Our conception of democracy (9)

We acknowledge that some conflicts might be permanent and may never end, so collective decision-making doesn’t only take the form of consensus. It’s through conflict that there are resolutions and new agreements. In order to generate new outcomes, there must be a commitment to and acceptance of conflict. It doesn’t make sense to embrace conflict […]

The State co-opts what’s working (8)

Capitalism adapts to counter all forms of resistance to it. In that process, the authorship of the people’s social force is erased by the State’s co-optation, so we should anticipate and plan for exactly that scenario. The State co-opts what’s popular and working, setting the boundaries of what’s legal and ensuring their middleman position. The […]

The State’s domination is constant (7)

The instrument of the State is complicated and hard to understand. It’s made of multiple parts, with lots of things going on at one time. This makes it seem like the individual mechanisms are unrelated, but they’re actually working toward the same end: class domination. The State has a grip on people that is sticky […]

Democratic liberalism ignores class (6)

Since liberal theory only sees political inequality, it ignores class and economic exploitation. Not only are there theoretical problems with this perspective, but there have also been actual historical inequalities created under democratic liberalism. So, it failed on its own terms. According to democratic liberalism, political inequality is the most fundamental form of inequality. The […]

The myth of civil society (5)

Liberal democracy uses the concept of “civil society” to refer to a realm where everyone is equal because they all have one vote. But we’ve seen how dominant power structures continue to circulate within and through their civil society. Under this system, the State has total control to moderate conflict to guarantee equality, it defines […]

The forces of capitalism won’t kill the system (4)

In recent history, capitalism has continued to adapt. It isn’t necessarily getting stronger, but it’s still expanding, and there’s no reason to think that it will lead to its own downfall. While there are conjunctures where it could get stronger or weaker, capitalism won’t take itself out. It can and will adapt. This fact poses […]

Circulating in a global system (3)

Being ready, willing, and accepting of reality, as it is, means not prioritizing our own ideas without considering how they could be positively influenced by other ideas. Our ideology isn’t coming from the outside, and it doesn’t ignore strategy in favor of organizational form. This is because, rather than coups, militarism, and reformism, we see […]

The State promises to be neutral and amorphous (2)

The histories we choose to tell are not neutral, and it’s important not to sell them as such. These histories reflect our values, beliefs, desires, and positions. This is also true for the histories told and retold by the State. Even though no theory of reality can claim neutrality, the State presents itself as a […]

Where the power is (1)

Power is manifested through social relations, including relations with institutions like the State, the military, and the capitalist economy. The positioning can change, but not easily. And the same social relations vary in relative power depending on the context. Power develops in the relations to the institutions, not in the institutions themselves. It’s created in […]

No More Obituaries for the Proletariat

An abridged translation of “Más proletariado, menos obituarios” by Agustín Guillamón translated by Coco N. Spirator and Washington Zermeño Introduction A number of critics over the last few decades have brought class politics into question as a strategic, emancipatory horizon. They point to deindustrializing western economies, a fragmenting workforce, the growth of the service sector, […]