The state therefore becomes a moment in this larger process. It is neither the determining nor the defining factor. We are not waiting for it to build our next food system – we are doing it in townships and communities. We are not waiting for the state to address the democratization of the water commons. In South Africa the water systems are in crises – in towns, villages and cities. We build politics around this, so that people can democratize the water commons and take control of them and solve their problems. The state will be important at some point in this process but we are not waiting for it. We are not waiting for the rupture in the old style revolutionary politics. We are not waiting for technocratic concessions that meet the needs of the market but cannot meet the crises we are in. We are doing transformative politics by starting to build the next world now. Yes, we have to get out there, we have to give this imaginary space to breathe and to make a difference – now.
Vishwas Satgar was recently interviewed in Z. Read the full interview–“Post-Normal Times That Need Deep Democracy” — here and an excerpt below:
