horizontalism
A radical left political tendency rejecting hierarchical institutions and advocating direct democracy, consensus decision-making, prefigurative politics, and direct action to change social relations from below.
1 chapter across 1 book
Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work (2015)Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams
Chapter 2 critiques the contemporary left's strategic limitations, focusing on the dominance of folk politics, particularly horizontalism, in recent radical movements such as Occupy. It argues that while horizontalism advances important commitments like rejecting domination and embracing direct democracy, its reliance on immediacy, prefigurative politics, and direct action often fails to build sustained political power necessary to challenge global capitalism. The chapter uses the Occupy movement as a case study to illustrate both the appeal and the shortcomings of these folk-political strategies in core capitalist countries.