People power

'People power' is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political forces. 'People power' can be manifested as a small-scale protest or campaign for neighbourhood change; or as wide-ranging, revolutionary action involving national street demonstrations, work stoppages and general strikes intending to overthrow an existing government and/or political system. It may be nonviolent, as was the case in the 1986 Philippines revolution which overthrew the Marcos régime, or may resort to violence, as happened in Libya in 2011. The term was first used by members of the 1960s 'flower power' movement which initially protested against the Vietnam War. 'People power' is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political forces. 'People power' can be manifested as a small-scale protest or campaign for neighbourhood change; or as wide-ranging, revolutionary action involving national street demonstrations, work stoppages and general strikes intending to overthrow an existing government and/or political system. It may be nonviolent, as was the case in the 1986 Philippines revolution which overthrew the Marcos régime, or may resort to violence, as happened in Libya in 2011. The term was first used by members of the 1960s 'flower power' movement which initially protested against the Vietnam War. In the Roman Republic the power of public opinion was a constraint on the Roman Senate; according to Polybius, 'the Senate stands in awe of the multitude, and cannot neglect the feelings of the people.' In his 1955 analysis of the weakness of democracy, Walter Lippmann, author of Public Opinion, offered this summary of people power: