The conventional wisdom that today's movements are led by a section of the `new middle class' is really the old functionalist theory of (post)modernizing elites that denies class analysis. The `young adult nucleus' thesis is proposed as an alternative theory. The leading social forces in movements in affluent countries are intellectual radicals and `advanced elements' from groups that experience some form of exploitation, oppression or collective hurt. They are Gramscian intellectuals as opposed to professional intellectuals. They are people who took the `opportunity during socialization' when young adults to choose what often became a lifelong `activist career' for social justice.
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