ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about a few reflections on the current predicaments and future possibilities of social movements. It offers a map of self-organization in the trade union movement in order to locate the Public Service Union (UNISON) case-study in national and international contexts. The chapter discusses Britain as the birthplace of the Siamese twins 'New Unionism' and 'New Labour' in the 1990s. It shows that the labour and civil rights movements are more compatible with each other than with the environmental movements on account of the contraction of their horizons to demands which can potentially be realized within a capitalist world-order. It describes complicate matters by gesturing towards the rapid shifts in class structures, cultures, science and technology to which any critical social movement will have to respond if it is to remain relevant. The chapter also discusses the role of critical social science.
