Post-Pandemic Activism: A Marxist View of Sri Lanka's 2022 Pro

Abstract

The awareness of systematic inequalities and injustices exposed during the post-pandemic era formulated the background for the resurgence of social movements. This study exemplifies the case study of the Sri Lankan People‟s Protest, which originated due to economic disparities and the government‟s shortcomings in handling a crisis. While understanding the complexities, a question arises as to whether this could be considered a revival of Marxist theories due to the depth of class struggle and inequality. The underlying causes and implications of the political mobilization provide unique context and doubt to its grounds. The main objective of this study would be to understand the social and political factors that contributed to the Sri Lankan People‟s Protest within the framework of Marxist theory. Additionally, this study looks forward to assessing the protest implications for Sri Lanka's landscape and providing insights into the broader global phenomenon of post-pandemic movements. The study would be based on qualitative data gathered through interviews, media reports, and surveys and would be analyzed using content analysis methods. The findings of this study showcased the underlying social and economic factors that contributed to the political grievance and showed that the class struggle and inequality in society vastly shaped it. The rise of class struggles, and societal inequality could be understood as an intersection of contemporary Marxist activism. Comparative insights of the post-pandemic mobilization also indicate global trends in post-pandemic political movements. However, conducting an in-depth analysis of a complex social movement within a limited timeframe, the hardship of transferring context-specific data to other countries, and balancing qualitative and quantitative aspects of the research impose limitations on the research. Yet, this research opens the gates to viewing the protest from a unique perspective and aids policymaking and public awareness.