Hard disagree. The data show clearly that willful lack of engagement with the electoral system has caused a measurable increase harm. Not the only tool that one should be using, nor the most impactful, but it is an important tool because letting the oppressor win unopposed only helps the oppressor.
Even if you think that we shouldn't have a system of voting, that's the system we have now. Whom could withholding your vote for the lesser of two evils possibly help? Oh that's right, the greater of two evils.
Eh, the essay makes good points about why electoralism is not going to bring about a just society but it paves over all the ways that electoralism can make things worse with "we can just do mutual aid".
For a lot of people in a lot of places casting a vote is low effort, and realistically the only intervention they'll ever actually participate in while the barrier to entry is still so high due to the left being so utterly defeated. You can absolutely limit the power of "moderate" conservatives and liberals who tend to be the actual powerbase that successful facist takeovers of governments use. As well as having their own horrible goals.
It's not really an either-or thing and the jackbooted thugs that are going to black bag you aren't going to be like "well the ballot was down 15% (wildly optimistic) this year so uhhh I don't think these orders are legitimate".
We need numbers, practiced organisers, and institutions before accelerationism is at all advisable, if it even ever is. Even if your wildest pipe dreams about revolution broke out tomorrow we would lose right now, we just don't have the numbers, skills and tactics yet.
Ok, you can dogpile me now.
voting is not harm reduction
Eh if I'm not gonna do what the gov tells me I'm not gonna listen to a random internet comment repeating dogma ;)
it's a fact, not dogma
Accelerationism is a religion.
this isn't about accelerationism
Anti-electoralism is mathematically indistinguishable from accelerationism. It may (possibly) have a different motivation but, it results in the same outcome.
stating the fact that voting is not harm reduction is not antielectoralism
Anti-electoralism is mathematically indistinguishable from accelerationism
you're making that up
I find this sentence very funny
I'm an anti-electorialist but I still vote.
National races and US congress votes are like pissing into the ocean, it doesn't do shit. I vote in local elections to keep assholes from running my city. Do I think it changes anything? Probably not, but I just sort of vote in local elections for my disenfranchised comrades who can't
It's like, yeah, I'm against this shit too, but I don't consent to my trans life being sacrificed for some lofty ideal or some intangible goal of revolution. You can't vote away capitalism and all of its injustices, but if all leftists refused to vote, the remaining voters would vote away my right to stay alive. Fuck that.
Boy this made people real mad.
I vote because it's the easiest way to be a smug asshole in RL conversation to the people who never listen to me.
This always happens. Turbolibs will always feel entitled to not just come into anarchist comms and downvote anti-electoralism posts, but even argue passionately about it without end.
That's probably the most lib thing I've ever heard. Imagine defending the system that holds you down. Ew.
For me it's their entitlement that gets me. It's not enough that all of the goddamn internet is libby AF, they have to come into the few tiny anarchist comms and whine that we're not liberal enough as well. "Oh but you were in my /all so you see..." SHUT THE FUCK UP! Goddamn!
Isn't it entirely telling that the people who are so into virtue signalling respecting people's spaces, letting people have their own culture and their own identity and their own whatever, love to come in here and punch down on anarchists?
If I had the room for it I'd add turbolib to my bio. Lemmy update for longer bio when?
The whole vote/novote thing seems turbocharged in the USA. Over the drink here some uni students write a few essays but mostly nobody cares.
Voting sucks but it’s survival
So...what to do then? Assume that "tactical voting" exists and vote (by vote I mean real vote and null vote) or just say "screw this" and move on?
In other way: can voting be a tool that can help people?
Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.
Post humorous takes on capitalism and the states which prop it up. Memes, shitposting, screenshots of humorous good takes, discussions making fun of some reactionary online, it all works.
This community is anarchist-flavored. Reactionary takes won't be tolerated.
Don't take yourselves too seriously. Serious posts go to !anarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Rules
If you post images with text, endeavour to provide the alt-text
If the image is a crosspost from an OP, Provide the source.
Absolutely no right-wing jokes. This includes "Anarcho"-Capitalist concepts.
Absolutely no redfash jokes. This includes anything that props up the capitalist ruling classes pretending to be communists.
No bigotry whatsoever. See instance rules.
This is an anarchist comm. You don't have to be an anarchist to post, but you should at least understand what anarchism actually is. We're not here to educate you.
No shaming people for being anti-electoralism. This should be obvious from the above point but apparently we need to make it obvious to the turbolibs who can't control themselves. You have the rest of lemmy to moralize.
Join the matrix room for some real-time discussion.
