I complain. A lot. I am not a happy person. But you will never die wondering what I thought or where I stood. Still, complaining isn’t enough, and whinging can feel futile.
The Borg and the rising authoritarian states of the 21st century want you to believe that “resistance is futile.” It isn’t. Resistance is not only necessary; resistance is an obligation.
Small acts of everyday resistance can raise the costs of authoritarianism so high the system collapses. In the late Soviet Union, acts of passive resistance—from workers deliberately slowing down production to citizens openly defying censorship laws—contributed to the erosion of state control. These acts of everyday resistance helped to chip away at the crumbling foundations. Authoritarian regimes rely on compliance to function. When enough people withdraw their cooperation, inefficiency turns into paralysis, and paralysis into collapse. It becomes so grindingly inefficient and ineffective that it fails. The unwillingness of the people to work in the interests of an illegitimate state is that state’s undoing.
Small acts of everyday resistance need not rise to criminality. There are ways of resisting that work, that keep the pressure up, and that allow you to control your level of exposure.
The power of the authoritarian state does not lie in compliance alone. It also lies in isolation—your sense of being alone in your unhappiness. Why do you think the Chinese state is so quick to remove online complaints and hide protests? The protest is not the problem. The protest’s effect is letting others know they are not alone in their unhappiness. And if you do not feel alone, you are also more likely to engage in small acts of everyday resistance.
Work to rule is a classic form of everyday resistance. This tactic has been historically effective in labour movements, such as the bureaucratic slowdowns under oppressive regimes, where workers deliberately followed every regulation to the letter to hinder authoritarian efficiency. Do your job. To the letter. No more. No less. When only one person works to rule, they are a miserable, unhelpful arse. When large numbers of people work to rule, unhappiness shows. It is palpable. In a government department that is engaging in immoral and cruel behaviour (“within the law”), you can slow it down, throw sand in the gearbox, and make it less cruel by being less effective and less efficient.
In the U.S., ICE agents could do their jobs—badly. Administrative staff supporting ICE agents can slow things down by moving paper at an excruciatingly necessary pace. The word “expedite” should be struck from the vocabulary.
Singapore in the late ’80s and ’90s was a highly (overly) regulated society. Many would say it has persisted. But in the ’90s, chewing gum became a tool of everyday resistance. People would stick it over the door sensors on the MRT trains. The doors couldn’t close, and it would bring the system to a grinding halt. The act was small, non-specific in its target, and (back then) unidentifiable.
Posters, protests, badges, public art, and internet memes have all been used to demonstrate everyday resistance. Remembering when the state wants to forget or reimagine a truth is a powerful corrective. Archive the truth on the internet.
In a digital age, careful choices about how and when to use devices, credit cards, and online accounts can disrupt data collection and tracking. Using burner phones where you can get them, paying with cash instead of cards, and setting up anonymous online accounts are small but effective ways to limit surveillance and maintain privacy. Resistance is not about criminality; it is about the right to privacy, the freedom to think, and the quiet power of refusing to comply—to engage in cruelty. Even small acts of everyday resistance remind others they are not alone.
It is possible to resist and chew gum at the same time.
Resources:
If you want some ideas, have a look at these two.
- The Nonviolent Action Database – A collection of case studies on successful resistance;
- Libcom.org’s Activism & Protest section – Offers guides on organising and direct action.