voting

This Is America #190: Block Cop City Tour and Mobilization

would you sign this petition?

From It's Going Down

On this episode, we speak with Sam about the recent Block Cop City speaking tour across the US and the upcoming mass actions in Atlanta against the Cop City project from November 10th – 13th.

We also speak with hosts of the Final Straw podcast about the recent Asheville Anarchist Bookfair about organizing anarchist and autonomous events in the current terrain with COVID-19 still a looming threat, how to make gatherings accessible and engaging to as many people as possible, and much more.

Why Do Anarchists Burn Ballot Boxes?

Ballot box on fire

by ziq

Anarchists have been burning ballot boxes for generations because anarchists have a keen understanding of the way the act of voting, and the system of democracy more broadly is used to destroy our agency and rapidly shrink the range of acceptable discourse that is tolerated by the government in the public sphere.

Anarchists and Parliamentarianism

Anarchists and Parliamentarianism

From Red & Black Notes, by Matt Crossin | Published August 13, 2022

Elections and Social Change

There are some who now consider themselves anarchists who tell us, ‘Yes, anarchy is our goal, but we are nowhere near achieving it and have to think about winning desperately needed reforms. That means campaigning for politicians, even running for office ourselves, so that laws can be passed in the interest of the working class.’

Vote — or Don’t: On Abstention

Vote — or Don’t: On Abstention

From Black Rose Anarchist Federation

It’s no secret that anarchists detest elections, but most who embrace revolutionary socialism (of which anarchism is a branch) tend to possess a simplistic understanding of how to position themselves in relation to the spectacle of these events. This article argues that the anarchist focus on abstention as a responsive strategy to electoralism is not only inadequate for the moment, but operates on the same moralizing logic used by our foes for the reproduction of bourgeois democracy.

by Cameron A.

The Triumph of Democracy and its False Critics

from Contra Info, translated by Anarchist News

Chile: The Triumph of Democracy and its False Critics

While thousands of Chileans celebrate the electoral triumph to change the Constitution, we continue to wage war against all forms of power. Today the Chilean State, the political parties and the official press celebrate along with the citizens the nauseating triumph of democracy, of the institutional channels and of civic and republican culture, as if it were the triumph of a world soccer championship.

TOTW: Electoral politics

kobe!

Topic of the Week: It’s that time of year again, on repeat every four years; where in a little more than a month, the spectacle of the USA presidential election will take place live over the virtual stream of 2020. This week we’re taking a look at elections, politics, and their impact on anarchist ideas.

Appalachian Anarchism

"Banjo" playing his banjo rifle, from the film "Sabata" (1969).

via Center for a Stateless Society

Appalachian Anarchism: What the Voting Record Conceals

Individualism, community, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and faith are the values of the people of Appalachia. It is in these values that we find an anarchism that has existed in the cities and rural communities for decades. However, most Appalachians don’t refer to their culture as such, but it carries many of the same attitudes and beliefs as anarchism. .This fact is further obscured by the pressure to view political beliefs through an electoral lens.

Why We Don't Vote

via Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement

The right to vote is seen as a necessary prerequisite for freedom across the world. People have fought and died for the right to vote in elections. Women across the world fought bitter battles for the right to vote. So why are the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) questioning this as a right worth having?

A Workers’ Party and Elections or Class Struggle?

From zabalaza.net

The Question of State Power and the Anarchists’ Answer

The question of state government elections and running a Workers or Socialist political party continues to be raised in the working class movement and the Left globally. As we may know, there was excitement about the rise of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party in Britain, left political parties in certain parts of Europe and Latin America and, more recently, certain shifts to more centrist positions in the United States amongst a section of the Democratic Party calling themselves “Democratic Socialists”. In South Africa, many workers and some activists seem cautiously optimistic by NUMSA’s[1] formation of the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party that will seek to participate in the 2019 general elections.

Do Anarchists Vote in State Elections?

It obviously depends on the individual anarchist whether or not they choose to participate in the political process, but I'm writing this piece to point out that the act of voting in state elections stands in direct contradiction with anarchy. If an anarchist chooses to vote, that action has nothing to do with furthering anarchy or anarchist principles. No anarchist worth their salt would pressure other anarchists into voting for their favorite politician.

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