The "Occupy Central" campaign is yet to show signs of ending. But the movement has changed. It had highly idealistic objectives at the outset. Although many disagreed with occupying parts of Hong Kong, some sympathized with the students. But attitudes have changed. No matter how grand and idealized its original aims, the campaign appears at risk of losing control. If no way is found to resolve the impasse, there is a growing risk radical elements will take control. Ultimately, Hong Kong society will suffer.

In history, many movements start with noble aims, but end in tragedy.

In Hong Kong, in regard to "Occupy Central" it is simple to blame the government for society's problems. With so many involved in the protests clearly many citizens are genuinely concerned about Hong Kong's direction.

However, it is important to remember that no government can please every citizen. There will always be opposing voices in society. When people take to the streets to express their concerns, this is often simply a desire to improve things. But, when a political or social movement becomes drawn out, different groups emerge and diverse views are expressed. These are natural developments because often such movements are badly planned at the beginning. So, subsequent developments are hard to predict. The key point is that there should not be differences over goals. If there are, the social movement will change for the worse.

This is illustrated in a story I heard; in a hypothetical world, super heroes were fighting monsters to maintain peace in the universe. At one point in the story, the super heroes were divided into two groups: One group favoured lethal means to kill all the monsters, although this would mean some innocent lives could be lost.

The other group of super heroes preferred a more measured approach. They opposed the idea of sacrificing innocent lives. The more extreme group took control. In order to win over the other group, the extreme group were prepared to betray them and cooperate with the monsters. The story naturally ends in tragedy with bloodshed, and no one wins.

The important lesson from this tale is that no matter how noble the original ideas behind a movement may be, without proper control, extremists will pursue their aims at the expense of others. They may even resort to extreme acts to get what they want - they are prepared to pursue their agenda at all costs.

Clearly this is the case with the "Occupy" movement. Protesters started out with idealistic intentions in seeking greater democracy for Hong Kong. But now the movement has changed. There is a growing risk that it will spin out of control. I hope the radical groups will not succeed in sacrificing the well-being of society for their own selfish aims.

The author is dean of the School of Business at Hang Seng Management College.

(HK Edition 10/30/2014 page10)