A society without any social movement would be stagnant and oppressive, lacking the changes that shape modern life. Social movements arise because individuals and social groups seek to change their conditions, and in doing so, they change both themselves and society. Without such movements, no transformation would occur in power relations or social structures.

In such a society, the rights we take for granted would simply not exist. We often assume that rights just happened to exist, but they were made possible by struggles of the past. Without social movements, there would have been no 19th century social reform movements, no struggles against caste and gender discrimination, and no nationalist movement that brought India independence from colonial rule in 1947. Globally, the absence of social movements would mean no socialist movements, no civil rights movement in the United States that fought for equal rights for Blacks, and no anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The nationalist movements across Asia, Africa, and Americas that ended colonial rule would never have occurred.

Furthermore, social movements not only change societies but also inspire other social movements. The Indian national movement shaped the making of the Indian Constitution, which in turn played a major role in bringing about social change. Without movements, such dialectical relationships between individuals and society would be absent.

Thus, a society without social movements would remain frozen in inequality, lacking freedom, rights, and progress.