On Producing and Consuming Democracy
A week ago today, thousands of women and their allies were preparing to protest. Some were putting the finishing touches on their signs. Some were already on board buses headed across the country. The next day, from Washington D.C. to Antarctica, women marched peacefully, to show their solidarity with each other. They marched to show their disdain for misogyny. They marched to be counted and heard. But will their efforts amount to real change? It depends upon what happens after the march. While many people perceive protest marches as an exercise in democracy, that may be the wrong way to think about them. Protests are about consuming democracy. What matters more is the production of democracy.
