this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
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Unfortunately voting for Democrats isn't harm reduction. It's just a vote against harm acceleration. Which has a value don't get me wrong. But it's not the same thing. The only way we'll ever see harm reduction. Is if we primary every candidate from every party. Actually making them compete and not just continuing to legislate based on momentum. As well as voting in every tiny local election. Focusing on them and empowering your local politicians and party. To take away from the national party's power.
... that's what 'harm reduction' means.
As a term, it's meant to suggest that voting for bourgeois democratic parties will never, itself, lead towards a more fundamentally equal society, else it would be a (theoretically) viable path in and of itself.
As a term, it suggests that there is a path that will result in a less horrific situation than if the alternative succeeds - such as more capitalist bourgeois democratic parties, or, more relevantly to recent events, outright fascist parties.
Harm reduction, in this context, means reducing the coming harm, not necessarily reducing current harm.
"Harm reduction" doesn't mean reducing the current level of harm to a lower level, it means reducing the future increase of harm. Voting for harm reduction is literally the exact same thing as voting against harm acceleration. It is the same thing. The term comes from drug policy, where you recognize that people will harm themselves no matter what, so you focus on reducing that harm rather than trying ineffectively to eliminate it entirely.
Still though, voting as far left as can win in every local election is an excellent start. We're not going to change anything by voting for 3rd party no-names in the general election. We'll do it by building local representatives into Governors and members of Congress with track records that inspire confidence, and then pushing them nationally.
If it doesn't reduce harm. It's not harm reduction. Prevention perhaps. But reduction has a different meaning. Reduction means not only stopping new harm. But reducing existing as well. Something that even if we are being extremely generous to Democrats is something they struggle to even attempt to do.
Don't get me wrong I'm 100% on board for the general message of the meme. Placing Perfection over achievable will get you the worst outcome every time. However voting itself can never be harm reduction. No matter how often you do it. That's going to require community action, making these elected officials feel accountable and responsible for their actions.
That's not what "harm reduction" means. It is an established term with an established meaning. Reinterpreting it does not change the established meaning of the full term. If the term was "harmful status reduction" or "harm reversal" you would have a point, but "harm" is an active verb. The term means what it means. I am using the term as it is defined.
And I agree, focus should be on achievable over perfect. And real action does extend beyond voting. But voting is still a useful tool, not the total extent of action, but a useful element of action. Third-party/non voters prioritize perfect over achievable, and in return get neither.
They're using the literal definition of the words. How does that redefine anything?
I can see why you might think that!
Harm is both a verb (to inflict damage) and a noun (the damage thus inflicted). The term harm reduction has a specific meaning which disambiguates the intent.
Ummm...that's literally what "harm reduction" is, though. You are minimizing the damage fascists can do, and giving yourself more time to get alternatives in place.
You can't do that if you don't vote against fascism in every election...even the ones where you don't have a favorite candidate. If you choose to sit out the elections that don't have an ideal candidate...then how do you expect one to run, once the fascists use their power to cancel future elections? You have to keep them out of office, if you want to have any hope of pursuing better alternatives.