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Concept
Non-reformist reform
Summary
Non-reformist reform, also referred to as abolitionist reform, anti-capitalist reform, revolutionary reform, structural reform and transformative reform, is a reform that "is conceived, not in terms of what is possible within the framework of a given system and administration, but in view of what should be made possible in terms of human needs and demands". On the other hand, reformist reforms essentially maintain the status quo and do not threaten the existing structure. These have been described as reforms that rationalize or "fine-tune the status quo" by implementing modifications "from the top down", but that fail to address root causes of the issue. As described by philosopher André Gorz, who coined the term non-reformist reform, non-reformist reforms in a capitalist system are anti-capitalist reforms, or reforms that do not base their validity and their right to exist "on capitalist needs, criteria, and rationale", but rather on human ones.
Non-reformist reforms have been identified as reforms that "challenge existing power relations and pave the way for more revolutionary changes in the larger society necessary for a more socially just and environmentally sustainable world", those that create and recreate "the capacity to cumulatively transform the existing system" and those that abolish and undermine the very foundations of the existing structure. Scholars identify that for this to truly be possible, these reforms cannot "be taken for the poor or the racialized" under the assumption that "those deemed poor or racialized are not able to take action themselves". In other words, the marginalized cannot be "passive agents" in the process, but must be transformative subjects who "are active in reordering social relationships, diagnosing social inequalities, and mobilizing for a better way of socially organizing the world".
Creating non-reformist reforms is often cited as difficult. One challenge to creating non-reformist reform is the co-option, incorporation and depoliticization, or mainstreaming, of the demands of social movements.
Official source
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