"Demand the impossible” said the Situationists. “Demand nothing, take everything” said the Anarchists. “Demand moderate reforms today” said the Social Democrats. “Demand something everyday, but only if you’re never going to get it” said the Trotskyists. The history of progressive movements that have sought to change the world is intimately connected to the question of demands, their potential scope and their intended audience. This is part of our current campaign - “Demand the Future” – which hopes to promote a wider discussion on demands, building on the theoretical work Plan C has started, in the context of an election campaign which promises little joy for progressives.
We're going to release a daily demand in the lead up to the national election on the 7th of May. This series will contain a mixture of historical demands, current demands from groups and projects we like, and future demands or orientations the left might want to pursue. We are hoping to host ‘guest demands’ alongside those that we write ourselves. Some demands will signal claims we want to organise around, some we’ll be sympathetic to but don’t see ourselves contributing towards, and some we think might open up political terrain for future struggle. Whilst we don’t all agree on the importance of each and every demand, we hope they spark discussion, offer some refreshment from the stale pantomime of the party election campaigns and serve as a little reminder that the future is never closed.
