Many people choose to get involved in electoral politics with a genuine desire to bring beneficial change. Numerous individuals tend to view politics as something that only exists through parties and candidates. Any reforms made are credited to voting and the decisions of those above. However, this perspective of what constitutes politics is extremely narrow and can often mislead well-intentioned individuals into less constructive forms of organizing. Candidates have and will continue to go back on promises they have made. In some cases, this may be due to the cynical fact that individuals will lie if it means the masses will grant them power. In other situations, this is just a natural reality of the existing political system limiting the ability for change to occur.
In America, often the choice is between Republicans and Democrats. Americans will often tout this system as freedom. However, this two-party system serves the exact same purpose as the usual one-party dictatorship. The Democrats and Republicans are not there to represent the interests of the average individual. Elections are defined by the ones with the most money. Electoral politics is designed not to represent the average individual; it is there to act in the interests of the ones with the most capital. This often shows itself in the form of lobbying such as with defense companies and private prisons. The two parties do have their differences but at the end of the day are there to uphold this very system. They both supported lasting disasters such as the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq. The former transformed into a tool to expand mass surveillance on everyday individuals while the latter resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. Make no mistake, Bush had direct responsibility for this slaughter with his lies about WMDs. However, Barack Obama who was seen as the alternative has his own fair share of responsibility for continuing the disaster in the middle east. Numerous civilians dead from drone strikes and the horrific destabilization of Libya leading to open-air slave markets being such examples. Trump has added to this tradition such as with his massive increase of drone strikes. Biden campaigned solely on being the better alternative to Trump and promises of change but not much has changed since. The wealth gap under all these candidates has only grown wider, the job quality index continues down, and billionaires have only grown richer off of the labor of others in the middle of a pandemic.
Outside of the actions of candidates, we can see that ongoing problems such as food insecurity, housing, and poor education plague America. In fact, empty houses in America far outnumber the homeless. It is not uncommon for water, a resource that should be valued by and available to everyone, to be either contaminated or at risk of contamination. Such is the case with Indigenous lands, the city of Flint, and recently as seen in the state of Hawaii. These are just some of the various problems that individuals have to deal with on a daily basis.
Someone may see all of this and feel the solution is that there are only two parties to address these problems. That once the right candidate is simply voted in that these problems can be solved. That we simply need a “true” party that actually represents the interests of the everyday individual. The problem is the party system itself, not the fact that the correct party is not in power. The time and energy spent canvassing and fundraising isn’t there to bring change but to focus support into someone who more than likely will compromise upon or discard promises made to their supporters once in power. When they do hold consistent they can only accomplish so much in a political system designed first and foremost to uphold the status quo. No third party has posed an actual threat to the two-party system. The two parties in turn are there to represent the most wealthy first and foremost.
One may wonder what is the actual alternative to parties and voting. The alternative is direct action. The overall concept is that action is taken with a goal or objective by a single person or multiple people without regard for a higher authority. The goal of direct action is to place the ability for change in the hands of you as an individual as opposed to simply waiting for the right candidate to come along. Direct action played a crucial and effective role in the civil rights movement. The early labor movement in America also won many victories in part due to forms of direct action such as wildcat strikes and acts of labor militancy such as the Battle of Blair Mountain. Existing organizations such as Food Not Bombs and various others take on food insecurity through direct action as well. Providing services such as community fridges and community gardens. Various squatter movements take an active role in supplying homes to people in need. Instead of simply waiting for the government to permit the homeless to no longer be homeless, efficient initiative is taken. Empty homes are put to use and an organized effort is undertaken to ensure the house is habitable. With education, one can take action by making textbooks free and accessible to all. Providing the means for relief from lunch debt, spare backpacks, and various other school supplies to the less fortunate are just some of the many strategies to be employed in education with direct action. In fact, direct action provides the opportunity to radically rethink the current schooling system overall. More student-friendly forms of schooling that allow for better hours in line with teenage sleep patterns being one such example of possible changes that can be made. In many cases involving the issue of water contamination, people are forced to engage in direct action since the government is often too inefficient at fixing the problem or outright contributing to it. The frequent sabotage of oil pipeline projects is one such form of action taken. Standing Rock itself is also a clear past example of a form of direct action in the interest of protecting water. Direct action played a clear key role too in events such as Occupy Wall Street and the 2020 uprisings. More ambitious projects such as the Really Really Free Markets help provide a window into what an alternative to capitalism and the state may look like. With various free items shared and made available to all in the modern form of a gift economy. There are countless other examples of direct action but the main point is that this is an existing tactic that time after time has shown to exert massive degrees of influence in various issues that the government itself has failed to address. When the government acts to engage in change it is often due to the victories already won from below.
Direct action is a clear alternative to the game of parties and candidates. One doesn’t have to vote for the “lesser evil” or place their faith in someone to represent their specific unique interests. Taking action as an individual is far more rewarding and productive than any electoral effort. The time and energy used on trying to get others to vote for or fund some career candidate can be better spent organizing at a local level to take more specific forms of action. Don’t simply vote away security cameras, racist statues, and militarized police. Organize and take direct action against them. Don’t just wait for a savior to come and give you food. Reach out to like-minded people and push to bring the food directly to you. Set out to engage in anything from dropping banners to providing legal and financial support to existing political prisoners. Once you look beyond parties and candidates, it becomes clear there is a wide variety of opportunities for effective action to be taken to truly satisfy your interests as an individual. No longer are you placing your trust in one war criminal as opposed to another. The party system is nothing but a game to serve those with the most money. The most well-meaning reformers eventually become corrupt or overwhelmed by the existing system. The focus should be placed not on broken promises and political stalemates but on the ground forms of action that you have total freedom and say in.
Further resources on direct action and tactics involved
https://crimethinc.com/2017/03/14/direct-action-guide
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/sub-media-what-is-direct-action