Neue Debatte - Special Edition - Long Essay on Left Strategy #002 - 04/2017 | Page 28

4 Capitalism vs. democracy
or counties and provoke huge unemployment rates in these econ-
omies.
There we are: One national business party indeed with factions called
People’s Parties to perform different speaking parts in the same
stage play to tie up as many social groups as possible!
4.3 Blaming non-voters?
But more and more the electorate becomes fed up with what is sold
to them as democracy. They have given up hope that there is any-
thing pivotal to decide for them. To a growing extent voters stay
away from the ballot boxes or just try to choose a lesser evil or to
teach the political establishment a lesson by voting for populist right-
wing parties. Indeed the right rabble-rousers draw on existing politi-
cal and social grievances the business party is not willing and able to
redress. And so the only lesson the business party faction leaders
seem to have learned from history is to integrate the neofascist right-
wingers into the modern Game of Thrones when they enlarge to a
political factor to be reckoned.
In the leftish camp poll-abstinent people are heavily criticized for
undemocratic behavior and for giving away their precious vote. I
don’t think so. The ordinary people understand quite well that there
is no democracy, no people’s rule. They refuse to serve as gullible
voters for so called people’s parties, which they have witnessed in
the end as business party factions despite their sweet democrati c
speech. They see no chance to escape from a life as a pawn in upper
classes’ games of chess. And so they stay at least to the trade unions
though they do not have much confidence in union managers. They
are equally frustrated by people’s party career politicians and have
no trustworthy alternative they might even try to pay the establish-
ment back by voting for right wing populists.
We should not blame these casual right-wing protest voters or non-
voters in general. If they turn to the right camp in more or less emo-
tional protest reaction we should better blame ourselves for not be-
ing able to offer an appropriate, authentic, and credible alternative to
rabble-rousing. Instead we try to talk them back into a pseudo-
democratic system promoting voters’ illusions of being of any sub-
stantial relevance.
To participate in elections only makes sense if a real, broad political
mass movement takes part with an own parliamentary branch, aim-
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