Keith at ‘Pinch’ makes a well thought out set of arguments about why he will not be voting, saying the system is:
1. Unjust.
2. Creates political apathy
3. Creates losers.
4. Disenfranchises the majority.
5. Allows people to abdicate responsibility for the decision made in their communities.
6. Selects people to fund and organise violence against me and people in distant countries.
check it out – if it’s not already too late…
Who should I vote for? Who should Christians vote for?Are any of the parties any good?
With the general election looming closer and closer, and the prospect of some significant change at Westminster, there is a lot of talk around about who to vote for. In this post, I want to advocate the non vote.
In Christian circles I hear lots of people saying they want to vote for the candidate or party who best represent what they regard as ‘Christian principles’ in an attempt to reclaim a ‘Christian focus at the heart of government’.
But in my opinion this notion of Christianity at the heart of democratic politics makes no real sense. This is not easy for me to say, my background is one of committed democratic socialism, redistribution and so on. But in recent times I’ve come to see democracy as a fraud, and the underlying policies of military and economic aggression as profoundly anti-christian.
To tackle democracy as a concept first, I think its easiest to explain it thus: we dont accept dictatorship – the rule of one individual, nor yet oligarchy, the rule of the elite, instead we call for democracy – the rule of the people, which in our case we administer by means of a majority vote. This means on a small scale that if ten people vote, and six of them choose one way, and four another, then the four who are overruled have to give in to the six. The greater the numbers, the more people who have to submit to the majority opinion. I dont see this as much better than rule by an elite to be honest, hypothetically if those six people are weak minded or easily impressed, and the four saw through the spin, why should they submit to being ruled by the majority decision?
My other discomfort with democracy is that I feel its a veneer, as Douglas Adams (I think) described it – it’s there to make you think somebody is in control. What he meant is that it gives us an illusion of power, wheras in reality the power in our country is exerted by economic forces. Yes the governments can tinker with things which are relatively important, but they must work within a closely defined set of parameters.
Governments dont really have the power to go against the economic power houses which have become totally entrenched in society. Its these same economic powers, institutions and corporations which are often richer than many governments, which maintain the levels of global inequality through the delights of the capitalist system.
Voting then gives us an illusion of control over a system which at its core is not controllable by one government, unless its some kind of militaristic dictatorship (not a good option).
So to vote then is to legitimise the system, and to allow it to function in your name. The non vote is a vote against the sham of democracy. I apologise to those who feel democracy is hard won, whether by suffragettes or soldiers, sadly I dont think that their great sacrifice means that we should legitimise this flawed system.
On the other point, that of the party policies. There are no parties which are against the killing of others under certain circumstances. I recognise that I am very much in a minority as a pacifist, but in my opinion to vote is to legitimise the kind of wars which are waged around the globe, and that means to have blood on ones hands.
I have no interest in having blood on my hands, I dont think its loving to go to war, and I dont want to support any government that will do so.
My final point is on this idea of a ‘Christian society’. I think this is a false utopia. The church shoud not be at the centre, but at the margins, not being the establishment voice but the outsider voice. Yes we should be working to help the poor and dispossessed, but our voice is not strengthened by wealth, power and privelige. I dont think we should be trying to recreate a ‘golden age’ (if one ever existed) Christian society, but instead re-finding our place among the poor and outcast, the refugee and outsider, and making our home there.
So that’s a long way of saying that I wont be voting on Thursday, I may go and spoil my ballot, but I may not even do that, for that in its way is to legitimise the system. I dont expect more than about one or two readers of this blog to agree with me, but in case you are wondering who to vote for this week, I urge you to consider not voting at all.
By the way, apologies for the lack of posts recently, I have one wrist in plaster, which is making typing very hard indeed. Ho hum.
Christian Anarchism
by Alexandre Christoyannopoulos.
Published by Imprint Academic.
In this well researched and thoughtful book, Dr Christoyannopoulos spells out the basis of a profoundly Christian form of anarchism, explains how it can be applied in practical terms, and then introduces the reader to a number of key individuals and communities which have tried to do just that.
The depth of research into the writings of key thinkers such as Tolstoy, Ellul, Yoder, Andrew and others brings alive a subject which has provided, and will yet provide plenty of fuel for many contentious discussions.
One of the key principles of Christian anarchism is pacifism, and the author spends a good deal of time outlining the reasoning and theology behind this concept and other important ideas. He looks in depth at the Sermon on the Mount, which he describes as a manifesto for a ‘Christian anarchist society’.
