Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy

by Cindy Barukh Milstein (Editor)

In a time of social and ecological crises, people everywhere are looking for solutions. States and capitalism, rather than providing them, only make matters worse. There’s a growing sense that we’ll have to fix this mess on our own. But how? Deciding for Ourselves , in the spirit of the Zapatistas, demonstrates that “the impossible is possible.” A better world through self-determination and self-governance is not only achievable. It is already happening in urban and rural communities around the world—from Mexico to Rojava, Denmark to Greece—as an implicit or explicit replacement for nations, police, and other forms of hierarchical social control. This anthology explores this “sense of freedom in the air,” as one piece puts it, by looking at contemporary examples of autonomous, directly democratic spaces and the real-world dilemmas they experience, all the while underscoring the egalitarian ways of life that are collectively generated in them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

300 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

Cindy Barukh Milstein is a diasporic queer Jewish anarchist and longtime organizer. They've been writing on anarchism for over two decades, and are the author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations and Try Anarchism for Life: The Beauty of Our Circle. They edited the anthologies Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief and Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy, among others.

Reviews

[Corvus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy, edited by Cindy Milstein, gives us something we don't see enough of in our worlds of utopian ideological purity politics. I don't necessarily mean that as a negative or positive, but simply a realistic statement. Some politics and ideas should never be compromised. Yet, as history and the present continuously show us: the everyday grind of existing in this world with each other, especially in the long term, is far messier than the way we envision a better world to be. In this text, Milstein has gathered an international selection of people's writings on self-governed spaces that have existed or currently exist. The formats range from interviews between organizers to clips of stories and the essay format you would expect from this type of book. There is also a small amount of poetry by Milstein at the beginning and end of the book. I was not a fan and prefer her writing in other mediums far more. I am not a poetry person in general though, so perhaps I don't know what I am talking about.

"Deciding for Ourselves" is not another book on what these spaces are or why self-governed space are needed. Instead, it offers real-life praxis from many areas throughout the world. Off the bat, in the introduction, Milstein talks about this messiness and the complicated nature of true community. She describes self-governed spaces as beautiful and necessary as well as fragile and complicated. The movements and communities detailed in the book are written about in various stages from very new to long-lived to destroyed. She also mentions that the entries are often from people who do not speak English at all or as their first language and takes credit for any miscommunication. As far as I could tell, the translations and editing were done well. I suppose time will tell if someone were to come out and say, "that is not what I meant," but it seems like she communicated closely with each contributor.

It was interesting reading this book, (albeit slowly due to everything going on,) in the current climate of a pandemic existing simultaneously with one of the most brilliant uprisings in the USA that I have witnessed in my 37 years of life. Sparked to action by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the constant stream of other victims of murderous police, there have been huge masses of people out there every day, defending Black Lives and fighting the violent authoritarianism of police and governments. Among the people in Costco getting into fist fights over toilet paper, there have also been people (some of whom had never considered themselves radical) building effective mutual aid systems to make sure people have their needs met throughout this pandemic. People have been setting aside conflicts and working together, including anarchists working alongside unlikely allies to gangs declaring truces and uniting in struggle. Reading this book has me asking myself frequently- what happens when the protests and pandemic end? How can we keep these things going?

One of the news sources that is actually trustworthy during all of this is Unicorn Riot. So, I was pleased to read an entry with one of the founding members of the alternative media outlet- Niko Georgiades- discussing Greek self management. The entries in the book by contributors other than Milstein that I would count as my favorites are: "Pan-Africanism, Social Ecology, and Intimate Direct Democracy," by Modibo Kadalie in conversation with Andres Zonneveld, "Christiania: A Free City in the City of Copenhagen," by Asbjørn Nielsen, "'Only with You, This Broom Will Fly': Rojava, Magic, and Sweeping Away the State Inside of Us," by Dilar Dirik, and "Pirate Ships, Stormy Seas, and Finding Solid Ground: The Quartier Libre des Lentillères," by Natasha King. That said, I put a ton of page flags throughout the entire book. All of the entries are excellent.

Some of the themes that are explored are so important and are things that can easily divide communities to the point of fracture and complete breakdown. These include issues like social and ecological interactions, drug use and addiction, cultural differences, interactions between people in a space for politics alone (for instance white cis male anarchists from middle or owning class backgrounds squatting) and people in a space out of necessity (such as homeless people, refugees, those marginalized into a life of trauma and poverty,) communities in conflict (such as gangs or others with different ideologies,) avoiding restricting definitions and labels, being open to constant change, and the capacity for "ordinary" people- who may never have seen themselves as activists- to organize and revolt. All of these themes and more were explored with real life examples of people making really tough stuff work as a community as well as when communities failed. Basically, truly cooperative communities are full of messy struggles that defy definition. But, in that messiness, truly beautiful, necessary, and successful things can exist- showing us that a better anti-authoritarian world is indeed possible.

