An anticipatory movement (Tim) by X.

“Freedom is merely privilege extended,
Unless enjoyed by one and all.”
- The Internationale

We wish to live in a society which is not sexist, racist, homophobic, class-riven and militaristic. We wish to live in a society which is more fundamentally democratic and participatory; one in which people have a say in the decisions which are governing their lives. Yet we cannot reach this goal if our movement is anti-democratic and authoritarian, sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. As much as possible we should attempt to have a movement which serves in some sense as a model for the configuration of the society of the future.

However, many deep-seated forms of injustice cannot be adequately addressed by simply attacking them within the movement. If we spend all of our time addressing issues of, say, hierarchy or privilege within the movement, we will have little time left for eliminating the much more egregious forms of hierarchy and privilege which currently deform our society. The establishment of non-hierarchical relations within a small group is itself a form of privilege which is moot if not extended to one and all. Unfortunately there is no tried-and-true method for successfully combating oppression both within the movement and without simultaneously. One method we will suggest is the paradigm of consciousness-raising.

Simply put, consciousness-raising is based on the realization that not everyone comes to the movement with perfect politics. All of us are, to greater or lesser extents, recovering racists, homophobes, etc. What is needed, then is a space in which people can become more radicalized and learn, but in a context where they feel it is okay to make mistakes and that they are surrounded by comrades who will forgive but will also hold them up to higher standards.

Applying this paradigm to revolutionary democracy means that consciousness-raising cannot be permitted to be the prerogative of the few, but that the consciousness of the people must be raised on a mass scale. A simple example of mass consciousness raising comes from the “red ribbon” campaign undertaken by HIV/AIDS activists in the early 1990s. This was a participatory tactic which was a major part in increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS and changing public perception of the issue.