Political organizers often get asked: why organize towards building political power?

If you’re wondering - what does this have to do with recent events? - bear with me, we’ll get there in a minute.

When it comes down to it, there are two reasons.

First: the problems we face as a society are of such a sheer scale that individual solutions will never suffice. We cannot end homelessness with soup kitchens; we cannot end mass incarceration with a legal advice charity, and we cannot avert the climate crisis with a non-profit that builds a few solar panels.

We require action at a scale that can only be accomplished by two pillars of society: corporations and government. Corporations - accountable to their pocketbooks and their investors - will never prioritize the common good over their profits.

That leaves only governments, who thankfully are - to some degree accountable - to the voters who elect them.

But they will not move lightly. Politicians do not move on an issue because you show them a research paper that your proposed course of action will be effective. They move on an issue when they know they will lose elections if they do not.

To get there, we build people power. The power to flood a hearing. The power to protest city hall. And rooted in all of those: the power to credibly threaten to elect or unelect representatives.

Here’s what we’re reading this week that rests at the root of one reason we’re building power.

1. The entire Earth vibrated for nine days after climate-triggered mega-tsunami

The headline almost speaks for itself.

Climate change is having disastrous effects on the planet we live on - and on its future habitability to humanity.

Read it again, and really let the scale of that sink in.

The whole earth vibrated for 9 days, because fossil fuel CEOs want to burn a little more oil while they still can. Nothing can contain their greed.

There is only one force capable of reining in the fossil fuel industry: government. We must build the power necessary to insist that our government do so.

2. We aren't there yet

In the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, much was on display, and the debate leaves one thing quite clear: a Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster. But that debate also revealed how much power Kamala Harris thinks people organizing against the climate crisis have: not enough to threaten her campaign for election.

In a frack-off to the center, Trump and Harris tried to each position themselves as the candidate willing to most boldly rip into the earth for more fossil fuels.

3. We’re closer than we feel

After all, it wasn’t that many years ago that Kamala Harris penned a Medium post describing her decision to sign on as one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal. Our task is to re-build the sorts of political power that makes politicians like Kamala Harris feel that “radical” climate action is impossible not to support.

Many people are going to try to convince you that we can’t win. They’ll tell you our political system is inherently corrupted, that there’s nothing we can do.

But we have just one question in response: who benefits from you believing that the world you know we all deserve is impossible? Those who want to prevent that world at all costs.

And that's a wrap!

Send us what you’re reading, watching and listening to.

Until next time,

Mattias Lehman (he/him)
Narrative and Communications Director