Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Direct Action |
Direct ActionNoun1. A protest action by labor or minority groups to obtain their demands. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
By the middle of the 20th century, the sphere of direct action had undoubtedly expanded, though the meaning of the term had perhaps contracted. Most campaigns for social change -- notable those seeking suffrage, improved working conditions, civil rights, an end to abortion, and environmental protection -- employ at least some types of violent or non-violent direct action.
Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of Satyagraha (or truth force) have inspired many practitioners of non-violent direct action (NVDA), who often view it as a tool that the less powerful can use against those with more power. In 1963, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr described the goal of NVDA in his Letter from Birmingham Jail: "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored."
The anti-nuclear movement has deployed NVDA: for instance, during the 1980s many groups which opposed the introduction of Cruise missiles into the UK employed tactics such as breaking into and occupying US air bases, blocking roads in order to prevent the movement of military convoys, disruption of building works related to military projects and so forth. Many groups also set up semi-permanent 'peace camps' outside air bases such as Molesworth and Greenham Common.
Animal rights groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) have also used the tactics of NVDA, such as breaking into laboratories where animal experiments are carried out and physically removing ('liberating') the animals from the premises. However it is argued that the ALF have largely abandoned their commitment to non-violence in more recent years.
As a principle, direct action is central to many strands of anarchist theory, especially anarcho-syndicalism and anarcho-pacifism.
"Direct Action" has also served as the moniker of at least two terrorist groups, the French Action Directe and the Canadian group more popularly known as the Squamish Five.
History
The theory of direct action developed primarily in the context of labor struggles. In his 1920 book, Direct Action, William Mellor placed direct action firmly in the struggle between worker and employer for control "over the economic life of society." Mellor defined direct action "as the use of some form of economic power for securing of ends desired by those who possess that power." Mellor considered direct action a tool of both owners and workers. For this reason he included within his definition lock-outs and cartels, as well as strikes and sabotage. Non-violent direct action
Other Examples
Direct action and anarchism
See also
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Direct action."
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | 1. Harvey Wasserman : Civil disobedience & direct action from the Boston Tea Party to Seabrook occupation, 2. Green Mountain Post Films' The Last Resort ... Nov. 16. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Croatia | There must be a final judgment in order for a judge or panel of judges to order payment, seizure of goods or property, or direct action to be taken or ceased. (references) |
Lesotho | Moreover, South Africa publicly threatened to pursue more direct action against Lesotho if the Jonathan government did not root out the ANC presence in the country. (references) | |
Women | United Kingdom | The Government introduced a national minimum wage in 1999 in an effort to equalize pay; however, a February report by the Government's Women and Equality Unit found that women in full-time work earned on average 82 percent of the earnings of male full-time workers in 2000. In the Government, women's issues are represented at the cabinet level by the Minister for Women, who heads up the Women and Equality Unit, which engages in dialog with women and advises the Government but has no authority for direct action. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expression using "direct action": direct action fuze. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
