Don't Just Vote, Get Active, also known as Don't Just (Not) Vote (DJV) was an
open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' ( ...
,
decentralized
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
national campaign in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
initiated by the
CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective and its allies.
DJV was publicly announced at the
National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) in 2004 and was an activist-orientated propaganda initiative focused on demonstrating the effectiveness of
direct democracy and
direct action over
political representation
Political representation is the activity of making citizens "present" in public policy-making processes when political actors act in the best interest of citizens. This definition of political representation is consistent with a wide variety of vie ...
.
The campaign was interpreted by some as a counterpoint to Punkvoter and other anti-
Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
voter participation efforts.
However, organizers initially conceived of the campaign without knowledge of the Punkvoter campaign.
Overview
According to one of the 20,000 voter's guides distributed by those involved with the campaign before the
2004 presidential election, "Voting for people to represent your interests is the least efficient and effective means of applying political power. The alternative, broadly speaking, is acting directly to represent your interests yourself." Unlike previous projects critical of
electoral politics
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections m ...
, DJV deliberately avoided the voting vs. abstention argument that is common in the
anarchist milieu.
The campaign was characterised by ''
The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted t ...
'' as "a clear inheritor of the spirit of
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
", citing its willingness to celebrate in the street, regardless of the outcome. In the election's aftermath, Don't Just Vote, Get Active endorsed the Anarchist Resistance "call to action" against the
2005 presidential inauguration.
Criticism
The campaign was criticised in ''
Green Anarchy
Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in ''An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchist ...
'' for its credulous if qualified endorsement of voting, accusing
CrimethInc.
CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells.
*
*
* CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initia ...
of offering "a soothing middle ground" instead of outright rejecting
statist
In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production.
While in use since ...
mechanisms of control.
In a reworking of the campaign's slogan, the magazine exhorted readers "don't JUST be active, WAKE THE FUCK UP!"
Mark Andersen
Mark Andersen is a punk rock community activist and author who lives in Washington D.C. He was born and raised in rural Montana, and moved to Washington D.C. in 1984 to attend graduate school at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Internationa ...
, in ''All the Power: Revolution without Illusion'' praised the initially empowering message of the campaign but criticised it for "a slide toward insular subcultural politics", drawing note to the recurrent phrases "
tyranny of the majority
The tyranny of the majority (or tyranny of the masses) is an inherent weakness to majority rule in which the majority of an electorate pursues exclusively its own objectives at the expense of those of the minority factions. This results in oppres ...
", "living without permission" and "autonomy" which he claimed evinced an "esoteric, self-referential approach" which would turn acolytes into "radical
navel-gazers".
See also
*
Anarchism in the United States
Anarchism in the United States began in the mid-19th century and started to grow in influence as it entered the American labor movements, growing an anarcho-communist current as well as gaining notoriety for violent propaganda of the deed and c ...
*
Bl(A)ck Tea Society, an organization created for the purpose of protesting the
2004 Democratic National Convention
The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North ...
*
Criticisms of electoralism
References
External links
Archive of dontjustvote.comcirca 2005-02-13, courtesy of the
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
"Don't Just Vote, Get Active"campaign literature from Crimethinc.com
Affiliated anti-voting organisations
The Edible Ballot Society
{{Anarchism
Anarchist organizations in the United States
CrimethInc.
Political campaigns
American political catchphrases
United States presidential campaigns