On another thread we were discussing voting and the topic of my "anarchist side" came up after I offered some alternatives to the current system. One comment alluded that I shouldn't express my opinions about how to fix a system that I disagree with. Another asked some questions which I will attempt to answer below.

I'm really glad to have this conversation as this topic is very important to me.

In my opinion, Representative Democracy is not ideal because I feel that it creates a ruling class that is out of touch with the needs of average people and doesn't serve them the way it is touted to.

I am a huge fan of other forms of democracy however. Consensus Democracy, Direct Democracy, and Participatory Democracy are three that I think would work better than our present system.

In order to give you a clear sense of where I'm coming from, I think I need to real break down my political views for you. That way we don't get hung up on "panic button" words like "anarchist".

One thing I dislike about modern society is our propensity to label one another. Labels can be divisive and destructive, in my opinion, if we rely too much on them to serve as definitions of one another's character. Labels can be used to bring people together as well, or show solidarity with an idea or a cause, so they're not all bad, but we just need to handle them with care and keep in mind that we are not, as individuals, ever completely defined by one word or another. Each of us are unique, and one word does us no justice.

Having said that, there are labels with which I identify, and I will share them with you in order to give you a reference point as to where I stand on the issue of voting.

The label that I consider to be most representative of my social, political, and economic views would be "anarcho-collectivist".

from Wikipedia:
Collectivist anarchism (also known as anarcho-collectivism) is a doctrine spearheaded by Mikhail Bakunin that advocated the abolition of the state and private ownership of the means of production, with the means of production instead being owned collectively and controlled and managed by the producers themselves. Workers would be paid in democratic organizations based of the amount of time they contributed to production. These salaries would be used to purchase goods in a communal market.^[1] This contrasts with anarcho-communism where wages would be abolished, and where individuals would take freely from a storehouse of goods "to each according to his need." Thus, Bakunin's "Collectivist Anarchism," notwithstanding the title, is seen as a blend of individualism and collectivism.^[2] (Note: Here the term "individualism" is referring to individuals being remunerated their products of labor", in the sense of workers owning their own tools of labor and being renumerated in some form, and "collectivism" is referring to collective ownership of land and productive means.)^[3] Collectivist anarchism is most commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin, the anti-authoritarian sections of the First International, and the early Spanish anarchist movement.

Now, I know that doesn't explain my views on voting exactly, but I think it paints a clear picture as to where I'm coming from. Now that you have a point of reference for where I'm coming from, I'll talk about voting.

I am in favor of people exercising their right to vote. I think open elections are a sign of a free society. I do not believe that we have truly open elections in this country. When both major political parties carve out districts and launch major voter suppression drives in order to make sure they hold on to their power, I believe that is a sign that something is very wrong with the way our system works currently. In any one of the systems I mentioned above, my issues would be dealt with openly and anyone who wanted to be involved could be, and their views would hold the same weight as anyone else's. I'm not saying that everyone would get what they wanted, but everyone would at least be satisfied, as opposed to resigned, which I believe is the case for many people today.

I do not believe that taking part in caucuses or voting, even in our current, incredibly flawed, system, is a waste of time. Community involvement is a critical component of society. My hope is that more people do get involved, see the system for the corrupt, disenfranchising mess that it is, and start demanding change.

I hope this post answers the questions that were posed to me in the other thread, and I hope that we can have some good discussion about our democracy.