RAKTHEUNDEAD
First time out of the vault
First of all, I did not write this, so don't give credit me with writing it.
STRATEGIES AGAINST OLIGARCHISM
Keep yourself informed. Read as much as possible and encourage your friends to read, regardless of what they want to read; if they read tons of pulp fiction, they will sooner or later explore more advanced literature. Make sure to subscribe to a quality newspaper, because they often offer more in-depth news coverage and information than television programs. Use the Internet to find alternative news coverage and information, but don't trust these sources blindly. Don't ignore television, but focus on news broadcasts and documentaries. Knowledge is the fundament of serious politics.
Always ask the question "WHY?" We take too many things for granted, even when we think that we apply critical thinking. Dare to confront your own values, attitudes and opinions with the question "WHY?" as well; it will certainly improve your debating skills. A value, attitude or opinion that can't be supported with proper arguments is worth nothing. Although it may seem extremely obvious, we tend to forget that there always is a purpose behind everything, including this very manifesto!
Get your political priorities right. The primary priority is to encourage critical thinking and political discussion. To promote specific ideologies, systems and parties is only the secondary or even tertiary priority; you might scare away ambivalent people. In fact, consensus doesn't have to be your enemy; if you can make everyone agree that the current order is unacceptable, you have already accomplished much. Combat the status quo first.
Don't focus on pseudo-issues. Common examples of pseudo-issues are the rights of homosexuals and the be-or-not-to-be of abortions. Such issues do of course encourage fervent debates, but they are basically only political distractions; such issues are insignificant next to issues such as power and wealth concentration, and they don't affect society at large. Don't engage in dog fighting on the surface of the Death Star – attack the core.
Contribute to the political debating climate in your own surroundings. If you are a parent, teach your children to think critically and independently. If you are a student, instigate political debates in the classroom. If you are a teacher, integrate critical thinking and political debating in your teaching. Or why not simply distribute your own political posters in your neighbourhood? Make it enigmatic – make people think.
Contribute to the political debating climate on Internet. Instigate political debates in every forum, message board and newsgroup. Remember that political debates occurs frequently even in explicitly non-political forums. If some posters complain that "this forum isn't supposed to be political", then accuse them rightfully for ignorance and lethargy. Stagnation is a menace – raise hell.
Create your own political island in the digital ocean. A basic web site without fancy graphics doesn't require much work at all; you decide yourself if you want to update and expand it in the future. Remember that, at a guess, only 5-20 % of all web sites can be labelled quality sites, and many important areas are not satisfactorily covered; your contribution is valuable. Offer something exclusive – something worthwhile to read.
Always vote and always encourage other people to vote. Remember that you can ALWAYS protest against the system by handing in a blank voting-paper. If only 5-10 % of the population use this form of protest, neither the mass media nor the politicians can ignore it; it's actually a powerful vote of censure. If you abstain from voting, you support the status quo.
Don't yield to consumptionist behaviour. As long as people find it more important to own status stuff than engage in politics, the status quo will prevail. As a rule of thumb, only purchase things that you need and things that can make you evolve as a person. Whenever possible, avoid corporate products – you only contribute to monopolies and oligopolies – and products with massive marketing campaigns – in the end, YOU pay for the marketing.
Always confront fervent defenders of the status quo. These people actually represent the worst kind of ignorance: the educated ignorance. Such people could hypothetically defend any status quo, even in a totalitarian state: "Well, it could have been worse." "We have nice houses and nice cars, so stop complaining." "No one has forced these people to be dissidents." "Okay, concentration camps aren’t nice, but they house criminals after all."
STRATEGIES AGAINST OLIGARCHISM
Keep yourself informed. Read as much as possible and encourage your friends to read, regardless of what they want to read; if they read tons of pulp fiction, they will sooner or later explore more advanced literature. Make sure to subscribe to a quality newspaper, because they often offer more in-depth news coverage and information than television programs. Use the Internet to find alternative news coverage and information, but don't trust these sources blindly. Don't ignore television, but focus on news broadcasts and documentaries. Knowledge is the fundament of serious politics.
Always ask the question "WHY?" We take too many things for granted, even when we think that we apply critical thinking. Dare to confront your own values, attitudes and opinions with the question "WHY?" as well; it will certainly improve your debating skills. A value, attitude or opinion that can't be supported with proper arguments is worth nothing. Although it may seem extremely obvious, we tend to forget that there always is a purpose behind everything, including this very manifesto!
Get your political priorities right. The primary priority is to encourage critical thinking and political discussion. To promote specific ideologies, systems and parties is only the secondary or even tertiary priority; you might scare away ambivalent people. In fact, consensus doesn't have to be your enemy; if you can make everyone agree that the current order is unacceptable, you have already accomplished much. Combat the status quo first.
Don't focus on pseudo-issues. Common examples of pseudo-issues are the rights of homosexuals and the be-or-not-to-be of abortions. Such issues do of course encourage fervent debates, but they are basically only political distractions; such issues are insignificant next to issues such as power and wealth concentration, and they don't affect society at large. Don't engage in dog fighting on the surface of the Death Star – attack the core.
Contribute to the political debating climate in your own surroundings. If you are a parent, teach your children to think critically and independently. If you are a student, instigate political debates in the classroom. If you are a teacher, integrate critical thinking and political debating in your teaching. Or why not simply distribute your own political posters in your neighbourhood? Make it enigmatic – make people think.
Contribute to the political debating climate on Internet. Instigate political debates in every forum, message board and newsgroup. Remember that political debates occurs frequently even in explicitly non-political forums. If some posters complain that "this forum isn't supposed to be political", then accuse them rightfully for ignorance and lethargy. Stagnation is a menace – raise hell.
Create your own political island in the digital ocean. A basic web site without fancy graphics doesn't require much work at all; you decide yourself if you want to update and expand it in the future. Remember that, at a guess, only 5-20 % of all web sites can be labelled quality sites, and many important areas are not satisfactorily covered; your contribution is valuable. Offer something exclusive – something worthwhile to read.
Always vote and always encourage other people to vote. Remember that you can ALWAYS protest against the system by handing in a blank voting-paper. If only 5-10 % of the population use this form of protest, neither the mass media nor the politicians can ignore it; it's actually a powerful vote of censure. If you abstain from voting, you support the status quo.
Don't yield to consumptionist behaviour. As long as people find it more important to own status stuff than engage in politics, the status quo will prevail. As a rule of thumb, only purchase things that you need and things that can make you evolve as a person. Whenever possible, avoid corporate products – you only contribute to monopolies and oligopolies – and products with massive marketing campaigns – in the end, YOU pay for the marketing.
Always confront fervent defenders of the status quo. These people actually represent the worst kind of ignorance: the educated ignorance. Such people could hypothetically defend any status quo, even in a totalitarian state: "Well, it could have been worse." "We have nice houses and nice cars, so stop complaining." "No one has forced these people to be dissidents." "Okay, concentration camps aren’t nice, but they house criminals after all."
