Hijacking the Commons
In recent decades, since the 1960s, activism has become both an institution and an industry. Slogans like “for the people, by the people” and buzzwords like “grassroots” have become mere advertising tools for various social movements to grow their flocks. These movements are spearheaded by local elites, academics, media personalities, celebrities and politicians that are the rulers of our society, due to their positions in our society and how information is disseminated to the public. They are our societal guides and have all the power through their positions of authority. The problem: true social activism operates outside of structural power, and many “movements” today do not. Instead, many have been orchestrated, or in the recent example of the Black Lives Matter movement, hijacked by what has become an “activism industry”. This is antithetical to any real social change and it is intentional by those in power who wish to keep the status quo, because the status quo has them in positions of power and thus, positions of wealth, prestige and privilege. In short, a business-centric ideology aka neoliberalism has figured out a way to prevent any real societal change from ever occurring: by engineering “social change” themselves and by hijacking any real movement that arises from the powerless masses. In this way, any future civil rights movement might be quelled or reorganized by those in power to actually prevent change and any movement’s potential success.
At the Automotive Free Clinic, we are creating our own power through organization and networking. This power comes from each of us that takes part, not an institutional authority. Everyone contributes according to their gifts and receives the gifts of others through the collaborative process. Each share and grow through the knowledge and experience of others. In this way, power is shared naturally and rises and falls through the individual gifts adopted by the collective. This structure allows for the empowerment of all involved, instead of a pyramid scheme where knowledge trickles down from the authority to, essentially, mindless drones/operatives who regurgitate the knowledge and experience of the authority. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s how practically all modern news rooms function and how “stories” are brought to your attention everyday on cable media. This is why it all appears fake and/or fabricated to various degrees. You are being manipulated, and now this same power is manipulating our social movements and have claimed ownership of “activism”. Because, one can prevent any meaningful societal change by owning the activists, their movements, and creating an “industry of profit” around any cause.
Whether realized or not, many activists put their faith (and money) in centralized juggernauts, designed to provide an off-ramp for anything that might create significant societal transformation. In short, given enough time, the regulators are owned by those they regulate, and centralized activism is no way to change centralized government. The answer is local movements that are robust and highly decentralized, working together through networks of their own governance. If centralization has compounded our global societal issues, then the best way to transform our societies is through decentralized networks for good.