This doesn't mean we have to discard our ideological differences, but it does mean that socialists, greens, anarchists and other oppositional forces will have to learn to respect each other's positions and abandon the rather isolationist stances that many have adopted in the recent past. I think there's a widespread recognition of this need, and it seems to me that events such as Seattle, Prague, Nice and the forthcoming protests in Genoa represent the beginnings of a sustained mass mobilisation. The challenge is to make this happen on a daily basis, rather than just once every six months at a spectacular gathering. No one should ever fight alone again. IT WILL be hard to do, as all the media will be focused on a handful of mostly peripheral issues, but we must use every possible opportunity to draw attention to the huge areas of public policy which are not being debated, and the large numbers of people who are not being represented.
Some people argue that voting is a waste of time.
They're right-if all you do is vote. Direct action is a waste of time if all you do is direct action. We must use every tool in the democratic toolbox, every political opportunity that presents itself. Radical parties have an essential role to play even if they win no seats in parliament, for they help to broaden the political debate and even, in some cases, to frighten the horses. Looking back on the past ten years, I'm amazed at how ineffective we have all been.