Transformative social change

Transformative social change is a philosophical, practical and strategic process to affect revolutionary change within society, i.e., social transformation. It is effectively a systems approach applied to broad-based social change and social justice efforts to catalyze sociocultural, socioeconomic and political revolution. In seeking to integrate and then politicize personal development and social development as an overarching approach to social change at multiple levels, addressing a wide range of issues, using holistic, nonviolent methods, it may be best classified as a new social movement. Rather than focus on particular issue(s), it seeks to impact the culture of left of center social movement and organizing work. However, by considering the dismantling of and liberation from oppressive systems, including economic, as core to its goal, it defies even definitions put forth for new social movements. As a comprehensive approach to progressive social change, it seeks distinguishes to itself from the "ordinary" change of conventional social change, social justice and their respective organizing practices by placing emphasis on personal, organizational and social systemic change that cannot be undone, or "deep change".

A key premise defining transformative social change is that "the ends of justice can never be served by the means of injustice, even when the injustice is as subtle as the mental framework instilled by the quest for liberation.("Change vs. Transformation" by Angel Kyodo Williams) Williams further proposes that "because suffering cannot be alleviated by instigating suffering"; the conditions under which social justice activists and seekers operate within organizationally need to exemplify the conditions they wish to ultimately see cultivated within society at large. This ideal coincides with the quote often attributed to but not said by Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Seeking to better define and cohere the emerging and evolving work of transformative social change, a People's Movement Assembly process was held at the 2010 US Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan, in which the following framework for defining transformation was agreed to by way of resolution:

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