This text discusses the role of social movements in the recovery and expansion of democracy and justice in the 21st century. The book combines an analysis of several modernization theses with respect to the role of social movements, with a sense of the way that American ideological and institutional context has shaped progressive social movements. The author pays homage to modern notions like reason, the rule of law and class consciousness as a way of expanding the impact of the social movements. The topics covered include political and social theory, movement history, institutional analysis, ideology, activism, and the instigation of change.