Palestine shows humankind is not ready for the upcoming crises. But it can be.
A statement by the One Democratic State Initiative Humankind is heading toward a number of crises. Another global pandemic is a real possibility. The confrontation between the U.S. and China might lead to armed confrontations. The environmental crisis, including the inevitable struggle over water resources, might be an existential threat. In the field of A.I, developments that hold immense potential for humankind can also cost the income of millions of families. A.I. has also shown the ability to operate outside of the intended instructions and uses it was designed for, potentially causing harm to humans. Finally, A.I. is gradually bypassing and supplanting our capacities for research, expression, troubleshooting, critical thinking and others. Its introduction in schools poses a particular danger to the intellectual faculties of upcoming generations. Crises threaten existing orders. As such, they provide both threats to societies and opportunities for radical change. However, the fact that the global movement for Palestine in the past few years failed to stop the genocide and to uproot the systems that enable it shows that humankind is neither ready to face these upcoming dangers nor to benefit from the opportunities they offer. Understanding why we were unable to stop a genocide thus reveals what we need to work on. The One Democratic State Initiative identifies three areas. First, most humans are not in political organizations. This is in line with the growing trend of individualism. It deprives us of the capacity to organize efforts and therefore to effect change. It often leads to us using our time in oral expressions of solidarity or condemnation instead of work that actually affects the balance of power. An example is the "All eyes on Rafah" campaign which was one of the most successful twitterstorms of history by social media metrics but did not stop the razing of Rafah. Second, many organizations are depoliticized. This is in line with the global trend of neoliberalism. We particularly noticed this as the hundreds of organizations we engaged in discussions with in Palestine, Al-Sham and the world fiercely resisted adopting a political vision for Palestine—whether a vision for one democratic state or any other. The reasons are diverse:
- Those who focus on electoral work view the adoption of any political choice as costly in terms of votes and prefer broader messages such as solidarity with Gaza or not supporting the genocide.
- Those established in reaction to events such as the genocide do not see the need for a political vision and view analyzing what is enabling the event and determining the solution to that structure as mere theory.
- Those based on identity, geographic presence or specific means of action resisting adopting a political vision that might cause a split between them.
Third, we lack political education and critical capacity. Many of us are unaware of concepts such as the theory of value, cultural hegemony, historical blocs, the politicization of identity, differences between tribal and state structures, and others—and oftentimes don't see the need to learn them. On the other hand, many who are aware of such concepts adopt them doctrinally, even religiously, with little appetite for questioning them or applying them critically in specific contexts. This leads to work that is largely out of touch with reality and therefore ineffective. There may be criticism of this identification and identification of other areas. What matters is that we recognize that we were unable to discern the network of power that that connects the interest groups that benefited from the genocide, including capital that controls the media and decision-makers, the technological and military industries that monopolize A.I. production, and the settler entity in Palestine. Unless we remedy this situation, we will remain unable to adopt and impose a political program that is in opposition to theirs. Throughout history, humankind was largely a passive recipient of major upheavals, including technological revolutions. Today, we have the opportunity to be active participants if we build the needed political capacity. The One Democratic State Initiative has taken a number of steps in this regard. They include the "Key Political and Societal Concepts" section of our website, the "Qadirun" revolutionary program (so far only in Arabic) and the building of political relations in Al-Sham and throughout the world. We call on humans worldwide to make the best out of those tools, to engage in discussions of everything expressed in this statement and to join political organizations that share this worry at humankind's depoliticization and this desire for freer and happier societies.
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