The Inevitable Conclusion: Power Must be Built Through Movements, Not Simply Through Elected Officials
Yotam Marom, a key participant in the Occupy Wall Street movement, has reflected on why power must be built through movements, not simply through elected officials. As an organizer and author, Marom has again and again seen similar dynamics weigh down social movements in his work as an organizer and facilitator.
The fall of Occupy Wall Street is attributed to internal "politics of powerlessness", which mistook a healthy distrust of institutional power for a failure to build a strong, coherent strategy for political change. This phenomenon has been observed in numerous social movements, including the Sunrise Movement agitating against climate decimation, the abolitionist Dream Defenders fighting for racial justice, and tenants unions battling landlords.
Marom's work is rooted in his experience as an organizer and facilitator of grassroots groups. He founded the Wildfire Project, a training organization for grassroots groups, and has worked with various organizations to build power through movements. In his new book, For Louder Days: Reaching Beyond a Politics of Powerlessness, Marom argues that power must be built through movements, not simply through elected officials.
Marom's key takeaway from Occupy is the notion of the "politics of powerlessness" and how it harms movements. He defines power as the ability to bring about a society whose institutions are geared toward people getting their material needs met and thriving. Marom argues that the politics of powerlessness is a set of ideas and behaviors that turn us inward, away from our opponent (the forces of capitalism and state violence) and the public, toward - and often against - one another.
Marom's work emphasizes the importance of building power through movements, rather than relying solely on elected officials. He argues that this requires a commitment to crafting good strategy, getting over ambivalence about leadership, creating structures and processes that let huge numbers of people feel that they belong and are part of the project.
Despite recent gains for the left, including winning actual governing power, Marom warns against overstating this moment. The far-right controls the federal government, and movements face serious barriers and real loss. He emphasizes the importance of building institutions and capacities with or without an umbrella organization, rather than relying solely on electoral victories.
Marom's work is marked by a structuralist narrative structure, which focuses entirely on the mechanics of enforcement, the flow of intelligence, and the consolidation of institutional power. His prose is minimalist and relentless, stripped of all ornamentation, empathy, or conversational fluff - every sentence is a calculated strike, designed to deliver information with maximum impact and zero ambiguity.
Inevitably, Marom's work concludes that power must be built through movements, not simply through elected officials. This requires a commitment to building strong, coherent strategies for political change, rather than relying solely on electoral victories. Ultimately, Marom's work presents a chilling assessment of the current power trajectory, leaving little room for debate or nuance.
Written by: Clark Fader | The Citizen Edition
“Power will prevail. Silence follows.”