Citizen-Participation in the Fight Against the PandemicAt the moment there are tens of thousands of Quebec teachers fighting every day to guarantee their safety and that of their students, but the government prevents them from being able to decide how to proceed. There are tens of thousands of workers in the health care system who are putting their lives on the line to look after the population and find solutions to the crisis. The government responds with ministerial orders to keep control over the decisions. There are currently hundreds of thousands of industrial workers fighting to maintain the measures they have put in place to protect themselves, but management wants to keep decision-making in the hands of the monopolies. They are outright blocking the workers and taking away their initiative. The great mass of youth want nothing more than to be responsible toward society, and once again they are being denied this right. The crisis-ridden liberal democratic institutions have created a situation whereby governments and cartel parties in public office are there to block the activation of the human factor/social consciousness. They are not there to make sure measures are socially responsible. They decide nothing, are paralyzed by inaction and divorced from considering the sanctity of human life. Police powers will not solve the problem.
In seniors' homes, where possible, general assemblies with physical distancing should be held to mobilize older people in decision-making. In
workplaces, health and safety committees need to be expanded to promote
discussion on what needs to be done at work and also in society. The
people need governments which consider it their duty to make sure
companies cooperate. Youth are eager to be directly involved as volunteers in all kinds of ways, in their schools and neighbourhoods. They can be given responsibilities that instill in them in a practical way the importance of public safety. Further measures in this direction can be elaborated. The
people need governments which support such things and fund the
process whereby different levels of the civil service are at the
people's disposal to organize them. People need governments
which act as facilitators of such Quebec-wide mobilization
projects to fight the pandemic. This is what the government should be doing instead of putting forward new police measures. If the government does not want to assist, then the working class, people and youth, have the responsibility to do it themselves.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
New social forms
are required so that working people can resolve the situation in their
favour: citizens' committees in neighbourhoods where people
live and where they work to ensure that decisions are taken by the
citizens themselves and they can work out what can be done to ensure
their implementation.