MeanwhileOnGrad
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Meanwhile On Grad
Documenting hate speech, conspiracy theories, apologia/revisionism, and general tankie behaviour across the fediverse. Memes are welcome!
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As a sidenote, why DO you think we should engage in electoralism? Especially if it's going to be under the same pro-genocide capitalist parties that have done everything in their power to shirk everyone to the left of them.
If you're advocating for a new party that engages in electoralism, then that's a separate matter
Overall yes, but practical steps in the mean time might mean tactically voting in the current tents to minimize harm and further our goals where we can.
Still to more broadly answer the question; because there is power in voting. It is a manifest of power and influence of the movement. Take Uganda right now as a bit of an example. They currently have a dictatorship and are doing some elections. I think its more or less clear that the needed results are already ready, but that is not the point of bringing them up. There are groups that want reforms and voicing their support does bring bodily harm; police and soldiers have already been doing intimidation rounds as expected. If those groups can get their followers to vote it still shows the dictator the limits of their power, but more importantly it shows credibility of those movements.
We in the west don't really face harm by participating in elections, voting or spoiling your ballot. We can say our ideas are actually popular and we are many. That might be true and it is inconsequential if we cannot actually organize. Voting is just one way we do organize and build credible threats when we say we will do something more disruptive like a strike or protest. Winning elections also mean that we are having the mind shift needed for our polices.
I agree with your sentiments that for countries with harsh political conditions such as Uganda, voting is all you can really do, but when it comes to the West we'd expect a lot more. I think electoralism creates a trap where people become comfortable with "least harmful option" and not taking initiative to build something more tangible. That's why I'm often skeptical of electoralism.
I don't see how that can be done (in the particular case of America) under the current democratic party—or any future iterations of it really. If we want something more than capitalism then it is imperative that a different party be formed for organising needs.
I posted about this sometime ago in another thread. Essentially the DNC doesn't have the interests of the working class in mind and suggest that a valuable path forward can be sought through the Green party.
I agree. Perhaps I didn't write it out explicitly before, but I don't mean we stop at electoralism; just that it is part of the means to an end.
And that should be the goal, but not every place is going to have the numbers to sustain a party. I can see maybe Mamdani splitting one off in NYC. I don't see a similar type person doing so in Springfield, MO happening at the same time, but there will still be people there that would support the party.
Besides building our credibility with opposition for concession we will need it also builds credibility with followers. If you can't get people to show up and scribble on a paper why would they show up to a protest or not show up to work where the consequences are real and personal? Electoralism is one way we engage with the broader public.
Like I empathize with the
But I think this view is setting up to fail because it ask for the movement to just come built rather than developed. Elections don't start with voting for your guy they end with that. There is a lot of leg work that happens before hand. In many ways this is like a marathon; you can't just show up and expect to go far.
Not working on this because you won't win is a self fulfilling prophesy as well.
Even if you reeeally dont want to vote for anyone at least spoil your ballot and be counted as a protest vote; because again it shows willingness and credibility for escalation. Tho I should point out that there are very important local and state elections as well.
That's why i said organising should be carried out through the Green party. Were you around when Bernie Sanders got absolutely robbed of the primaries by the DNC? That should've been THE moment everyone left the democratic party in droves. Even Bernie didn't do a good job of handling that situation. If he was serious about change, he would've taken the Green party's ballot rather than kowtowing to capital.
That Bernie moment is a twice in a century occurrence that he squandered. Coming off of the hype of "Occupy Wall street", it was the Golden opportunity for change. You ask many millennial conservatives today and they'll tell you that they supported Bernie but fell out of love with the DNC after they shirked him.
Look how long it took even for many of the current establishment Dems to endorse Mamdani, even though he would have the most tame manifesto anywhere East of the Americas. I'm aware it's going to be a slow and laborious process, but doing that through the democratic establishment is just going to be 2 steps forward and 4 steps back.
I think we should have our own party, doing anything with team blue is just for places we don't have our infra set up yet