We have enough politicians. We need movements.

By G.J. Nelson

One of more conspicuous and mystifying aspects of American society in the age of MAGA is the dearth of political leadership outside of the two-party system. It seems like every social cause in the United States is either formulated by the two parties, their think tanks and media apparatus or quickly scooped up to be used or discredited by them.

This absence of self-guided, national-level movements and institutions capable of leadership outside of boardrooms, newsrooms and legislative bodies has been noticeable for decades. In the age of MAGA—where mass politics seems to mostly come from a well-funded and organized far right—it’s a devastating weakness.

In the absence of a real civil society, we’ve allowed private interests to define and mediate our social spaces (look at social media if you want an example of the ersatz town square) and reduced all mass politics to elections and overheated partisan rhetoric. In doing so, we have demolished a core pillar of self-governance: people power.

Fighting for and protecting the rights of citizens requires mass mobilization and charismatic leadership outside of Washington, leaders with sincere moral beliefs, a vision of change, the motivation to act on it, and political instincts. A tall order to be sure.

The US is now dominated by two main pillars: capitalism and electoral politics. And since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates on political spending with the Citizens United ruling in 2010, we’ve seen the near total capitulation of electoral politics to capital. The perfect symbol of this is Elon Musk, a capitalist who by virtue of being a rich donor was invited into the government to demolish it, no election or appointment required.

The far right rode the Citizens United wave to power and is now using that power to cripple the federal government’s capacity to regulate or mitigate the excesses of capitalism. In a rather pathetic demonstration of this reality, we have watched government officials hawking meme coins and Tesla cars on television. Brazen corruption and conflicts of interest are no longer a source of embarrassment; they’re to be expected and celebrated.

There is no third pillar that can push back. There is no William Lloyd Garrison or Frederick Douglas, no Samuel Gompers or W.E.B. De Boise, no Alice Paul or Betty Friedman. There was a time in post-war America when labor unions held power on par with corporate executives and Martin Luther King, Jr. could work directly with Lyndon Johnson to help pass historic civil rights legislation.

These days, that sounds like a time of legends.

There are thousands of competent, charismatic leaders and nonprofit organizations outside the political parties and corporations who command a measure of authority, but can you name one with a national profile, one with a platform to speak truth directly to power, one who can strike fear into the hearts of MAGA? And who doesn’t want political office?

The US has a surplus of thought leaders and partisan actors who seek to influence people outside of the two pillars. Some are sincere; many are just advancing more of the same. The moral leaders who are sincere, who truly stand outside the temple and speak truth to power, have an important role to play. But they are not yet a movement.

Without an independent and charismatic mass movement, there is no effective outlet for the tens of millions of Americans opposed to MAGA authoritarianism or the languishing status quo conditions that brought it about. Winning elections is not enough to put out this fire. The people must be mobilized.

We desperately need national-scale social movements and charismatic leadership capable of agitating for political change. We need a compelling counter-narrative focused on popular mobilization. We need a moral harbinger that can force a reckoning elected officials cannot ignore.

We need a pro-democracy movement that can change hearts and minds, draw media attention, publicly debate establishment figures, and place politicians in a bind where they must act. And if we’re going to stand up for the victims of MAGA, we need to be willing to take chances.

We need to sideline the political opinion-making industry led by corporate media figures aligned with one of the two parties. There is a robust independent media landscape representing more diverse and radical opinions, but they don’t have the financial resources, reach or readership to mobilize people on a national scale. That needs to change. We have to make the headlines.

Without all this, the people will be continue to be routed. The Democrats are limited by political calculations and raw numbers. The judicial branch—even without the partisan courts—is too deliberative and slow-moving to save us. Marches and spontaneous acts of defiance feel good, but they’re fleeting and easy to ignore.

Throughout US history, popular movements motivated by moral and practical necessity have compelled or encouraged political change from outside the political structure. They enlisted politicians to their causes but carried out much of their political activity outside the borders of party politics—through organizing, protests, boycotts, refusals, walkouts and stoppages, occupations, defiance of the law, and yes, sometimes even street fighting.