But rather than base his discussion solely upon the Sermon on the Mount, Dr Christoyannopoulos doesn’t shrink from other parts of the Bible – including considering the Old Testament, particularly in the light of 1 Samuel 8, and proffering the Mosaic system as ‘a form of anarchy’.
The thrust of the whole of the first part of the book, is to present Christianity as an alternative way of thinking/living to the way of the state, which ‘derives its power and authority from Satan’. It presents Jesus as a critic of the state, and understands aspects of his life such as the ‘Clearing of the Temple’, as forms of direct action against the state.
Throughout the author draws heavily on the writings of Tolstoy, who is certainly the most influential of the avowedly Christian anarchist writers, and is in some ways the spiritual father of many of its later advocates. Much of the book is spent outlining Tolstoy’s thinking, including his incisive and witty critique of democracy.
The second part of the book moves on from the principles which under gird the Christian anarchist philosophy, and goes on to consider ways in which we can live as Christian anarchists, particularly given that we are obliged to live in a world governed by earthly authorities. We are asked to reconsider Romans 13, often thought of as a bar to anarchism, as an application of the Sermon on the Mount, rather than a reproof. And we’re reminded in practical ways of the necessity of love as the demonstration of Christian spirituality.
In its final chapters the book summarises a number of examples of people who have made Christian anarchism into a way of life, rather than a philosophy. From the Early Christians, to the Anabaptists, Monastics (or more accurately Religious) and more contemporary Christian groups including the incredibly important, if unusual, example of the Catholic Workers.
The book, the author suggests can provide a basis for a dialogue between Christian and secular anarchists. I would suggest it can be much more than that.
This book details with great clarity the concepts which make anarchism a crucial part of the Christian story. For those considering their own participation in the forthcoming election, it presents a strong argument for a reasoned and loving rejection of democracy.
It also presents many challenging ideas in an attitude of loving humility, suggesting for instance the seemingly contradictory idea of voluntary poverty as the way to eradicate poverty, as well as rehearsing in great depth the arguments against the use of, or passive condoning of, any form of violence.
It’s a good read, inspiring and inspired. What little it lacks in terms of a broader range of contemporary examples of groups living according to Christian anarchist principles can easily be forgiven in the light of the scholarly research which has gone into the presentation of the basis of Christian anarchism.
While Tolstoy features heavily, there are no shortage or references to and quotes from other philosophers and activists, from the likes of Peter Maurin and GK Chesterton, to the numerous contributors to the hugely influential ‘A Pinch of Salt’.
I would recommend this as a very good read for anyone seriously interested in Christianity and/or anarchism, indeed for any Christian who takes politics seriously, this is a book which has a great deal to offer.
Following up on my earlier post about human rights infringements in Morrocco, the following press release was sent to me, and I’m posting it here for your information.
At the time when Morocco was meeting in Granada with EU officials to improve relations and promote human rights, something distressing was happening to Europeans, South Africans and Americans in Morocco. It does not seem to be an isolated incident. This story needs to be heard.
For the past 10 years the Village of Hope in Ain Leuh Morocco has offered an outstanding level of care and love to Moroccan Children. The unique model of care offered by VOH means that children have been raised in family units with a Mum and Dad rather than the more traditional dormitory style orphanage set up.
VOH has always operated with the full knowledge and agreement of the Moroccan authorities with the overt understanding that the overseas workers are Christian. It has also always been understood that the children would be raised in a Muslim/Christian environment but would also be fully immersed in their Moroccan culture in terms of love for their country, language, education and knowledge of Islam.
On Monday 8th March, all 16 overseas workers, including 10 parents, and 13 natural-born dependents, were told they were to be evicted from the site and country.
The reason given was that the parents had been proselytizing, with no explanation of who, when, where or how this was alleged to have occurred. No charges concerning the welfare and care of the children have ever been raised as a concern by the Moroccan authorities in the 10 year history of VOH.
This has been a very distressing and hard experience for the children and their foster parents.
Members of the press are may e-mail Chris Broadbent (kiwimaroc@gmail.com) for more information.
Are DFID, the government department for International Development, telling fibs about how much money has been put into Sri Lanka? That is how it seems, following the FOI requests submitted by Joe Turner.
Responding to his request to know exactly how much had been spent by the end of December 2009, the year in which Douglas Alexander had publicly claimed they had given £12.5 million, the department wrote to say that the amount actually came to £9.81 million, a sizeable sum, but more than two million quid short!
See a copy of the response here on Joe’s blog.
