Thread by @paologerbaudo

With Pablo Iglesias gone it feels a bit like the end of an era. For those in my generation who witnessed occupied squares of 2011 and then their electoral spinoffs (Corbyn, Syriza, Sanders, Podemos) it may seem like the usual boulevard of broken dreams. It ain't.

As Iglesias himself said in his resignation speech "we have changed Spanish politics and broken two-party rule". Podemos has made a wedge into the Spanish political system that is profound and structural.

Same thing for many other countries. Sanders and Corbyn came very close to snatching away a presidential nomination, and winning majority in Commons respectively. This was unthinkable before 2011.

Often surprised by how little long-term view we have. And how after defeats (which are part of the process) ppl easily get disheartened. Lula won at the *4th* attempt. Little bit more persistence, self-confidence, and what once upon a time they called discipline, would be great.

The purple wave was effective at 3 levels:
1) establishing new priorities in political discourse;
2) establishing organisation
3) perhaps most important of all: nurturing some sense of possibility after decades of self-doubt

The first one is obvious. Think about what political discourse was like 10 years ago (that is if you are old enough to remember). Inequality was not a thing people would discuss as today. Much less how beautiful public services are, or let alone social-democracy or socialism.

Biden is doing the good things is doing because of 1) fear of Trump comeback; 2) fear of China, but 3) also because discourse has changed and socialist-populists were instrumental to that.

In terms of organisation, in Spain, France, Italy (though 5 star is the odd one out), new parties have been established with 100,000s members. They are parties with flaws but they *exist*. Real parties - and orgs like Momentum or Justice Democrats, DSA - are not born every day.

I'd say the most important thing of all is that this signals people once again think organisations and parties are necessary. That's an important turn in common sense vis-a-vis late New Left cult of spontaneity and/or sectarian groupuscules.

Finally: possibility. Most important of all neoliberal dogmas was infamous There Is No Alternative, internalised by so many of us under high neoliberalism. 2010s shattered sense of stasis/impotence. But also taught ppl that trying to change things comes with a cost.

It will be very interesting to see how the seeds planted in the 2010s germinate in the 2020s. My money is on the fact that we will see on the one hand quite a bit of readjustment in the political mainstream (Bidenomics etc.) and on the other hand new populist revolts.

end

I realise I have an affective investment in this, so I may not be too sober. But perhaps the point is precisely that all this taught us there is no transformational politics without enormous affective investment and some suspension of disbelief.