None of that takes anything away from my original point that participating more can make things less bad. I never even said that violent action was distinct from participation, just that it’s not the easiest form of participation to convince people to do, and that attempting a revolution (which is a huge step up from bombing a few factories and assassinating a few CEOs) won’t go well if it’s not got broad popular support or police and military backing. I’ve had enough arguments with tankies who insisted that it was easy to overthrow a capitalist state with twelve guys who believed hard enough in communism to magically generate an army, and there was no point in any other form of participation, that the thread looked to me like it might be about to summon the never vote, just wait for a revolutionary communist army to form people.
and that attempting a revolution (which is a huge step up from bombing a few factories and assassinating a few CEOs) won’t go well if it’s not got broad popular support or police and military backing.
I don’t know a single anarchist that has ever advocated for an organized revolution, i’m not sure why you’re harping on that. Violent disruption of capitalist systems is the violence I’m talking about, and it requires far fewer people to pose that very real threat to liberal democracy than it does for “complete participation” in the democratic process (wtf does this even mean if not voting? if democracy fails if even a single person doesn’t ‘participate’ then democracy itself is a failed concept). When the democratic system fails to produce representation for working-class interests, it is the only form of participation left.
The liberals here who keep saying shit like “well if everyone voted we wouldn’t be in this situation” have completely missed the point. If the opposition party had offered any real representation of working class interests to begin with then you wouldn’t have had to be here in the replies defending them at all.
It’s fine, though. As always, civil activists will drag the democratic party kicking and screaming toward progress, regardless of the constant whinging from liberals.
None of that takes anything away from my original point that participating more can make things less bad. I never even said that violent action was distinct from participation, just that it’s not the easiest form of participation to convince people to do, and that attempting a revolution (which is a huge step up from bombing a few factories and assassinating a few CEOs) won’t go well if it’s not got broad popular support or police and military backing. I’ve had enough arguments with tankies who insisted that it was easy to overthrow a capitalist state with twelve guys who believed hard enough in communism to magically generate an army, and there was no point in any other form of participation, that the thread looked to me like it might be about to summon the never vote, just wait for a revolutionary communist army to form people.
I don’t know a single anarchist that has ever advocated for an organized revolution, i’m not sure why you’re harping on that. Violent disruption of capitalist systems is the violence I’m talking about, and it requires far fewer people to pose that very real threat to liberal democracy than it does for “complete participation” in the democratic process (wtf does this even mean if not voting? if democracy fails if even a single person doesn’t ‘participate’ then democracy itself is a failed concept). When the democratic system fails to produce representation for working-class interests, it is the only form of participation left.
The liberals here who keep saying shit like “well if everyone voted we wouldn’t be in this situation” have completely missed the point. If the opposition party had offered any real representation of working class interests to begin with then you wouldn’t have had to be here in the replies defending them at all.
It’s fine, though. As always, civil activists will drag the democratic party kicking and screaming toward progress, regardless of the constant whinging from liberals.