Strategies & Tactics for #SocialChange
Some Lessons from the Movement in the US Against the #Vietnam War
https://world-outlook.com/2026/04/27/strategies-tactics-for-social-change/
from #WorldOutlook
April 27, 2026
In the past year, millions in the US have protested Washington’s attacks on democratic rights, #ICE terror, and imperialist war. Among them are many young people, alongside others who have never before taken to the streets.
These activists are testing strategies and tactics and debating how to push back #Trump’s march toward one-man rule. Many of the questions they face have been posed before, perhaps most notably during the anti- #VietnamWar movement in the #US in the 1960s and early ’70s.
As the #war escalated and opposition broadened, discussion flourished over how to build the movement. Debates often centered on the effectiveness of “#DirectAction,” or #CivilDisobedience, vs. mass marches and rallies, and on the demands promoted in these actions.

Strategies & Tactics for Social Change
In the past year, millions in the United States have protested Washington’s attacks on democratic rights, ICE terror, and imperialist war. Among them are many young people, alongside others who have never before taken to the streets. These activists are testing strategies and tactics and debating how to push back Trump’s march toward one-man rule. Many of the questions they face have been posed before, perhaps most notably during the anti-Vietnam war movement in the United States in the 1960s and early ’70s. As a contribution to the discussion of strategy and tactics in today’s struggles, World-Outlook is publishing the 1971 column "Some Comments on the Mayday Actions" by Fred Halstead, a central leader of the anti-Vietnam war movement in the United States.

























