the electoral system¶

"There is no way to end genocide using the electoral system."

That is a statement we all apparently agree on.

The only difference is whether you think that means the system is irrelevant to achieving our aims, or that we should give up on that silly little "end genocide" thing. It's hilarious to be called idealistic over this, when we're actually being extremely pragmatic. We have a very specific goal in mind -- ending genocide -- and we're trying to find ways to achieve it. As has been made abundantly clear, elections have nothing to do with that goal. The same is true for every other one of our aims, both large and small. On any given issue, from climate change to immigration to housing to policing to queer liberation to healthcare and so on, both parties rush to show us that there is no way to achieve our aims using them. We've been told our whole lives "Well that's only because your aims are unrealistic." And maybe that has worked for some people, on some issues. But when you start telling people "Ending genocide is unrealistic," something starts to click. We have reached a turning point. Yes, there are still plenty of people for whom even this -- even GENOCIDE -- is another thing they should just settle for. But for a growing number of people, this is the Rubicon. No turning back, no returning to the fold. You can't undo "elections can't end genocide." That notion is now permanently lodged in the brains of everyone who cares about genocide. An indestructible seed of doubt. Even among many who will still drag themselves to the polls, continuing to reflexively go through the motions, the ritual has lost its meaning. It'll still take work to disentangle the Gordian knot of liberalism from their minds. It'll take intensive education to convince them that bourgeois hegemony is not just fundamentally opposed to our aims and values, but is actually possible to defeat. But the crack is there. Now is the time to finally begin the war of position. A critical mass of people is now willing to be educated. We are beyond petty economism, and can now pry open that cracked facade to reveal the truth of imperialism, and the necessity of revolution.