direct action | 137 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "direct action"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | direkte krav, direkte aktioner. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | rechtstreekse vordering, rauwvordering, rauwaktie, rauwactie, eigen werkzaamheden. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | suora kanne. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | actions directes, action directe. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | direkte Aktionen, unmittelbare Klage. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | άμεση δράση, άμεσες δράσεις. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | közvetlen cselekvés. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | azioni dirette, azione diretta. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 直接行動 , 争議行為 (strike). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | そうぎ"うい (strike), ちょくせつ"うどう. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | irectday actionay acções directas, acção directa. (various references) acciones directas. (various references) direkta åtgärder, utomparlamentarisk aktion. (various references) kuvvete başvurma. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-c-d-e-i-i-n-o-r-t-t" | |
-2 letters: antierotic, contracted, contradict, detraction, recitation. | |
-3 letters: accretion, anecdotic, anorectic, carcinoid, carnotite, circinate, contacted, detrition, dicentric, dictation, direction, indicator, interdict, intricate, iteration, recontact, redaction, tradition, tricotine. | |
-4 letters: accentor, accident, accredit, acentric, acetonic, acidotic, aconitic, acridine, actinide, actinoid, anoretic, antidote, antiriot, arointed, attorned, cancroid, carditic, cartoned, catenoid, cationic, centroid, ceratoid, ciceroni, citation, citrated, coattend, cocinera. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-c-d-e-i-i-n-o-r-t-t" | |
+1 letter: accreditation, decorticating, decortication. | |
+2 letters: accreditations, antidemocratic, contraindicate, decortications. | |
+3 letters: contradictories, contraindicated, contraindicates, decertification, noncertificated, reaccreditation. | |
+4 letters: decertifications, reaccreditations. | |
+5 letters: contradictoriness, contradistinctive, intercommunicated. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 69 72 65 63 74 41 63 74 69 6F 6E |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100011 01110100 00100000 01000001 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D i r e c t   A c t i o n |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 0069 0072 0065 0063 0074 0041 0063 0074 0069 006F 006E |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3875847169862356986758180 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Photo Album | 5. Quotations: Familiar 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Expressions 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Anagrams 11. Orthography 12. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Note to the press & webmasters - this dictionary can be linked, indexed, or referred to using the following non-English expressions: woordeboek, fjalor, معجم, قاموس, diccionariu, речник, diccionari, diksyonario, diksinario, 字典, gérlyver, slovník, ordbog, woordenboek, shimiyuc p'anca, orðabók, orðbók, dictionnaire, wurdboek, wörterbuch, λεξικό, אוצר מילים, szótár, uqausiit tukingit, dizionario, 字引 , じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , 사 , dizionari, recnik, fockleyr, dikshonario, słownik, dicionário, dicţionar, dicziunari, словарь, lolomi fefiloi, foclair, abardair, faclair, briathrachan, pukuntau, leksikon, rečnik, vocabbulariu, diccionario, sí-chazamagâma, ordbok, lexikon, พจนานุกรม, sözlük, ansiklopedik sözlük, словник, довідник, có tính chất sách vở, geirlyfr, geiriadur, for dictionary; definisie, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, الوضوحية في الشيء, حد, تحديد, تعريف, التحديد, الإيضاحية, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, 定義 , 定义, definice, deskriptordefinition, definitie, määritelmä, définition, ορισμός, "'"ר", "'בל", meghatározás, definíció, definizione, 