When the traditional ruling class was obliged to concede to demands for democracy, it gave away as little as possible. We could vote, but it ensured that crucial elements of the old system remained in place: the House of Lords, the first-past-the-post electoral system, prerogative powers and Henry VIII clauses, and above all a legal system massively and blatantly biased towards owners of property.
In combination, these elements ensured that the system remained predisposed to elite rule, even while it pretended the people were in charge. The portcullis excluding us from power has never been properly lifted since the Norman conquest. The relationship between rulers and ruled remains, in effect, a relationship between occupier and occupied.
For almost a thousand years, we’ve celebrated those who resisted in folklore and fantasy: the Robin Hood myth commemorates Eadric the Wild and other “silvatici” who held out in the woods, launching raids against the occupiers. But in the real world, few dare to raise their heads. The hatred, disgust and fear with which elite power has long regarded the people is reciprocated with fear and deference: we know what happens when we step out of line.
As a Gen-” nobody worries about”-Xer, once upon a time, I thought I could calm down in mid-life.
Hah, bloody hah.
Instead, I’ve become a more radical Democratic Socialist and a disrupter, thank goodness I live in a like-minded country of demonstrators.
When your elite won’t listen to you there is no point demonstrating in a field where nobody is inconvenienced. To get through to the elite you have to cause chaos [non-violent] and preferably make them insecure.
Women’s Suffrage still isn't over.
Feminism is still relevant.
Destruction of the planet is still worth fighting against.
When tsk tsk is not enough.
Get out and show where you stand.
When faced with the choice of the least worse, make them better.