I kept asking myself: Where can I and others bend on our beliefs without breaking the core important issues at the center? How can people with very different needs and desires best share space? How can we continue to cooperate when there are major conflicts and disagreements? What happens to people who are kicked out or barred from joining? How can we make these things accessible to the most marginalized of people? How can we make expensive accessibility methods exist or utilize outside structures when necessary? These and many other questions exhibit the book's successful execution of starting real-life conversations about real-life struggles.

Another less important note, I really love the cover and interior design of the print book done by Crisis. I am not sure if the ebook was able to include any similar formats, but it definitely added to the experience of reading for me. So, it's definitely worth picking up the print version if you are able.

This was also posted to my blog.

[Derek Minno-Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need hope in your life, this is the book for you. In this amazing book many people around the world share power and create directly democratic people led movments and governments. This book proves that people can be good in these wild times.

[Scout · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the face of the common idea that capitalism and the state represent the only forms of organization that are possible from here on out, editor Cindy Milstein is less focused on arguing with this idea than engaging with the people who prove it wrong because they are living the impossible. Deciding for Ourselves portrays a wide range of experiments with direct democracy, or self-governance: people's attempts to live without hierarchy, responsible to themselves rather than to a higher authority, and with collective rather than individual leadership. For people who are already convinced that capitalism is death, this book goes into lots of details about different ways that people are already living according to different economic and organizational principles. The book is not interested in a one-size-fits-all prescription of what those principles should be, but rather explores the different structures, societies, and possibilities that emerge from people's collaborations and efforts to direct their own lives. There are lots of lessons here, lots of prodding of the imagination, lots of pain, and lots of joy. Wonderful and needed book.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am admittedly biased as I contributed a chapter to this anthology, but I still think it's a fantastic collection. It is a powerful series of essays looking at contemporary struggles from sites around the globe that speak to and demonstrate the messy, beautiful, difficult, and hopeful results and practices that emerge when people come together to meet, defend, articulate, and envision their own needs, aspirations, and futures without mediation from the state, capitalism, or other coercive constructs and institutions.

For me, the most poignant aspect of this book is that while it refers to "direct democracy," the pieces magnificently illustrate the multiplicity of forms this concept can take on, depending on the context and content of a given struggle or location. Rather than putting forward a "how to" on direct democracy, Deciding for Ourselves instead offers a variety of inspiring examples of how it is already being done. As such, it is a collection that is particularly relevant to our current moment.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It is a collection of essays of places around the world practicing some form of consensus based direct democracy, or stories from people who have been involved. From the 80 people in Lentillères to the 3 million in Rojava, the messy and the beautiful. Favorites included:
-VioMe, essentially a workers squat of a factory owned by a company that bankrupted. They decided to shift production to biodegradable cleaning products without animal fats.
-Notara 26, a housing squat in Exarcheia for refugees and migrants, housing over 8000 in total. Complete with food, clothing, medical and psychological care, play areas for children, community defense.
-Cherán, a town in Mexico that kicked out the cartels, police, and politicians.
-Bon Pastor, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Barcelona that carried the spirit of the '36 Revolution after the repression, and according to this, "Franco's death and the beginning of democracy in 1976 is not even considered a turning point in their lives - no more so than local events such as the great snow of 1964"

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Inspiring, %100 recommend reading.
Example of existing Decentralized, Autonomous, self managed, Non Hierarchy Societies.
Also read the book “A Consensus Handbook”

Direct democracy: Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies.

[Sarah (Skele) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a lot of the time books regarding anarchism, communes & the like give me almost melancholy vibe. This one actually made me feel hopeful. That and I actually learned of some real life, ongoinging examples I wasn't aware of. Definitely holding on to this for a re-read in the future for a pick-me-up.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything Cindy Milstein puts out has been amazing, and this book was no exception. It's easy to read, educational, and uplifting. Some of the essays were about spaces I've never heard of, most were updates about places I knew little about.

[drea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every radical should move this up on their reading list. Think of the best utopian/speculative fiction novel you love and then read this because all of the scenarios in here are reality. This was an easy read that had left me feeling full of inspiration and fortitude to build a new future.

[Esmé J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cindy Milstein and the contributors of this collection provide a comprehensive picture of real examples of direct democracy currently underway in a wide range of contexts. Once we see these examples of people deciding for themselves all over the globe, we begin to recognize this possibility for ourselves. This isn't some far away ideal - it can be possible and even desirable right now. These essays are extremely readable and cover the joys and challenges of navigating the needs of one another while under the oppressive shadow of the State.

I read this anthology for a book club and it was such a great starting point for conversations around envisioning the kinds of relationships and community power we want to build. Especially given how the pandemic has exacerbated the powerlessness and isolation many of us have been feeling for a long time, this kind of connection felt so comforting and meaningful!