CMV: The System is Too Corrupt, We Shouldn't Participate

If you agree with this statement, upvote. If you disagree, argue in the comments.<br><br>This is a conversation I've been having nonstop for the past few weeks, and I think it's important enough to have with the entire sub.<br><br>The System, or the collection of societal and cultural norms, political and economic constructs, and the institutions that back it all up, is too corrupt to be reformed in any meaningful way. It is racist, sexist, trans- and homophobic, ableist, and just generally fucked up. This is a premise I take as true, and I think there's enough evidence to show that.<br><br>The System, however, relies on the active or passive participation and cooperation of its constituent parts (that's us) in order to keep functioning. Our tax money funds the institutions, our spending habits fuel the economy, and our general habituation and assimilation into The System help maintain the status quo.<br><br>I believe that we should personally remove ourselves from this cycle as much as possible in order to accelerate its collapse and eventual downfall. This idea is less about bringing people to the streets, although protests and direct action have their own merits, but rather about creating communities that function outside of the current economic and political systems, where alternative social and cultural norms can develop, flourish, and then spread.<br><br>(By the way, I'm not the first person to think of this. Emma Goldman famously said "the State cannot perpetuate itself without the sanction of the Church. More than this, it could not perpetuate itself if the individual believed in his right to self-defense. The State's authority is impregnable only when the individual regards it, not as an external, objective power, but legendary, sacred, and of divine right. Hence the State will go on doing what it has been doing—taxing, bilking, robbing, and murdering the individual—till the individual has awakened to the fact that it is organized exploitation, and that resistance is not only the highest moral duty but that it is also a right." These ideas are also seen in various forms of libertarian socialism and anarcho-communism, so I'm not trying to claim that I have some new hot take here.)<br><br>The best example I can think of is the "seasteading" movement. Seasteaders believe that they can create small floating cities in the ocean that exist outside of international territories, and that these cities can serve as the testing grounds for new political and economic systems. The movement is still in its infancy, but it's a proof of concept that shows that people are out there trying to form communities that operate outside of the current paradigm.<br><br>Personally, I'm interested in the idea of queer separatism. There are dozens of historical examples of single-gender or queer-only settlements and communities, where queer people could exist outside of mainstream society and live freely without persecution. These communities have often worked as communes, sharing duties, responsibilities, and resources to create better living conditions and provide mutual support. I'd love to see this concept update for the modern world, and for it to be applied to other groups of marginalized people.<br><br>This approach also serves to create alternative institutions, and strengthen the ones we already have. For example, a community center or food bank or something can serve as a community's introduction to alternative ways of organizing, ways that don't rely on private charity or government aid to function. The network effects and social proof this develops are crucial in spreading alternative ideas.<br><br>If we're going to bring about a revolution, it needs to be a two-pronged attack that happens on multiple fronts. On the one hand, we need to be dismantling the power structures as they are, tearing them down with protest and solidarity and resistance. On the other hand, we need to be building up functional, healthy alternatives, and doing our best to create abortion-proof, climate-proof, capitalist-proof structures that function outside of the current paradigm. I believe it's everyone's responsibility to participate in both capacities to the best of their ability, whether that's on the streets, in a commune, or in everyday life.<br><br>CMV.<br><br>Edit: Wow, thanks for the discussion so far, guys! I'll try to get through all the comments over the next few hours.