A note on the schisms between policy and action
General - Events, notes ·For anyone who has for any number of years been occupied in the field of justice, the thought arises more often than not - am I liable for upholding the principles that I believe in?
This might sound like a terrifyingly simple concept - but consider that it comes up so often in nearly every field now - raising a fundamental question about how much we are capable of introspecting not just organising around policy change.
I call this concept the “Plastic Straw Dilemma”, borrowing from the field of sustainability, where such conflicts have had their arguably most popular debates around questions of consumption.
The concept of consumption (and arguably, overconsumption), is one of the most crucial ones to this debate that surrounds our existence in capitalistic society. However, it is a question also of the readily ascertainable consequences of your consumption.
The Plastic Straw Dilemma
The plastic straw dilemma in motion
For starters, I think political change is an externality that never maps out perfectly to economist arguments on effective change. The kind of people who argue that what can be brought about by say all of us effectively using paper straws instead of plastic straws are the ones I speak of. For a demonstration of this, see the last para in this post by Randall Munroe.
Also, I don’t think we can work without material analysis of this aspect - consumption drives economies which is industrialised to the extent of producers heading where the “market” is. While this may not be easily ascertainable, it happens very often that companies go bankrupt or have to “pivot” to serve a new market.
Further, it makes sense to think of the concept of consumption as capable of being organised, not just production. An example is the BDS movement, where people from all across have successfully banded together to form an alternate model of consumption. This has led the producer who itself is hungry for profits, to accelerate towards its own decline in markets such as India, where the items on the blocklist for the BDS movement are rapidly dwindling in sales.
It's never about what you think, it's about what you do
Hence, it would appear that consumption is a daily activity that needs self-regulation - one that has immense political-economic impacts. As a communist, one shouldn’t discount the impacts consumption have on your comrades.
Yes, the impact takes time to accumulate.
Yes, there are no clear alternatives.
Yes, we must organise better.
But organising better includes resisting the urge to harm those affected by your consumption choices
Applying the principle that politics exists on a spectrum, this may very well be your chance to assert where you lie, or as I’d like to think of it - influence others in a language we all speak fluently.
The question we ask ourselves every time we are offered a chance at windfall gains is, “How will we spend that money?”
Can there be safeguards against this taking precedence over "real political action"?
Yes, if you know that this is a part of the organisational tactic of your movement. All you need to do is choose a better journalistic outlet for instance, and you have ensured you don’t get imperialist propaganda shoved down your throat every second. If you learn how to use Linux and it’s suite of apps, you’ve potentially empowered yourself with digital freedom unlike any other software would let you. Change your decision to buy a plastic straw? That’s where you’re beginning a conversation with someone about the environment.
However, if making consumption more organised is your only motive, you are mistaking your drop for the entire ocean.
It takes time for that inkblot to grow, and it is your duty to work towards realisation of that kind of means to an end.
A word about spirituality
Engaging in introspection can give you a way to go beyond theorisation, and this is something I learnt through Islam’s concept of the “Nafs” which we must strive against. I’m sure other religions have more or less spoken about this, but the simplicity of the message that your ego drives consumption and taming that is part of the exercise of attaining spiritual maturity makes a lot more sense, both systemically and individually.