Activism in Conservatism

I was thinking about this today, and wanted to see what other people thought.

Taking the example of contemporary Australian society, there's been a growing climate of conservatism - well, for the big red island it's a combination of economic liberalism + social conservatism. Everything is about the free market and raging capitalism - even if the country's wealth goes more and more only to those who need it less and less - but no you (asylum seeker) can't come in, and no you (woman) can't have an abortion, and no you (queer! you should be burned at the stake) can't get married.

Within such a socio-political framework, what are the risks/benefits of a more professional/institutionalised approach to political expression (ie. activism), as opposed to a more militant/confrontational style? (It's true the former is generally associated more with right-wing ideology, and the latter left-wing, but that shouldn't take away from the core of the question at hand.)

I was comparing the aussie labour movement, being the largest and broadest movement in terms of the sections of society it cuts across, against the queer movement, necessarily a lot smaller by virtue of its demographic (even with queer-friendly straights).

(But it's not just about size, either, right.)

What are people's thoughts about this?


Ps. No, I don't normally come up with such random philosophical shit (well...) but I was just thinking back to this course I did last semester, which dealt with a lot of these issues. (My favourite course, ever, I think.)

Technorati: politics, Australia, activism