Summary: So many posts on the FM website have discussed our problems in depressing detail. Today let’s discuss solutions. How can we reform American’s politics? This post summarizes my dozens of posts on the subject. See tomorrow’s post “Organizing for successful political reform.” {1st of 2 posts today}
“Everything is very simple in politics, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction, which no man can imagine exactly who has not seen politics.”
— Chapter VII of On War by Clausewitz, slightly paraphrased.
Contents
- Our problem
- The path to a better America
- Where we are today
- The road ahead
- Building an organization
- When do we get to do protests?
- For More Information
(1) Our problem
Strictly speaking, there is no problem with America’s political regime. The American people have the right to choose how they are governed. If we choose to be passive, allowing power to pass into the hands of the 1%, that’s our inalienable right.
So our challenge is to reawaken our fellow citizens. We want rights and liberty, but lack a willingness to work for it — and to carry the burdens of self-government that accompany rights and liberty. For more about this, see How can we arouse a passion to reform America in the hearts of our neighbors? and Can we reignite the spirit of America?
(2) The path to a better America
My series about America has sparked many comments, mostly elaborate reasons why surrender and apathy are our best options (see some examples). My opinion about ways to reform America is simple. The formula is deliberately non-partisan. Left or Right, I believe more citizen activism will put us back on our true path.
- We are in this together. America is a ship; we are its crew (not passengers).
- Individually we are weak. Collectively we are strong.
- Our reluctance to take personal responsibility for the Republic is our greatest problem.
- What are the odds of success at fixing America? It does not matter; nobody cares about the odds. Our forefathers didn’t. Our descendants won’t listen to our excuses.
(3) Where we are today (the bad news)
“Choice. The problem is choice.”
— Neo, The Matrix Reloaded.
America cannot reform today. In fact we’re losing, and have been for decades. The 1% has planned, mobilized resources, and built organizations to reshape America. Now they earn the just results of their investments and effort. After decades of slow progress, the 1% power has entered the steep part of the “S”-shaped growth curve. See these posts describing the bad news…
- Realism about the prospects for reform in America.
- The bad news about reforming America: time is our enemy.
- Why the 1% is winning, and we are not.
- We are alone in the defense of the Republic.
(4) The road ahead
We are weak and losing. That is not cause for despair (go here to learn why), but recognition that we have yet to take the first step on the long road to a new politics for America.
A long road lies ahead of those who choose to participate in this project. It will take years or decades of work to convince our fellow Americans to again accept the burden and responsibility of self-government. Perhaps years more after that to regain control of America.
What will success look like, since it will probably create a polity different than ours? For example, will it take the form of a revitalized Second Republic (that built upon the Constitution), or has that regime exhausted itself — so that we must build the Third Republic?
(5) Building an organization
“Perhaps you should forget logic and devote yourself to motivations of passion or gain. Those are reasons for mass political action.”
— Advice of Shras (Andorian Ambassador to the Federation) to Spock in “Journey to Babel”, slightly paraphrased.
No matter what the result, the process advances by organizations built upon recognition of the problem and dedicated to a solution. That requires overcoming the atomization of society — reducing us to powerless individuals. Not only have the organizations that produced collective action collapsed (e.g., unions and mass political parties), but both Left and Right have become actively hostile to organizing anything tighter than a street party.
The first step must be to build organizations. Protests and attempts to institute reforms are useful as a means to organize, but otherwise waste time and resources (we’re too weak, too atomized to accomplish much today). That means finding common grounds to form alliances rather than seeking a remnant of doctrinal purity. Seeking political reform rather than utopia.
The resulting coalitions need not agree except in broad details. When seeking independence the Founders did not agree on the form of the new government, nor did abolitionists have one vision for the fate of slaves after abolition. For more about our situation see these posts…
Building an organization requires recruiting, motivating, training, and retaining a cadre of people — then they mobilize far larger numbers. It’s among the most complex and difficult of social processes. For more about this see these posts…
- Some basics about political organizing in the 21st century.
- How to recruit people to the cause of reforming America.
- Is grassroots organizing a snare or magic bullet for the reform of America?
- What if Samuel Adams tried to start the Revolution by blogging?
- Samuel Adams started the Revolution because he didn’t have Twitter.
(6) When do we get to do protests?
Left and Right, everybody loves protests! The rush of marching on the streets, waving placards, getting on TV, feeling part of a greater whole that’s doing great deeds. They’re an effective tool of an organization (or coalition), a means to display power and gain support. They’re no substitute for organization. Movements with weak organizational backbones are easily co-opted (e.g., the Tea Party) or crushed (Occupy). For more about protests see these posts…
- How to stage effective protests in the 21st century.
- Occupy & Tea Party are alike, both saving America through cosplay.
- How do protests like the TP and OWS differ from effective political action?
- Why America has militarized its police and crushes protests.
- The protests in NYC repeat those in Ferguson, and probably will end the same – as wins for the 1%.
- Why don’t political protests work? What are the larger lessons from our repeated failures?
- Thoreau reminds us about one of the few tools we have to control the government — About civil disobedience.
(7) Making us individually more powerful
There’s much talk these days about the ability of technology to make us more politically powerful, empowered or even super-empowered. I’m skeptical. But without high tech there are many things we can do as individuals. See these 5 suggestions.
Political movements often ask people to make some change in their thinking or actions. I suggest asking people to see the world more clearly, to break free of tribal truths. Be skeptical and remember our past (aka learning). For more about this see these posts…
- Learning skepticism, an essential skill for citizenship in 21st century America.
- Remembering is the first step to learning. Living in the now is ignorance.
- Swear allegiance to the truth as a step to reforming America.
- The missing but essential key to building a better America — Clear sight about our condition.
(8) For More Information
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts Reforming America, steps to a new politics; this includes posts about arousing anger to drive reform and how to use music.
