Finding ways to bring people together
We must reject the destructive ways of working that politicians and political parties thrive on. We must reinvent, reclaim and rebuild community politics so that ordinary people can come together to make decisions about our wards.
Politicians make promises they can’t keep and defend unethical behaviour. They thrive on arguing and attacking opponents, scoring points and posturing publicly on issues.
They arrive when there is a crisis and disappear just as quickly. They tell you what the solution is but rarely listen to what you have to say. They appear at the last minute to cut ribbons and make speeches without necessarily putting in the hours along the way.
Bullying, lying, boasting and posturing is not acceptable. We would never tolerate this in our relationships with friends and family but we’ve come to expect it from politicians. No wonder most people think politics is a dirty business and don’t want any- thing to do with it.
Wherever we live in our city we experience the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. We are still divided into islands by our race, religion, class and ethnicity. We are still wracked by deep and enduring poverty and inequality and many wards still face chronic unemployment and daily violence.
Politicians often try to use these divisions to secure a support base. They say that if we trust them and they are elected and are able to take over the city, then they will look after our interests. While we argue about who should be first in the queue, those who have money and power continue to benefit.
Wherever we look we see people organised in hierarchies that look like pyramids – political parties, unions, government departments, businesses and many other organisations concentrate power, resources and knowledge amongst a few people at the top.
Many people think politics is about what happens between political parties. We may not be able to change how politicians be- have but we can choose to do politics differently in our wards. We don’t need more promises. We are not unrealistic about what it takes to change things.
But if we are going to reclaim our democratic power and take charge then we must do it based on a community politics rich with the conversations, deliberations, contributions and compromises that ordinary people must make when we come together as a group to make decisions about the resources and community that we share. Politics can be nourishing, generative, creative, supportive!
We need to reinvent, reclaim and rebuild a community politics that…
…creates hope and the belief that ordinary people can make the change that we need to build a more socially just, economically equal and environmentally sustainable community.
…brings people together to deliberate and make shared decisions about our community in a way that benefits as many people as possible.
…is based on solidarity and shared values despite our obvious differences across class, race and gender.
…is led by women and is accessible and inclusive for everyone.
…breaks down hierarchies while promoting initiative and the talents and skills that everyone brings.
…fosters a culture of generosity, care, creativity, volunteer- ism and self-organisation.
While we may not share the same experiences, we are all connected and affected by poverty and inequality. And it will take all of us to address it. We must choose to stand in solidarity across our historical divides and take action to address our history of oppression, exclusion and discrimination at a systemic level.
There is no point shifting democratic power down into communities unless it is in service of a shared vision of a more socially just, economically equitable and environmentally sustainable ward. If we can transform our ward and build relationships with other wards, we can take meaningful steps to transform our city and our society.
Our wards are diverse and include people from different races, ethnicities and nationalities, people with varying education and income, people who speak different languages and practice different religious faiths, people with different gender orientations and sexualities, and people who have different strengths and physical abilities.
We can’t hope to build a more just and equal ward if we are unable to transform how we organise ourselves so that more people are able to join in, be active and take on leadership roles (and not just men, for example!)
This is not just about representivity, but calls on us to think carefully about how we organise practically and how we are able to diffuse the power that comes with decision making, knowl- edge, and access to resources so that it is better distributed between people.
That means investing in a set of principles and using creative and practical tools to ensure that everybody is able to contribute in a meaningful way and be included in the deliberations and decision making.
Every ward in Cape Town has a different history and brings together many different kinds of people to form a community.We live next to people who have had different experiences, who have different needs, who hold different beliefs and employ different ways of solving problems.
It can be very powerful to communicate and organise with like-minded people who share our worldview. It is easier to convince people who already agree with you what needs to be done. However, there is no one solution to our complex problems.
We cannot hope to transform our ward and resolve the problems we face unless we are able to get the majority of people living in the ward to come on board. This does not mean that we have to give up on our principles but rather we should seek to open up our politics and include as many people as possible.
As long as we share similar values then we are able to discuss different issues, able to learn from each other, able to understand how people experience things differently, and able to compromise where necessary.
Despite our obvious differences, most people want similar things. When we find common ground we are more likely to find radical, creative and pragmatic solutions to challenges.
We will never be able to reconcile with aggression, domination, bigotry and discrimination. This behaviour is never acceptable. However, when we bring diverse groups of people together, we can expect there to be uncomfortable moments and behaviour that don’t sit right. A man who talks too much. A woman who tells everyone what to do. In these situations we can choose to be both practical and generous.
