Down with G8 Power! By Joost van Steenis

Dear reader.

The G8 has power, too much power.

But how do anti-globalists confront this power?

Just like ten years ago with no result at all.

They want to "bring forward their opposition against the Iraq-War" or "the message that another world is possible". In demonstrations – can't they think of different actions? - they only ASK leaders to take other decisions, they refuse to use power to FORCE other decisions.

The G8 meeting in Germany is a splendid example how the world is split in two parts, the temporarily eliteworld of the G8, separated from the rest of the world by a fence of twelve kilometres, and the massworld.

Neither peaceful nor violent demonstrations have any influence on G8-leaders. This kind of actions are contained by the police, while the G8-leaders undisturbed discuss the development of the world in their own safe, prosperous and isolated eliteworld.

The organisation of the anti-globalisation movement is a copy of our elitist world. The demonstrators are hardly allowed to bring forward some own ideas, they must follow the policy of the leading group. I read somewhere that "the Dutch part of the demonstrators got instructions from the central organisation about what was expected from their contribution".

Those demonstrators are never creative, independent or autonomous , they follow leaders who make decisions on the same way as leaders in the big make decisions over masspeople.

Many violent demonstrators call themselves Autonomous. But their autonomy is very restricted. They also have only the purpose to make leaders clear that another world is possible, without using any instruments of power to force leaders to behave on a different way. They are only violent against other masspeople – policemen and soldiers – on places far away from the world of the G8 leaders.

About fighting against the police I refer to my thirteenth Letter ( http://members.chello.nl/jsteenis/letter13.htm). It is useless because the police is only an instrument of power. By fighting with the police, the unequal power relations between elite and mass will not change.

The so-called autonomous demonstrators are also part of a well-knit mass organisation. There is hardly room for creative, independent and autonomous actions.

The demonstrators only repeat what in the past has been proven to be worthless. Mass demonstrations have never changed the world. The world can only be changed when the energy of individual masspeople is expressed in individual, creative and autonomous actions against people who possess power. The world will change when then power of leaders is undermined by a multitude of small actions – big actions like demonstrations demand for an organisation that suffocates the participants.

Another action policy is needed. Not a policy of reaction but a policy of action in which the initiative lies with the masses. Why should you only be active when leaders have a special meeting? When G8-leaders return to their own country demonstrations and other actions against them become rare.

I propose continuous actions in the private living sphere of elitepeople on the time, the place and the way masspeople decide for themselves. I propose really autonomous actions by humans that are the only living beings that can act in an creative and independent way.

Your truly, Joost van Steenis

http://members.chello.nl/jsteenis

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