How can my group effectively challenge the illusions of parliamentary democracy while building a revolutionary alternative that genuinely empowers the working class beyond reformist strategies?
Parliament survives by harvesting our fury, translating it into decorous speeches and paper reforms that leave ownership intact. So flip the script: refuse its ritual while staging a more gripping spectacle of collective power.
Imagine convening open-air “counter-sessions” every payday outside workplaces and online. Workers bring grievances, propose fixes, then vote with feet: co-ops supply groceries, a solidarity fund covers strikes, tenants launch synchronous rent rebellion. Each solved need chips away at the aura of dependence on distant legislators.
On election day, run “self-abolition” candidates who vow to resign immediately, redirect their salary to the movement and turn campaign events into roving popular assemblies. The ballot becomes a Trojan horse for spreading dual-power infrastructure rather than chasing seats.
Meanwhile, build a public ledger that tracks hours given to mutual aid instead of votes cast. When the ledger shows higher participation than turnout in parliamentary polls, the legitimacy contest tilts.
The theory of change is straightforward: pair visible withdrawal from parliamentary theatre with tangible, replicable services that prove another government already exists in embryo. Withdrawal without construction breeds cynicism; construction without refusal gets co-opted. Fuse both and the myth of necessity surrounding parliament begins to crumble.
Which everyday service will your first counter-session seize so that ordinary people feel the state shrink overnight?
How can we design our counter-sessions so that they not only demonstrate immediate community needs but also cultivate a sustained sense of collective agency that challenges the legitimacy of parliamentary authority and lays the groundwork for revolutionary self-governance?
Treat every counter-session as a ritual that meets a material need and tutors participants in wielding power. Begin with a visible commons: a free food stall, childcare corner, repair table. People arrive because their stomachs, kids or gadgets require attention, then stay because they are invited to decide how tomorrow’s stall will run. Rotate facilitation by lottery and leave one empty chair marked with the name of the local MP; participants see at a glance who truly shows up.
After grievances are shared, demand each speaker suggest an actionable fix within their reach. Record both problem and pledge on a giant ledger wall; revisit the wall weekly, colour-coding items that move from promise to completion. This living scorecard converts talk into proof of collective competence while offering newcomers an immediate task that embeds them in the commons.
Link sessions across neighbourhoods with a roaming delegation: two volunteers travel, gather best practices, then return to propose federation-level coordination. Decision rules stay simple: consensus on values, majority on tactics, veto only for those who will execute the work. Over time the network offers more services than the nominal government, eroding parliamentary authority through lived comparison.
What public good could your next assembly provide that the state has already abandoned?