• @dil
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    05 days ago

    Definitely agree about voters being misinformed. It really worries me that there isn’t a consensus reality with agreement on even what the problems are, let alone solutions.

    I recently read this and found it helpful: https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-think-about-politics-without

    Basically, it says that politicians won’t do the right thing because it’s the right thing, they’ll do whatever is politically advantageous. In that framing, our role is to make it advantageous for them to do the right thing.

    A video I’ve seen in this realm is this one: https://youtu.be/yXOgbbHyii8

    He’s aiming for much loftier goals than individual policies like universal healthcare, but I especially like his points on effective ways to allocate your energy.

    Personally, I fall somewhere between him and the Contrapoints video he’s responding to - I think we should absolutely vote for politicians and policies that move us in the right direction, but I think it’s much more important overall to build collective power outside of the state (unions / community organizations). Ideally, I’d like to spend 90% of my effort on organizing and 10% on voting and voter engagement.

    I don’t think that allocation is objectively correct, or that there even exists a “right” way to engage. Different folks have different values, strengths, and interests, and I think the most important thing is that we’re all pulling in the same direction of “get everyone’s basic needs met.”

    • @finitebanjo
      link
      04 days ago

      Link to Anark

      Lmao no

      I don’t think that allocation is objectively correct, or that there even exists a “right” way to engage. Different folks have different values, strengths, and interests, and I think the most important thing is that we’re all pulling in the same direction of “get everyone’s basic needs met.”

      There’s a pretty clear right way to engage. Show empathy, tell the truth, supply evidence.

      • @dil
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        14 days ago

        Wait what’s the problem with anark?

        • @finitebanjo
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          14 days ago

          It’s fine to have unique political ideologies and aspirations, but anybody who preaches dissolution of the state is not a person on your side for supporting an established political party or passing reforms.

          Their idea of “fixing the problem” is not a realistic or reasonable way to fix the problem. They can’t help us, they can’t help anybody.