The Cloward-Piven Strategy

The Cloward-Piven Strategy is a political concept developed in the 1960s that suggests intentionally overloading social welfare systems to create a crisis. The idea is that by encouraging widespread enrollment in aid programs, the government would become overwhelmed, prompting reform or restructuring of the social safety net. Proponents believed this could lead to economic and social progress, while critics saw it as potentially disruptive. It aims to highlight systemic issues and foster change through strategic action, rather than through traditional political processes alone.