We can be practical and put in place tools and ways of working that help to ensure everybody is included. This can include: sharing and rotating roles; providing for ways to contribute in smaller groups and pairs; limiting talking time; and finding creative ways using technology to get involved. The more we practice the better we get.
We can be firm but generous and deal with situations by open- ing up conversations that seek to bring people together and understand each other rather than calling people out. Choosing to be generous with others in the face of historical power relations is a political act and something we can all practise. The burden should not rest on one person alone – we can all support and stand with each other in this endeavour.
When people leave actions and discussions they should feel empowered, nourished, heard and excited about possibilities.
If we want to shift where power lies in the formal structures of our city then we must demonstrate how this can be done by organising as horizontally as possible in our own working groups, committees and assemblies in the ward. This means coming together in ways that flatten out hierarchies.
The best way is to avoid delegating decision making up. Where an issue affects the whole ward then let’s find creative ways to consult and engage everyone in making important decisions – through online forums and in community assemblies. We may not be able to please everybody, but we can deliberate and use tools to find consensus or a majority that are in favour.
Where that is not appropriate let’s encourage ways of working that share decision making responsibilities broadly amongst people in teams and committees rather than leaving it to a single person.
This does not mean that there is no place for leadership. Working together requires people to stand up and be counted, volunteer their time and take on additional responsibilities. Some people end up doing the heavy lifting and are natural leaders. They have innate talents and abilities, valuable experience and insight, a particular skill, or an ability to make sense of what is going on. Leadership should be shared, mandated through democratic elections where necessary and accountable to the collective.
We will often face difficult decisions in our wards that are not easily resolved. While there is a space for deliberation before decision making, it is easy to end up analysing and arguing for so long that nobody has time to take any action at all.
We all have a tendency to debate issues and raise ideas and solutions to problems but often only a few people put up their hand to take action and implement things. In most cases, the people who enjoy speaking about an issue are the least likely to volunteer to take action and so we need to build a culture of doing, not just debating.
In fact, most problems cannot be solved by discussion and we can’t plan everything before starting. Many issues that we might argue about are naturally resolved as we take action and work through a problem. It’s better to spend an hour digging up a community garden than talking about how we should dig up the community garden.
Most people don’t have the time to sit in long meetings anyway. With limited time available in the day, they prefer getting involved and contributing time to an activity which shows results. It encourages and builds confidence to see changes happening and it’s easier to get more people involved in a project than in a structure or a forum. Let’s build a movement based on activities and projects rather than meetings.
We must find ways to come together to make decisions in the best interests of everyone. There will always be competing priorities on where to spend time and resources.
However, when people come together to listen and learn from each other, we are able to understand the nature of the problems that affect us. If we are motivated to overcome the divisions and tensions that exist, we can make decisions that not only benefit the local community but help to build a socially just, economically equitable and environmentally sustainable society.
There are different ways to make decisions in groups. Creating spaces for healthy disagreement and sharing of ideas is not something that happens by accident. We need to find ways to teach ourselves and each other how to do it.
Many ideas don’t require too much fuss. Most people are happy when someone is motivated to get on with it and are encouraging and supportive.
Some ideas do need a conversation and ironing out especially where many people are involved. We always invite people into a discussion where we can deliberate and make the best choices. We seek to incorporate everyone’s views and compromise.
We should always strive for consensus. Consensus does not mean everybody agrees. It means that nobody firmly disagrees. Where this is impossible, then we must vote.
Deciding to work together to take charge of our ward is a momentous decision. There are beacons and signposts but no templates or guidebooks.
Many of us have never had to organise in our community. Others have a lot of experience. It can be stressful and make you feel vulnerable, We can, however, come up with creative solutions that change how we see our community and each other. To do that we must be prepared to trust each other and to take risks together. We must be prepared to try new ideas and initiatives not knowing if all of them will work.
If we knew how to do this we would have done it already so let’s work with what is emerging and possible right now and learn as we go. We can be dynamic, keep what is working and change what isn’t.
Of course we will make mistakes along the way but mistakes are fine when intentions are good. We need to be careful to ensure that we build a movement and not a grand jury of people looking for and pointing out what is wrong and finding fault. Where we see people struggling, let’s support them and help take up the slack. Let’s be generous and make an effort to care for one another. We can only move as fast as the speed of trust.
