9. Unite "Comfortable Anti-Authoritarians" and "Afflicted Anti-Authoritarians
This "comfortable-afflicted" continuum is based on the magnitude of pain that one has simply getting through the day. The term comfortable anti-authoritarian is not a pejorative one, but refers to those anti-authoritarians lucky enough to have decent paying and maybe even meaningful jobs, or platforms through which their voices are heard or social supports in their lives. Many of these comfortable anti-authoritarians may know that there are millions of Americans working mindless jobs in order to hold on to their health insurance, or hustling two low-wage jobs to pay college loans, rent and a car payment, or who may be unable to find even a poorly paying, mindless job and are instead helplessly watching eviction or foreclosure and bankruptcy close in on them. However, unless these comfortable anti-authoritarians have once been part of that afflicted class - and remember what it feels like - they may not be able to fully respect the afflicted's emotional state. The afflicted need to recognize that human beings often become passive because they are overwhelmed by pain (not because they are ignorant, stupid, or lazy), and in order to function at all, they often shut down or distract themselves from this pain. Some comfortable anti-authoritarians assume that people's inactions are caused by ignorance. This not only sounds and smells like elitism, it creates resentment for many in the afflicted class who lack the energy to be engaged in any activism. Respect, resources and anything that concretely reduces their level of pain is likely to be far more energizing than a scolding lecture. That's the lesson of many democratic movements, including the Great Populist Revolt.
10. Do Not Let Debate Divide Anti-Authoritarians
Spirited debate is what democracy is all about, but when debate turns to mutual antipathy and divides anti-authoritarians, it plays into the hands of the elite. One such divide among anti-elitists is over the magnitude of change that should be worked for and celebrated. On one extreme are people who think that anything is better than nothing at all. At the other extreme are people who reject any incremental change and hold out for total transformation. We can better unite by asking these questions: Does the change increase individual self-respect and collective self-confidence, and increase one's energy level to pursue even greater democracy? Or does it feel like a sellout that decreases individual self-respect and collective self-confidence, and de-energizes us? Utilizing the criteria of increased self-respect and collective self-confidence, those of us who believe in genuine democracy can more constructively debate whether the change is going to increase strength to gain democracy or is going to take the steam out of a democratic movement. Respecting both sides of this debate makes for greater solidarity and better decisions.
To summarize, democracy will not be won without guts and solidarity. Risk-free green actions - such as shopping from independents, buying local, recycling, composting, consuming less, not watching television and so on - can certainly help counter a dehumanizing world. However, revolutions that truly transform fundamental power inequities and enable us to feel like men and women rather than children and slaves require risk, guts and solidarity.
Bruce E. Levine is a clinical psychologist. His Web site is www.brucelevine.net. This article originally appeared on AlterNet.org.
Why don't you fight the system from within?
For a couple $1000 anybody can open a Schwab account and buy stock in almost any corp which gives you a voice and a vote. A large group can pool their resources for more stock and influence.
The two essays on progressive populism certainly make me think: that with such thinking we are so screwed. Such cerebral BS reveals a stunning disconnect with the American working men and women. The language belongs to the “intellectual elite,” otherwise known as troublemakers unwilling and unable to do the hard work that defines the lives of most Americans. Most notable in what was written is what was not.
Religion, faith, hope, belief, honor, duty, responsibility; all ignored as either unimportant, or perhaps, part of the problem. I can not imagine a unified mass movement that ignores, or is repulsed, by the values that unite, define, and support the individuals and families that populate this troubled nation.
The antiauthoritarian argument is fatally flawed as a rallying cry for a majority of Americans. Working people do not have the luxury of the self-indulgence required to create their own faith or religion. They embrace, or are engulfed, by the existing churches or religions that require adherence to authority -- moral, spiritual, or religious authority. The workingman is also the body and soul of our military, brothers and sisters -- aunts and uncles, wear our uniforms and fill our cemeteries. Authority; whether hated or mastered, is recognized as essential, be it in the family, community, or nation.
The belief in authority is one of the guiding moral principles of perhaps half of the people on this planet. We are better served by attacking the hypocrisy, corruption, and other obvious abuses of authority rather than the principle itself.