Depends on how a person interprets it. Some will just get doomer and want to give up. Some may end up floating in adventurism or ultraleft extremes. Some may even divert to fascism, if all they wanted was slightly better working conditions for themself. A principled, organized vanguard party is critical for giving people something grounding to rally around and such a party is not going to be only voting (though it may do some voting as part of its organizing strategy). The worst problem is when the organized vehicle is only voting and actively discourages people from doing anything else. Even AES state vanguard parties that have dominant power are not going to be only voting, they’re going to be doing other kinds of organizing too, such as in organizing local community and tending to its needs.
So I would say part of the problem with the “vote” mindset is it’s not just that it will fail to oust the dominant political force from power, it’s also only a small part of exercising power. The voting part, in an actually democratic peoples setup, gauges what people most want and elevates those who most represent a given community/region/etc - represent in their consistent deeds, not just in platitudes and promises. It is a tallying of process of what’s already there. In faux “democratic” capitalist systems, voting is a marketing campaign of manipulation, selling a product based on empty platitudes and false promises, sold by a would-be representative whose claims to representation usually amount to little more than knocking on some doors or belonging to a certain class or caste categorization.
People need to understand this about political power. Voting on a product now and then does not get them any closer to an organized system of community and representation that can get needs met, much less challenge the hegemony of capital. The strongest forces of liberation are not those who have a “great man theory” once-in-a-millennia leader, but those whose organization is unshakeable and whose resources are strong enough to overcome the imperialist forces that will inevitably try to break them. Point being, there’s no magic “find the right representative” button to shape society in your image, you still need organization and you still need resources to call upon. The only reason it can look like that for the capitalists is because their representatives tap right into the capitalist organization and resource infrastructure.
Depends on how a person interprets it. Some will just get doomer and want to give up. Some may end up floating in adventurism or ultraleft extremes. Some may even divert to fascism, if all they wanted was slightly better working conditions for themself. A principled, organized vanguard party is critical for giving people something grounding to rally around and such a party is not going to be only voting (though it may do some voting as part of its organizing strategy). The worst problem is when the organized vehicle is only voting and actively discourages people from doing anything else. Even AES state vanguard parties that have dominant power are not going to be only voting, they’re going to be doing other kinds of organizing too, such as in organizing local community and tending to its needs.
So I would say part of the problem with the “vote” mindset is it’s not just that it will fail to oust the dominant political force from power, it’s also only a small part of exercising power. The voting part, in an actually democratic peoples setup, gauges what people most want and elevates those who most represent a given community/region/etc - represent in their consistent deeds, not just in platitudes and promises. It is a tallying of process of what’s already there. In faux “democratic” capitalist systems, voting is a marketing campaign of manipulation, selling a product based on empty platitudes and false promises, sold by a would-be representative whose claims to representation usually amount to little more than knocking on some doors or belonging to a certain class or caste categorization.
People need to understand this about political power. Voting on a product now and then does not get them any closer to an organized system of community and representation that can get needs met, much less challenge the hegemony of capital. The strongest forces of liberation are not those who have a “great man theory” once-in-a-millennia leader, but those whose organization is unshakeable and whose resources are strong enough to overcome the imperialist forces that will inevitably try to break them. Point being, there’s no magic “find the right representative” button to shape society in your image, you still need organization and you still need resources to call upon. The only reason it can look like that for the capitalists is because their representatives tap right into the capitalist organization and resource infrastructure.