Reform – to shape again – is a word used to describe many kinds of efforts to improve things. For example, children who break rules may be sent to reform school to become better citizens. A convicted felon might seek to reform his ways by seeking community reintegration. And the government itself can be reformed to make it more efficient, transparent and fair.
A wide variety of movements have employed the strategy of reform to bring societal systems closer to ideals, often challenging entrenched interests and societal norms in the process. For example, the suffrage movement not only sought voting rights for women, but also challenged traditional notions of gender roles and fought for equality in various aspects of society.
Unlike more radical social movements such as revolutionaries, reformers tend to be pragmatic in their approach to changing things for the better. The first step in most reforms is organizing a voluntary association, or a society, to spread the message and organize a base of support. These societies usually gathered members through advertising in newspapers or pamphlets, and they often included religious associations, which provided an opportunity to introduce moral issues into the reform discourse.
Some reform movements were nourished by ideas of perfectionism and millenarianism, in which believers could work toward “perfect holiness” and the eventual arrival of a peaceful and prosperous utopia on earth. This strand of reformism contributed to the development of socialist and communist ideologies that countered capitalist exploitation.
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