Real Power

There are forms of power that require consent: laws, rights, institutions, elections, norms, ethics, morality… They only function when all sides agree to a shared premise. We are no longer in one of those moments.

But there are forms of power that do not require permission—forms you can exercise unilaterally. These are where you should focus now.

Labor.
Where you direct your effort. Where you withhold it. Organized labor—unions—retain a nearly singular ability to build power and advance working- and middle-class interests regardless of the legal or political landscape. (Join a union.)

Sabotage and subterfuge.
Malicious compliance. Staying in place while throwing sand in the gears—slowing processes, raising friction, forcing frustration and infighting.

Care and mutual aid.
Helping your neighbor. Feeding a striker. Offering a couch. Sending rent money. Driving someone to the doctor. Sitting together in physical solidarity. Building small, trusted networks that can be mobilized when needed.

Disruption.
Knowing when to break from your daily rhythm. Leaving comfort behind. Showing up publicly, in bodies and numbers. Accepting personal, social, or professional risk to make power visible—and therefore contestable.

Ridicule and satire.
Withholding status and legitimacy. Turning fear into laughter. Puncturing bluster. Exposing incompetence and absurdity.

Documenting and bearing witness.
Defending truth. Asserting reality. Creating the record we will one day point to—when accountability arrives, as it always does.

Storytelling and narrative.
Giving people a coherent framework for understanding what is actually happening.

Recognize where your power truly lies, then exercise it deliberately as part of a collective response.