Seems like somebody at DFID isnt getting their facts right…
More news about the shameful breach of human rights and clampdown on ex-pat Christians in Morocco:
This is the official release from an orphanage in Morocco which is about to lose all its ex-pat staff, and apparently leave some 33 children abandoned again. As the writer puts it:
…Watching the children be told by their parents that they had to leave, that they would maybe never see them again, is the most painful thing I have ever witnessed…
I don’t know these people, their work or their motivations except for what I have read today, but I have no reason to distrust what they are saying, and it backs up other things I have been told. They have been given three days or less to leave the country… I think this is a very shameful action on the part of the Moroccan government.
There is something strange happening in Morocco, the authorities there are having a major clampdown on Christians, with many individuals and families being thrown out of the country, and many projects and churches being closed down.
On the face of it this apears to be a major backward step for Morocco, which had been pushing forward in terms of human rights, but which now seems to be heading in a radically different direction.
Even long term Morocco watchers are astonished by this turn of events, which seems destined to end in the ‘re-islamicisation’ of the country.
I have heard of people who are long standing residents there (20+) years being expelled, people who thought of the country as home. I’ve been completely perplexed by what seems to be a very suprise attack on Christians living in the country.
I would think that this will have a very negative impact on the way that the country is perceived from the outside, just at a very difficult time.
My thoughts are with those who have been turfed out of their homes and chucked out of the country, and my prayers are with those who may yet suffer the social, political and economic backlash of this bizarre turn of events.
In fact, I love Asia as a whole, but as I’m in India right now, I’m reminded of its endearing idiosyncracies. For instance, the way their approach to English punctuation is often the opposite to ours, wheras the English put unwanted apostrophes everywhere, Indians often miss them out altogether. As a good example I drove past “Anus Beauty Parlour “the other day, actually the parlour belongs to Anu, where’s Lynne Truss when you need her?
But its not just my patronising attitudes to cheerful disregard of punctuation which make me like it here, it is a genuinely great place, with lots of amazing people. People who make the best of a difficult situation in many cases.
I am always particularly impressed by Indian drivers, who I regard as some of the best drivers in the world. Yes I know the traffic here is horrendous, with roads shared by motorvehicles, bikes, carts, mad people, animals and pot holes, but that doesnt make the drivers bad drivers! Rather it makes them extraordinarily good drivers. How they manage to drive on these roads is beyond me, the spatial and traffic awareness is incredible – yes they do sometimes get it wrong (always ask for an older/experienced driver) with tragic consequences, but I honestly think that these guys are some of the canniest and cleverest drivers ever.
Much like China, India is often looked down upon as ‘primitive’ by supposed developed nations like the UK, but just as China’s industrial revolution came before ours and should really have eclipsed ours, so India has been developing forms of technology which are much more impressive than ours. The classic example being the lunch deliveries in Mumbai, which are effectively run on a bar-code system and work with amazing efficiency, despite the characteristic appearance of chaos.
There is a degree of cultural snobbery in the west which sees the apparent danger and chaos in a place like India, as symbols of backwardness. This will have to change as India and its cold war rival China take centre stage in world politics and economics in the next couple of decades.
there is still a lot of comedy here though, and I’ll leave the last word to the incredulous American lady who sat near me at dinner the other night. In a shrill southern squawk she announced to her colleagues, “yesterday I saw a family of four on a motorcycle, today I saw two men and a pig!”
A really good article in the guardian today talks about the return of the posh to popular society. It talks about various aspects of posh, and how they have become acceptable again in public circles, its well worth a read.
But as a class warrior (ha!) myself I am worried about the seeming rise of the posh towards a perhaps now inevitable Tory victory in the next election. I find Dave, Boris et al a troubling group who seem to work on the basis of an old school of patrician conservatism – although the same could of course have been said for Blair. Basically I dont really like our political system, but let’s gloss over that for now.
What I have been considering is the potential changes in society that a Tory government would bring, I fear that many of the progressive social institutions that arose under labour will disappear – I’m talking Sure Start, extended schools workers and so on. What will have to appear in their place is the volunteer – arguably a good thing I suppose, as a perpetual volunteer I must support the idea. But it does concern me that the kind of voluntary social care provided is provided as ‘charity’ or elitist conservative patronage.
However, what will be will be, and I suppose every cloud has its silver lining, with the new posh will probably come the new mods – and mod music is some of the best music in history.
By the way, also on this kind of subject is a video of a Copenhagen confrontation (more like a love-in) between Boris Johnson and George Monbiot (himself just a bit posh) on carbon emissions and electric Porsches. It’s also on the Guardian – newspaper of choice for posh lefties everywhere.