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, 의, geyrid, meenaghey, keeayllaght, baght, definishon, definição, definiţie, determinare, definire, определение, definicija, definición, definition, açıklama, belirleme, belirtme, kesinleştirme, tanım, tarif, seçiklik, tanımlama, чіткість, тлумачення, виразність, визначення, дефініція, ясність, чітка чутність, sự định rõ, sự định nghĩa, lời định nghĩa sự định, diffiniad, darnodiad, for definition; vertaling, transferim, transmetim, ترجمة من لغة أجنبية للغة الأم, ترجمة, إفتتان, транслация, огъване, превод, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, превеждане, 翻译, překlad, oversættelse, translatie, taajuusmuutos, translaatio, traduction, oersetting, Übersetzung, μετάφραση, תור'מ ות, תר'ום, "עתק", "עתק, fordítás, traduzione, 翻訳 , へい"ういどう, やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, トランスレーション , やくじゅつ, ほ"やくしょ, 번역, tradukshon, tradução, translaţie, tãlmãcire, traducere, сдвиг, трансляция, перемещение, перевод, tumačenje, traducción, översättning, tercüme, процес перекладу, переклад, пояснення, переміщення, sự dịch, sự biến th nh sự giải thích, trosiad, for translation; Deens, danisht, danishte, لغة الدانمركية, نوع كعك, دانماركي, датски език, датски, Daniko, 丹麦语, dánský, dánština, danskur, danskt, tanskalainen, danois, Deensk, dänisch, δανικόσ, δανόσ, עו'ת שמרים, " י, dán, danska, Danmhairgis, danese, 덴마크, Danvargish, Danvargagh, danes, dinamarquês, danez, датский, danski, danski jezik, danés, dansk, danimarkalı, danimarka dili, датський, датська мова, tiếng Đan-mạch, for Danish; Nederlands, Hollands, holandez, هولندي, اللغة الهولندية, холандски, немски език, холандски език, холандците, немски, Olandes, 菏蘭語 , 荷兰语, holandský, nizozemský, hollandsk, hollendskt, hollantilainen, néerlandais, Nederlânsk, holländisch, ολλανδικόσ, ολλανδόσ, holandisht, "ול "י, holland, hollenskur, Ollainnis, olandese, 네덜란", Belanda, Ollanish, Germaanish, Tatimana, nederlandsk, ulandes, hulandes, holandês, neerlandés, olandez, nemţesc, limba olandezã, german, голландский, holanđanin, u škripcu, holandski, holandés, bakratongo, holländsk, ชาวเนเธอร์แลน"์, เกี่ยวกับเนเธอร์แลน"์, รรยา, alman, eş, flemenkçe, holandaca, hollanda, karı, hollandalı, hollandalılara özgü olan, Hollandali, hollanda'ya ait, голландська мова, голландський, ngôn ngữ khó hiểu, "b xã", for Dutch; Fins, finlandez, finlandishte, finlandisht, اللغة الفنلندية, فنلندية, فنلندي, фински език, фински, Pinlandino, 芬蘭語 , 芬兰语, finský, finskt, suomi, suomalainen, finnois, Finlandaise, finlandais, finnisch, φινλανδικόσ, פי י, finn, finnskur, finnska, finlandese, 핀란", Fynlannish, Fynlannagh, finlandês, finês, finlandezã, финский, Finisi, finski jezik, finski, finlandés, finés, finsk, fince, finlandiya'ya özgü, фінська мова, фінський, tiếng Phần-lan, for Finnish; Franse taal, Frans, franceze, francez, frëngjisht, frëng, frëngjishte, فرنسي, اللغة الفرنسية, الشعب الفرنسي, gall, френски език, френски, Pranses, 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, francouzština, francouzský, franskur, franskt, ranskalainen, français, Frânsk, französisch, γάλλοσ, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, צרפתי, צרפתית, francia, Fraincis, francese, フレコン化 , フランス" , 仏文 , 仏 , ふつぶ", フレンチ , フランセ , ふつ, "랑스, Perancis, Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank, frances, franses, francês, francezii, francezã, franţuzesc, franţuzeşte, французский, Falani, francuski jezik, francuski, francuzi, francés, sí-Fulentji, fransk, franska, fransızca, Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransız, fransa ile ilgili, французька мова, французький, Ffrengig, isiFulentshi, for French; Duits, Duitser, Duitse taal, Germaan, gjerman, ضرب من الرقص, جرماني, المانية, الماني, اللغة الألمانية, роден, германски, немски език, немски, немец, готически, германец, 德語 , 德语, 德文 , 德國 , nìmecký, nìmec, tysker, Duitse, týskur, týskt, týskari, saksalainen, Allemand, Dútsk, Deutsche, Deutsch, "ερμανός, gjermanisht, 'רמ י, 'רמ ית, német, þjóðverji, þýskur, GearmÚnach, GearmÚinis, tedesco, ジプシー音楽 , ジャーマン , 