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We live in the age of democracy.

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A form of government in which
people elect representatives

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to hold positions in the state,

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and create the laws that are
enforced upon the population.

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Since the end of
the eighteenth century,

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uprisings have erupted across the world,
overthrowing kings and emperors,

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establishing governments in which
anyone can run for office

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and represent their community,
class, belief, or people.

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But our society is still as unequal

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as the dictatorships and
empires that preceded it.

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Decolonization, the end of formal slavery,
and the inclusion of women

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in work and politics were not
enough to end class inequality,

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racism, or patriarchy.

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What we saw was just people
of our own race or gender

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practicing the same policies
that exclude most of us,

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keeping the abyss between
rich and poor people intact.

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So what is missing for society
to be truly free and equal?

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Even after the victory of socialist
revolutions around the world

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and the end of the civil-military
dictatorships in Latin America,

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the new governments
kept the very institutions

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created by empires to dominate
and oppress the people:

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armies, police, prisons,

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borders, judicial systems,

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and the division between
rulers and subjects,

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workers and management.

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These institutions were
created to protect

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the ruling class,
the nobility back then.

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Today they protect financial elites
or the party leadership.

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Almost every movement,
electoral or revolutionary,

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that has tried to take
control of the state

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has ended up reproducing the same dynamics
of domination and oppression.

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How can we expect equality
if society is always divided

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between those in charge
and those who obey?

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How can we expect those
who control institutions

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like police and prisons to work
for justice and the common good?

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Is voting for representatives
the only or the best tool

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to have our voices heard and
our needs met in society?

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If elections do not truly represent,
or give a voice to most people,

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what has gone wrong?

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What could be better than voting?

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Absolutist regimes are
naturally unstable.

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The tyrant who rules only according
to his wishes and whims

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easily arouses the revolt
of the oppressed classes

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and internal disputes among
members of the elite.

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When the people overthrew
the monarchies,

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new elites,
like the bourgeoisie,

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rushed to take control of the
new ways of governing.

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They soon discovered that
voting is a great tool to pacify

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the anger of groups that felt
excluded from political processes:

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"instead of rising
to overthrow a king,

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why not wait another four years
and elect a new president?"

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The power to decide is still
in the hands of a few people,

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but now no one can say that
"people are not heard".

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Voting has become a tool
to legitimize governments,

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while transferring our ability
to act and change reality

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to professional politicians, limiting
popular participation to a single question:

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Who will be in charge?

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All other questions are decided solely
by whoever is elected to do so.

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If we want to run for election,

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we need money, influence,

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alliances with different parties,
and vast resources

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to have any chance of winning.

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In short, elections are a mechanism that
limits the participation of the majority

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while allowing a minority to use
millionaire campaigns to come to power.

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Thus, the same elites and families
take turns in government,

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while others spend decades
as congressmen,

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monopolizing positions
for generations.

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Their activities are solely
focused on governing,

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so it is hard to think they
could represent anyone

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other than their
own class of rulers.

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One of the biggest arguments in
favor of representative democracy

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is the supposed guarantee
that the people will choose

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who will be in charge
for a limited time.

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Through the vote, we can remove from power
those who do not work for the common good.

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Moreover, the division of power

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into Executive, Legislative,
and Judiciary branches,

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each regulating and
watching over each other,

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is held up as a protection against the
emergence of authoritarian regimes.

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Yet, many of the worst
regimes in history

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have taken control of the
state through elections.

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Adolf Hitler, for example,

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was appointed chancellor of Germany by
the Nazi Party through democratic means.

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The vote of a majority of people who
are eligible to vote is not the same

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as the vote of all people,

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nor is it enough to prevent tyrants
or racists from coming to power.

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Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro,
and Rodrigo Duterte

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were all elected, even though they promote
hate speech, racism, and chauvinism.

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And they were not even
really chosen by a majority:

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Trump did not even get a majority
of the votes that were cast;

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and Bolsonaro was elected by the votes
of less than 40% of the electorate.

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Another problem with
representative democracy

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is that it allows for measures
of exclusion and oppression

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that function in much the same way
as the worst dictatorships.

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Just remember the peacemaking
operations in the favelas

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and the indigenous peoples
removed from their lands

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to build dams during
the PT government.

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For those in marginalized groups

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or whose existence and culture are an
obstacle to colonial and capitalist forces,

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democracy can be as violent
as a dictatorship,

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even under a left-wing government.

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Sometimes a candidate comes up
with a speech that sums up

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what everyone has been feeling
and saying for a long time.

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Someone emerges who seems to come
from outside the world of politics

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and who is "really one of us".

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This person convinces us that the system
can be reformed to function properly,

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with justice and equality,
"if the right people are in office".

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So much of the energy that would
be used to fight the system

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and promote direct change is used
to support yet another government

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that will inevitably let us down.

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And in the end, the state structure
will come out with more legitimacy,

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and we will come out
with less practice and

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experience in direct action
and self-organization.

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These "alternative" candidates only receive
the attention and support that they do

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because they are shaped
by popular feelings.

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They often attempt to come to power

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by leaning on the efforts of grassroots and
social movements, co-opting their struggles.

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But their proposals and actions
do not reach the roots of the issues

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and are limited to masking
structural problems.

