Why Anarchists Abstain from Elections A6

Description

by Tommy Lawson, A6 booklet, Active 2025, 24 pages

This is a slightly edited version of a talk given to a panel hosted by Socialist Unity and Geelong Anarchist Communists in March, 2022. The topic of the panel was ‘should socialists participate in elections,’ however the idea was first posited as to discuss why anarchists do not run in elections. As such the article attempts to cover both bases.

Also: the classic anarchist position of not acknowledging the legitimacy of the electoral system doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use the vote in urgent situations like keeping far right parties from gaining power – it’s about understanding that our politics and our work are focused outside of this system.