Prefigurative politics
Encyclopedia
The term prefigurative politics is widespread within various activist movements, and it describes modes of organization and social relationships that strive to reflect the future society being sought by the group. The desire is to "be the change we want to see in the world" as Gandhi wrote.
The term "prefigurative politics" was first used by Wini Breines specifically with reference to the new left movements of the 1960s. She was referring to the different ways of thinking and organizing in the new movements in part as a rejection of the centrism and vanguardism of many of the groups and political parties of the time. It is both a politics of creation, and one of breaking with hierarchy. She wrote: “The term prefigurative politics … may be recognized in counter institutions, demonstrations and the attempt to embody personal and anti-hierarchical values in politics. Participatory democracy was central to prefigurative politics. … The crux of prefigurative politics imposed substantial tasks, the central one being to create and sustain within the live practice of the movement, relationships and political forms that “prefigured” and embodied the desired society.” (Community and Organization in the New Left, 1989, p.6)
The I.W.W.
and other anarchist activists refer to this as "building a new world in the shell of the old." If a group is aiming to eliminate class distinctions, prefigurative politics demands that there be no class distinctions within that group, nor should that group's actions reinforce classism. The same principle applies to hierarchy: if a group is fighting to abolish some or all forms of hierarchy in larger society, prefigurative politics demands they individually and as a group adhere as closely to that goal as possible.
in Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology
described the prefigurative politics of those at the 1999 Seattle WTO protest
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The term "prefigurative politics" was first used by Wini Breines specifically with reference to the new left movements of the 1960s. She was referring to the different ways of thinking and organizing in the new movements in part as a rejection of the centrism and vanguardism of many of the groups and political parties of the time. It is both a politics of creation, and one of breaking with hierarchy. She wrote: “The term prefigurative politics … may be recognized in counter institutions, demonstrations and the attempt to embody personal and anti-hierarchical values in politics. Participatory democracy was central to prefigurative politics. … The crux of prefigurative politics imposed substantial tasks, the central one being to create and sustain within the live practice of the movement, relationships and political forms that “prefigured” and embodied the desired society.” (Community and Organization in the New Left, 1989, p.6)
The I.W.W.
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
and other anarchist activists refer to this as "building a new world in the shell of the old." If a group is aiming to eliminate class distinctions, prefigurative politics demands that there be no class distinctions within that group, nor should that group's actions reinforce classism. The same principle applies to hierarchy: if a group is fighting to abolish some or all forms of hierarchy in larger society, prefigurative politics demands they individually and as a group adhere as closely to that goal as possible.
Perspectives on prefigurative politics
Anthropologist David GraeberDavid Graeber
David Rolfe Graeber is an American anthropologist and anarchist who currently holds the position of Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He was an associate professor of anthropology at Yale University, although Yale controversially declined to rehire him, and his...
in Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology
Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology
Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology is one of a series of pamphlets published by Prickly Paradigm Press in Chicago. With the essay, anthropologist David Graeber attempts to outline areas of research that intellectuals might explore in creating a body of anarchist social theory.Graeber posits...
described the prefigurative politics of those at the 1999 Seattle WTO protest
WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
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When protesters in Seattle chanted "this is what democracy looks like," they meant to be taken literally. In the best tradition of direct action, they not only confronted a certain form of power, exposing its mechanisms and attempting literally to stop it in its tracks: they did it in a way which demonstrated why the kind of social relations on which it is based were unnecessary. This is why all the condescending remarks about the movement being dominated by a bunch of dumb kids with no coherent ideology completely missed the mark. The diversity was a function of the decentralized form of organization, and this organization was the movement’s ideology. (p. 84)
Examples of prefigurative political programs
- The Black Panther PartyBlack Panther PartyThe Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
in the United States was responsible for creating what members referred to as survival programs, including the well-known Free Breakfast for Children ProgramFree Breakfast for ChildrenIn January, 1969, the Free Breakfast for School Children Program was initiated at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland by the Black Panther Party. The Panthers would cook and serve food to the poor inner city youth of the area. Initially run out of a St...
. These programs were designed to provide food, education, medical care and clothing for individuals outside of traditional capitalist relations, as well as state-sponsored social service programs. They embodied, at least on a small scale, the kind of self-determination in the black community that the Panthers were working toward on a large scale.
- In Argentina the occupation and recuperation of factories by workers (such as Zanon), the organizing of many of the unemployed workers movements and the creation of popular neighborhood assemblies reflect the participants desire for horizontalismHorizontalidadHorizontality or horizontalism is a social relationship that advocates the creation, development and maintenance of social structures for the equitable distribution of management power...
, which includes equal distribution of power among people, and the creation of new social relationships based on dignity and freedom.
See also
- Worker Self-Management
- ConsensusConsensus decision-makingConsensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
- Food Not BombsFood Not BombsFood Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
- SquattingSquattingSquatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....