randallsquared 12y ago
> Grassroots vs astroturf movements differ based on what's in the best self-interest of the majority of it's members.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. It sounds like you plan to calculate the "best self-interest" of members of a group, and then distinguish by whether the group's aims appear to further the result of your assessment. Is that right?
- jobu 12y agoThe article is probably right about it being difficult to define what is in the best interests of a large group, but it seems pretty obvious that civil-rights movements are by definition in the best self-interest of the majority of their members. (Think the women's suffrage movement of the early 1900's, the racial equality movement in the 1960s, or the current marriage rights movement for LGBT couples.) The Tea Party seems a little harder to tell. Some are obviously in it for fiscal self-interest (upper and middle class people that want lower taxes). However, there are some in the Tea Party because they fear government intervention even though they obviously benefit from Social Security, Medicare, etc. (At least some of that is caused by fear mongering and twisted truths from Tea Party leaders.)