ECOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
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£the right thing’. Temporary triumphs might be won; like little children who
throw a tantrum to bend the will of their parents, we may beg our
representatives to provide us with affordable housing or better environmental
policy. However, the power relationship remains the same. The fact is, until
citizens are able to make their own public policy regarding social issues, there
will be no justice. We will be forever tittle children, tugging and whining at the
hems of our parents’ coats, begging them to make good decisions on our
behalf.
Hence, our oppositional work is drained of its full potential as we linger
along the periphery of trie political realm, focusing mainly on social issues. In
this way, we are weavers dreaming of beautiful tapestries, spinning and dyeing
wool, envisioning clothes to be collectively woven and distributed, unaware
that, without actually getting our hands on trie equipment, our dreams will go
unrealized. Direct democracy is trie very process by which we make our
dreams for a free society come into being. Without walking into trie place
where trie cloth is woven, we will never be able to take those threads into our
own hands to weave more cooperatively and more ethically. Instead, we will
be left to wander about sheering, spinning, dyeing, and merely dreaming of
beautiful shimmering cloth. Without walking into trie public sphere, taking the
power to make decisions into our own hands, we will be left to merely dream
of freedom.
IlluSTRATiVE OppOStiiON: IlluSTRATINq TIhE PolltiCAl liVipliCATiONS
Of TflE
SoCIaI
Recognizing the necessity of political reconstruction leads us to look toward a
process of political re-empowerment, Social ecology provides a thoughtful and
comprehensive interpretation regarding how to engage in a political revolution
by engaging in local municipal politics to initiate a broader move toward a
confederation of directly democratic communities, Murray Bookchin’s theory of
libertarian municipalism, proposes such a vision, offering a glimmer of hope
for true democracy in a world where the political sphere has been hollowed
out by the State.2
However, we confront a paradox when we consider the necessity of
focusing on political reconstruction. While it is crucial to reconstruct an
authentic political sphere, there will remain immediate social crises which also
demand our attention. Clearly we cannot wait to address social issues such as
homelessness, environmental racism, or violence against women until we have
established a confederation of self-governing communities.
Illustrative opposition is way to focus upon a particular social issue while
illustrating a broader political critique and reconstructive vision. In addition to
demonstrating the necessity of a particular social issue, we may also illustrate
(lie general sufficieirt condition required to fully address the particular issue at