Abolitionism, Women’s Suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, Progressive Age reformers, early trade unionism, and nearly all the empowerment movements of the 1970s not only defied the elites of the two-party system; they produced charismatic moral leaders who could command the attention of mainstream politicians.

These movements were resolute and highly organized when it mattered. While all of them were riven with factionalism and splinter groups, at their heights the most successful ones had consistent messaging, an unwavering moral vision, and a fight-or-die attitude. It had to be done; failure was not an option. Many people swept up in these movements took enormous risks and not a few were threatened, beaten and murdered.

Whether motivated by pride, moral outrage, religious faith, poor pay and working conditions, violent oppression, a desire for equality or justice, the promise of the preamble of the US constitution, or even raw survival, these movements galvanized people and forced change. They fought the law and won. Every piece of legislation or constitutional amendment that improved the lives of the public at large was born of their struggle.

The greatest struggle in US history, the abolition of slavery, was born out of both moral and practical considerations that never would have arisen without decades of intense and fervent opposition to slavery from northern abolitionists.

The ultimate outcome, the Civil War, might have been tragic but it was also the moment when the US Constitution’s liberating potential was first fully realized. It was the second American revolution, and it would not have come about without the tireless struggle and sacrifices of enslaved people and the abolitionist movement.

Waves of liberation movements came after it, enfranchising and securing rights for tens of millions of people. The high-water mark was the Black Civil Rights movement and its various offshoots—Chicano rights, LGBTQ rights, second-wave feminism, etc. Their efforts helped create the modern civil rights landscape that the far right is now demolishing.

After the high-profile assassinations of Civil Rights leaders and complete destruction of more militant movements in the 1960s and 70s, the US seemed to lose its taste for citizen-led agitation—or any kind of non-electoral politics.

It’s not just the Civil Rights movement that has faded; all its offshoots have too. As these grassroots agitators evolved into polished, highly professionalized advocacy and lobbying organizations, they were essentially incorporated into the establishment and electoral politics. They’re indispensable, but they’re not going to force a “come to Jesus” moment of national reckoning.

The green movement seemed like it might serve as an outside force to unite people, but the successful evasions of the energy and resource sectors and bottomless demand for cheap new consumer products seem to have cut the legs out from under it. Given that all life on Earth hangs in the balance, calling it regrettable is understating things.

In recent years, there have been short-lived popular movements like Black Lives Matters and MeToo that had broader impacts before the inevitable media and political backlashes. There have been Pride parades, Palestinian rights protests, Anonymous, Occupy Wall Street, and on and on. But none of these have produced national leaders or platforms.

(The right has also had its more-or-less spontaneous movements [e.g., Tea Party], but the GOP was quick to absorb their grievances. MAGA now seems to represent so many disparate grievances, it gives you cognitive dissonance just thinking about it.)

Staying in their own lanes, none of these movements could hope to thwart the MAGA revolution, which is burning down centuries of progress paid for in the sacrifices and lives of our forebearers. The arsonists are inside the house with torches and oil drums. Squirt bottles aren’t going to cut it.

You can’t expect elected officials, bound by tacit obligations to donors, to be reliable advocates. If they want our support, appeals to pragmatism aren’t enough. We’re not here to serve their interests. They must serve us, the people.

We can’t wait for a sea change in politics. In the LinkedIn parlance of our age, we must become the change we want to see. I can’t offer much advice on how we get there.

What I do know is that we need to find a way to bring the disparate activists, organizers, nonprofits, intellectuals, religious leaders, and community members who oppose the reactionary tide together under a common banner. We need to find out where we stand, what we stand against, and what we stand for.

We need a moral vision that is expansive, broadly appealing, and universalist, one that can unite people toward common, realizable goals. We need smart, charismatic leaders who are willing to forgo political careerism for a life of service. We need to clearly explain how the democratic experiment got to this point, and what fixing it means.

We need a media apparatus that can get the message out and an activist corps that can generate headlines through sheer force of will, that can draw down the attention of the powerful and their media. We need people who are daring, brave, resourceful, and willing to resist the reactionary creep wherever it takes root.

Of course, I have no idea how to make this happen. But if we’re going to survive as a democratic republic, this must happen, and sooner rather than later. Time is running out.