독일, todesch, Germaanagh, Garmane, Germaanish, Carmane, aleman, Niemiec, niemiecki, alemão, alemand, neamţ, немецкий, Siamani, germanski, alemán, Tudesku, Doysri, mjeremani, mdachi, sí-Jalimáne, tysk, เยอรมัน, าษาเยอรมัน, Alman, німкеня, німецький, німець, $sisters german$ chị em ruột, $cousin german$ anh chị em con chú bác ruột, sister, Almaenwr, isiJalimane, iliJalimane, iJalimane, for German; Grieks, Griek, الإغريقي, يوناني, اللغة اليونانية, Griegu, гръцки език, гръцки, грък, Griyego, 希臘語 , 希腊语, řecký, řeètina, řek, græker, grikst, kreikkalainen, grec, Gryk, Gryksk, Gryks, grieche, ελληνικόσ, 'Ελληνας, יו ית, יו י, görög, Grikki, greco, ギリシア語 , ギリシア", 그리스, Greagish, Greagagh, grego, grèc, greacã, греческий, Eleni, grk, grčki jezik, grčki, griego, grek, Yunanli, yunanlı, yunanca, yunan, Rumca, yunanistan'a ait, rum, грек, гречанка, грецька мова, грецький, kẻ cắp b gi gặp nhau, quân bạc bịp tôi không thể hiểu được điều đó thật l kỳ phùng địch thủ, người Hy-lạp tiếng Hy-lạp kẻ bịp bợm, kẻ lừa đảo, Groegwr, for Greek; Hongaars, Hongaar, hungarez, الهنغاري, مجري, هنغاري, المجري, اللغة الهنغارية, Húngaru, унгарски език, унгарски, унгарец, Hungaryan, 匈牙利語 , 匈牙利语, maïarský, maïar, maïarština, ungarer, Hongaarse, ungarskt, unkarilainen, hongrois, Hongaarsk, ungar, Ούγγρος, "ו 'רי, magyar, ungherese, 헝가리, Ungaarish, Ungaaragh, Węgier, ongrés, ungureşte, ungur, limba maghiarã, unguresc, maghiar, limba ungarã, венгр, венгерский, mađarski, mađar, mađarski jezik, húngaro, ungrare, ชาวฮังการี, macarca, macar, угорська мова, угорка, угорський, угорець, người Hung-ga-ri tiếng Hung-ga-ri, for Hungarian; Italianer, Italiaans, Italiaan, شخص إيطالي, اللغة الإيطالية, الإيطالي, إيطالي, Italianu, италиански език, италиански, италианец, Italyano, 意大利 , 意大利語 , 意大利语, italština, italský, ital, italiener, italienskt, italialainen, Italien, Italjaansk, italienisch, Ιταλός, italisht, איטלקי, איטלקית, olasz, Ítali, IodÚilis, italiano, 이탈리아, Iddaalish, Włoch, italianã, italienesc, italieneşte, italian, итальянский язык, итальянский, итальянец, Italia, italijanski, italijanski jezik, italijan, sí-Taliyáne, italienare, italiensk, italienska, เกี่ยวกับอิตาลี, ชาวอิตาลี, าษาอิตาลี, italyanca, italyan, італі"ць, італійська мова, італійський, італійка, for Italian; Portugees, portugez, portugalisht, اللغة البرتغالية, البرتغالية, البرتغالي, португалски език, португалски, португалец, Potuges, 葡萄牙语, 葡萄牙人 , 葡萄牙語 , portugalský, portugiser, portugisiskt, portugalilainen, portugais, Portugeesk, portugiesisch, πορτογάλοσ, ορτογάλος, portugál, Portaingéilis, portoghese, ポルトガル語 , ポルトガル", 포르투갈, Portiugish, Portiugagh, portugues, Portugalczyk, português, portughez, португальский, portugalski jezik, portugalski, portugalac, portugués, Mreno, si-Putúkezi, portugis, portekiz, Portekízlí, portekizli, portekizce, португальська мова, португальський, португалець, người B"-đ o-nha tiếng B"-đ o-nha, for Portuguese; Spaans, Spaanse taal, spanjoll, اللغة الأسبانية, الأسبانية, أسباني, испански език, испански, espanyoles, Espanyol, 西班牙语, 西班牙文 , 西班牙語 , španìlský, španìlština, spanskt, espanjalainen, espagnol, Spaansk, spanisch, ισπανικά, ισπανικόσ, ισπανοί, karaiñe'êmegua, ספר"ית, ספר"י, spanyol, SpÚinnis, spagnolo, スペイン語 , スパイ罪 , スペイン", スパニッシュ , 스페인, Spaainagh, Spaainish, spañó, espanhol, espanhòl, spaniolesc, spanioleşte, spaniol, испанский, Sipaniolo, španski jezik, španski, español, spanska språk, spansk, ispanyollar, ispanyolca, ispanyol, іспанська мова, іспанський, for Spanish; Sweeds, suedez, اللغة السويدية, Suecu, шведски език, шведски, швед, Swedis, 瑞典語 , 瑞典语, švédský, švédština, Zweeds, svenskt, ruotsalainen, suédois, Sweedsk, schwedisch, σουηδικόσ, σουηδικά, svéd, sænskur, Sualainnis, svedese, スウェーデン語 , スウェーデン", 스웨덴, Soolynish, Soolynagh, suèc, шведский, švedski jezik, švedski, sueco, svensk, เกี่ยวกับคน าษาและวั'นธรรมของประเทศสวีเ"น, isveççe, isveç dili, isveç, Ísveçlí, шведська мова, шведський, người Thuỵ điển tiếng Thuỵ điển, for Swedish; Turks, turk, تركي أحد أبناء تركيا, اللغة التركية, Turcu, турски, турски език, Turko, 土耳其, 土耳其語 , tureètina, turecký, turkist, turkkilainen, turque, turc, Turksk, türkisch, τούρκικοσ, טורקי, török, Yn Turkish, Turkagh, turcesc, турецкий, turski jezik, turski, turco, turkisk, türk, türkçe, турецька мова, турецький, tiếng Thổ nhĩ kỳ, for Turkish; |
