Limits of Compatibility

Definition:

The limits of compatibility describe the range of tolerable discrepancies within an organization that results in no change in its structure.

Example:

The marriage inequality protest (support for gay marriage) is an example of a movement that does not function within the limits of compatibility; the result is a change that redefines the jurisdiction of the state government. Traditionally, the state government could decide on the legality of same-sex marriage in its own state, however, after the nation-wide legalization of gay marriage, individual states no longer can make that decision.

From the Text:

The definition of limits of compatibility according to Melucci is “the range of variations a system can tolerate without modifying its structure” (334).

In suggesting ways to analyze protests, he states that some “collective phenomena” transgress limits of compatibility; this transgression involves a radical change characterized by the  “redefinition of the [existing] boundaries of the organization itself” (334). He distinguishes this from “forms of adaptation of order”, where changes are still within the limits of “compatibility (334).

Works Cited:

Melucci, Alberto. “Getting Involved: Identity and Mobilization in Social Movements.” International  Social Movement Research, vol. 1,1988, p. 334.