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They change the discourse, but
remain mere managers of politics

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and the economy,
like all those before them.

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So should we invest our energy
in supporting these politicians,

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or in building mobilizations
that create enough pressure

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to make governments
yield to our most radical

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demands and needs?

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We are often terrified
by the possibility

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of our country being ruled by
the worst possible candidate.

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But the real problem
is the concentration of

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so much power in the
institutions like government.

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Were it not for this, we would not
be so afraid of authoritarian,

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fascist and racist individuals taking
office whenever there is an election.

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As long as there are states
and other institutions

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that concentrate power,
there is always

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a risk that fascists will take control and
threaten our freedom and our lives.

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Rather than despairing
and trying to put

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someone who "represents" us
at the top of these institutions,

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we need to build
forms of distributed,

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decentralized power that make
these institutions obsolete.

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Democracy is a game,
where results can change,

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but the rules will remain the same.

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Like an open world video game,

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which creates the illusion that we have
the freedom to make our own choices,

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when in fact the
only possible choices

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are those created by whoever
programmed the game.

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Of course there are differences between
Lula and Bolsonaro, between Obama and Trump,

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but the changes made
by a democratic government,

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even one with a high degree of
competency and good intentions,

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are very restricted and can easily
be undone by its successor.

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So it's important that we invest
our energy in more efficient ways,

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opposing the power of the
state and all the institutions

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that concentrate the power
that is ripped away from us.

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We need more efficient tools

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to prevent tyrants from
controlling the State.

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We need to ensure that those
who cannot win elections

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have their existence
and needs protected.

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How many more centuries
will it take for us to agree

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that representative democracy
cannot keep its promises?

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But if representative
democracy only serves

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to keep us under the control
of the new modern elites,

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what alternatives exist to
voting and elections?

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How can we apply the
changes we want

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without waiting for governments
and capitalists to decide for us?

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Voting is like a job:

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the only thing worse than living with
one is having to live without one.

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Therefore, the simple opposition between
voting and not voting is insufficient.

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It is necessary to
rephrase the question.

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Some people will say that we
have to boycott the elections.

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Others will say that
those who don't vote,

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cannot complain. These people will accuse
those who didn't vote of having allowed

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fascists like Bolsonaro
to come to power.

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But regardless of whether
or not we vote,

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we need ways to distribute power,

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the ability to make decisions
and apply them in our lives

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without waiting for
orders or permissions.

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History shows us that participating
in electoral politics

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means giving up on building a
collective oppositional force,

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in order  to deliver even more power
and legitimacy to the very political

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institutions that tomorrow may be in the
hands of dictators and authoritarians.

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Whether they assume power through a coup
d'état or by way of democratic elections

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as Bolsonaro, Trump and Hitler did.

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Therefore, instead of just
asking someone to vote or not,

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let's try forms of political action

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that make a concrete and immediate
difference for us and our communities,

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so that we can act directly

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on the issues most important
to our own lives.

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There are several tools and
paths we can follow that,

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rather than taking power away from us
and handing it to politicians,

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directly empower us
and our communities.

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These include direct action,
consensus decision-making,

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the search for autonomy,

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the construction of interdependent
federations and networks,

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transformative methods
of conflict resolution,

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the creation of spaces of
encounter and exchange,

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and other possibilities to
foster decentralization,

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horizontality,

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solidarity, mutual aid,

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and a more equal, just,
and free world.

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Don't wait for permission or
direction from some authority.

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Don't beg for some higher power
to organize your life for you.

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Take the initiative with your community!

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Societies always seek more efficient
ways to organize themselves.

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Popular discontent is a
continuous force for change.

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In fact, Democracy
is one of the best

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and most efficient forms of
government that has ever existed.

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It allows us some measure
of voice in our affairs.

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In theory, anyone can participate in
government and become president,

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even without having
been "chosen by god"

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or needing blood ties to a ruling dynasty
that's been in power for centuries.

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However, over the past 200 years,

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practice has shown us that even democratic
governments, elected by popular vote,

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must align themselves
with the ruling classes

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in order to be able to govern,

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thereby maintaining deep political
and economic inequalities.

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Therefore, our search
cannot end here.

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We need to look at the
history of social revolutions

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and other societies and cultures that have
lived and organized in different ways.

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Ways  that were more horizontal and
actually guaranteed autonomy

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and protection against
inequality and domination.

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Voting for a class of representatives
and expecting them to solve our problems

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is to accept a policy of passivity.

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Organizing within communities,
and broader networks

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towards a goal of mutual
aid and direct action

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-- this is a policy for those who do
not just want to watch and wait,

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but who want to take control
of their own lives,

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and fight for a society based
on justice and equality.

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If all the energy and
resources wasted

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on political campaigns that
don't even win elections

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were used to strengthen
and serve communities,

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we would be in a
much better situation.

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Why not experiment with something
radically different from now on?

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If for many people bourgeois
democracy and capitalism

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seem invincible, and
impossible to get rid of,

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it's worth remembering that empires,

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legalized slavery, and
the divine right of kings

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also seemed invincible

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until the eve of their fall.

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NO MATTER WHO WILL BE ELECTED,

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WE WILL BE UNGOVERNABLE!