The so-called 'democracy' of modern liberal states cannot be described as genuinely democratic in practice. Modern 'representative' democracy emerged during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, offering an illusion of democratic choice while allowing the ruling class to retain power. This is evident in the historical limitation of voting rights to property-owning men. Even today our democratic rights amount to little more than the ability to elect for a few years which segment of the ruling class will hold control. Yet we remain dominated in the workplace by the bosses and politically by the State.
The Myth of the Politician Saviour
As anarchists, we maintain a position of abstention from parliamentary politics and reject endorsements for parliamentary parties. This position is based on a long-standing principle within the anarchist movement; importantly, this rejection of parliamentary politics does not derive from abstract moralism or purism, but rather from our analysis of the parliament and the State as concrete social structures.
As our aim is always the development of workers' power and the expansion of workers' struggle our focus must remain on the direct struggles of the working-class. To endorse the illusion that major reforms are born from the will of good or bad politicians obscures the reality of class dynamics and the State.
Government policy is primarily derived, not from the will of this or that politician, but to suit the current and changing needs of capitalism and the State. These changes however do not occur in isolation, but within the parameters set by the balance of class forces and the class struggle. For the working class to win genuine concessions for itself, it is not enough for a “good” political party to take power, but rather the working class must shift the balance of forces in its favour through organisation and direct struggle. Parliamentarism, by directing working-class energy into electoralism, rather than engaging in direct struggle, acts as a buffer on building working class strength, rather than contributing towards it.
The result of parliamentarism is a class reliant on a set of politicians with no guarantee of winning let alone maintaining power or acting on the promises they have made once the interests of the capitalist class exert themselves upon it. We do not encourage the working class to place its hopes in an electoral victory that may never come, but to always struggle directly and immediately to wrest the concessions it needs for itself.
Parliament: The Graveyard of Socialism
Beyond being an unreliable and ineffective manner of achieving social change, parliamentarism maintains a detrimental effect on the revolutionary politics of the socialists that enter into it. To enter into parliament or parliamentary elections places significant limitations which constrain the activity of socialists and workers. These limitations include legal pressures, the need to maintain and expand their vote, the reality of managing the economy on behalf of the capitalists and the privileges associated with entering into and existing within the terrain of the ruling class. To enter into parliament is to leave the class position of worker behind.
Even when entered into with the intention of propagating socialist ideas rather than a genuine belief in parliamentarism as a road to socialism, over time parliamentary participation has a transformative effect. The constant election cycle and the need to maintain votes and seats eventually supersede the original revolutionary aims of the party. History is littered with socialist parties who have, over time, lost sight of their revolutionary aims as they have become increasingly integrated into the capitaliststate and processes of capitalist development. The more significant the power won in parliament the more extensive the transformation of the party.
Political Struggle Outside and Against the State
Through abstention from parliamentary politics anarchists act to maintain our revolutionary politics and perspective. While the negative aspects of a parliamentary strategy are important to outline, more important are the benefits of a programme of struggle outside and against the State, rather than attempts to operate within it. Through a programme of direct action to win concessions from the State, the working class directly develops its strength, organisation and militancy while transforming the consciousness of the workers through the struggle. On such a basis, concessions from parliament become possible regardless of the ruling party, and the working class creates overtime the basis for revolutionary transformation. Elections do not offer a pathway to workers' power. Rather the road to workers' power is born through direct workers' struggle for our victories.
While anarchists have at times argued for working-class abstention from parliamentary voting, we do not maintain this position. While calls to abstain completely from voting may have validity in certain contexts, they maintain little relevancy for us today in Australia. Rather than calling on the working class to abstain from voting, we instead argue for where to put working-class hopes and energy. Whether a worker votes or not is irrelevant. What is essential is that workers do not place their hopes in politicians or political parties, and instead place their hopes and energy directly into building working-class power and the struggle for our demands.