As far as I am concerned, I cannot prevent anybody from calling themselves an anarchist. But I do consider an anarchist who at election time goes and votes rather in the same way as I would consider a vegetarian who is caught eating a 500g underdone steak, or a Christian who tells me he hates his neighbour, or a pacifist who refuses to turn the other cheek when they are assaulted.
A convinced anarchist, we would suggest, does not vote, not because of dogma, but because all the evidence over a very long period indicates that no person however intelligent, however well-meaning, is fit to run the lives of millions of people without sooner or later becoming their oppressor.
Some “anarchists” may label my opposition to voting, for instance as ‘quasi-dogmatic’ or a ‘political straightjacket’ which condemns me to ineffectuality. I would certainly not have the presumption of accusing them of not being anarchists. What I would wish to ask them though is in what respect any Green, Labour, TOP or any other government they helped elect would change any of the basic structures of capitalism (which I consider are responsible for the injustices in our society) or the organisation of society. Do these “anarchists” really not realise that governments come and go but the permanent officials and civil servants, the police, and the courts go on ruling as before?
This brings us to the anarchist alternative to voting. The only time governments take notice of the people’s wishes is when the people go on the streets to protest — direct action. If people in their thousands in the UK had not taken to the streets to protest against the poll tax all the Labour opposition in Parliament would have achieved nothing.
Again in 1968 in Paris, the students’ protests resulted in a fundamental reform of education in schools and universities in France. To the social democrats and self-proclaimed anarchists who pin their hopes on good politicians and good governments, I reply that social progress has only been achieved by struggle by minorities who have been prepared to give their time and even their liberty to advance society.
The “anarchists” in favour of voting are basically concerned with the ‘problem’ (for them) of the lesser evil. This is not new at election time. It is not proposed to give a counterpoint here because the arguments can be found here.
Surely though it is evident that in the West, the left — all shades including many self-declared anarchists — is bankrupt, and providing no threat to the ruling class. In spite of the more “progressive” anarchists telling me that I am missing so much by refusing to vote, I still maintain that after taking all the possibilities into account, I conclude that non-voting, combined with clear and relevant propaganda about why I am not voting, is the least of several evils from which to choose from on election day.
The Polar Bl@st 