The first political work I did was leafleting houses for candidates my father supported when I was in 6th grade. He was a Republican precinct chair, and who ever he supported won in our precinct. It was basic ol' fashioned politics, a model that AOC used successfully lest anyone sneer at it. I'm certainly not a Republican now but there is a real lesson in trying to communicate directly with other people on various issues.
I disagree slightly with your general definition of politics - you seem to describe political systems and institutions as well as the policies that certain politics produce. I believe politics better refers to struggles for power between actors which takes place within and outside of those systems (themselves products of past political struggles) and which produce various policies and other exercises of power. I still largely agree that politics takes place in different ways in many places not traditionally thought of as political fields, i.e. workplaces, neighborhoods, school systems etc. And only by accomplishing smaller scale actions can we hope to build the power and conditions necessary for larger, systemic change.
“What I’m asking is what would happen if we thought of working class people as the center of our politics? What would happen if we stopped thinking of D.C. as the center, or the statehouse, or even your favorite political writer or thinker as the center of your political outlook or compass, and instead thought of the working class people in your neighborhood, job, and social circle as the center piece? I don’t have the answer, or at least don’t have a concise version for this short piece, but I hope this question alone is helpful.”
I think the concise answer is “unionize”? Start a union at work if you don’t have one!
Nice piece. I’ll admit I was surprised to read that the audience is the voter.
While all you wrote has merit, I feel like a MUCH bigger issue is the difference between governance and campaigning. Governance should not prioritize campaigning to a narrow base. Following through on prior campaign promises, though? Sure.
Would Desantis be doing all the awful things he’s doing if he weren’t running for president? I don’t know. But I do know a huge motivator for him at this moment is his presidential campaign.
The first political work I did was leafleting houses for candidates my father supported when I was in 6th grade. He was a Republican precinct chair, and who ever he supported won in our precinct. It was basic ol' fashioned politics, a model that AOC used successfully lest anyone sneer at it. I'm certainly not a Republican now but there is a real lesson in trying to communicate directly with other people on various issues.
I disagree slightly with your general definition of politics - you seem to describe political systems and institutions as well as the policies that certain politics produce. I believe politics better refers to struggles for power between actors which takes place within and outside of those systems (themselves products of past political struggles) and which produce various policies and other exercises of power. I still largely agree that politics takes place in different ways in many places not traditionally thought of as political fields, i.e. workplaces, neighborhoods, school systems etc. And only by accomplishing smaller scale actions can we hope to build the power and conditions necessary for larger, systemic change.
“What I’m asking is what would happen if we thought of working class people as the center of our politics? What would happen if we stopped thinking of D.C. as the center, or the statehouse, or even your favorite political writer or thinker as the center of your political outlook or compass, and instead thought of the working class people in your neighborhood, job, and social circle as the center piece? I don’t have the answer, or at least don’t have a concise version for this short piece, but I hope this question alone is helpful.”
I think the concise answer is “unionize”? Start a union at work if you don’t have one!
Nice piece. I’ll admit I was surprised to read that the audience is the voter.
While all you wrote has merit, I feel like a MUCH bigger issue is the difference between governance and campaigning. Governance should not prioritize campaigning to a narrow base. Following through on prior campaign promises, though? Sure.
Would Desantis be doing all the awful things he’s doing if he weren’t running for president? I don’t know. But I do know a huge motivator for him at this moment is his presidential campaign.