Neo-materialist movement organisations and the matter of scale: scaling through institutions as prefigurative politics?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Consumer collective action is commonly connected to individualised politics, market responsibility and local utopias. In this paper, we take an alternative point of departure and discuss the (emergence of) neo-materialist movement organisations (NMMOs) as mobilising prefigurative everyday politics in local organising and creating strategies toward alternative global futures. Our approach is threefold. First, we introduce the concept of neo-materialist movement organisations and, second, outline their organising in the everyday context and prefigurative commitments. Third, we explore different strategies of scaling toward alternative futures with particular focus on (controversial) institutional avenues. We contribute to the emerging literature on prefigurative politics in consumer movements by problematising the dominant approach to social change trapped in local inwardness. We further highlight the potential for systemic changes via local authorities, or what we call scaling through institutions.