Book Review: “Principles of Social Change”

Abstract

In Principles of Social Change, Dr. Leonard A. Jason, academic and activist, gives individuals who are driven by social justice a prescription for how to effect social change. A professor of psychology and director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul University, Jason has built his life around channeling his commitment to social justice through a research and policy agenda spanning several decades. In this book, readers will be inspired by Dr. Jason’s advice on how individuals and institutions, armed with the right knowledge, can address complex issues such as poverty, discrimination, and illness through effective community-based solutions. One of the main founding principles of the book is Jason’s distinction between first-order and second-order change. Too many people, he argues, attempt to address complex issues by instituting superficial, cosmetic changes that yield short-term solutions. He uses as an example a story of a teacher who criticizes and harshly disciplines a distracted student to force him to pay attention in class. The teacher is focusing on that which is directly in front of her instead of thinking about the context in which the student is functioning. Might there be environmental reasons that may explain why the student is having a difficult time functioning in class—perhaps a troubling home life or problems with his or her peer group? By focusing only on the student’s behavior and implementing top–down disciplinary tactics, the teacher is not addressing the root of the problem, and any success she or he may have will be limited. In much the same way, large institutions often institute misguided, reactive policies that sacrifice long-term vision for short-term gains. In contrast, second-order efforts achieve long-lasting social change by identifying and changing fundamental drivers of inequality. Jason reviews the examples of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi as two individuals who created bottom–up interventions, involving the whole of society in challenging powerful forces to achieve social justice. Smaller-scale initiatives can also bring about second-order change, such as Jason’s efforts to conduct research and change policy on public smoking bans in the 1970s, long before such bans were in public favor. As part of this campaign, Jason coordinated