The historian Yuval Harari writes that most of our social institutions and the rules that we follow are “intersubjective” — they exist and have power because people agree that they exist. Certainly the power of the Presidency fits this. Donald Trump has power because people do what he tells them to because he is “The President” and in particular people who work for the government either do what he tells them to do or quit.
What if a large enough number of people refuse? I’ve seen some suggestions that the time might come for a “general strike”, but it seems to me that a much more effective response to Trumpian autocracy would be selective on-the-job job actions by those who Trump depends on to carry out his orders. What if the government workers tasked with processing administrative leave orders and terminations refuse to do so unless there is a legitimate cause? What if workers refuse to take content offline because of outrageous and likely illegal orders intended to suppress any discussion of issues surrounding race,, sex, gender, or sexual orientation, etc? What if they showed up for work, continued to do the legitimate work they are paid for (e.g., processing Social Security benefit applications) but ignored the tasks that Trump or Musk or their minions assign. Obviously that would not go well if just a few people took this route, but I think a large majority of the Federal workforce in most agencies understands that the Trump Administration is hostile to them and to their goals and could be persuaded to join such an effort if there was an evident critical mass of participants to assure them that they are not sticking their necks out on their own.
Perhaps this is unrealistic…perhaps Americans are not capable of such coordinated action without a well established hierarchy to guide them…but I think it is both more realistic and less ethically troubling than the suggestions that I am currently seeing about preparing to fight in the streets. (I’ll note that many of us derided similar suggestions when they were made by MAGA followers imagining battle against a Democratic Administration. Our side might have more worthy motivations, but we have far fewer weapons, and less likelihood of drawing police, National Guard, et alia into any fight on our side..)
I am no expert on the tactics of non-violent resistance, and there may well be other approaches than what I have suggested that are more likely to be actionable or effective. But I believe that we collectively need to be thinking about what we can do beyond going “by the book”–going to the courts, lobbying our representatives on the Hill, marching in the streets with signs–without embarking on an armed struggle which would most likely end badly (and be used as a justification for more intense repression.)
Let us take inspiration from the words of labor activist Hamilton Nolan just a few days ago:
“Trump and Elon Musk are like two guys with six-shooters trying to hold a thousand people hostage. They only win if everyone thinks they are too strong to rush.”
And from the still-oh-so-timely Dr Seuss tale of Yertle the Turtle
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