The Political Sphere

Whereas the origin of the term DIY once just referred to amateur repair and craft projects the term has evolved to encompass an ethical and political meaning. DIY politics questions the uniqueness of the expert's voice, and promotes the ability of the ordinary person to learn to do more than he or she thought was possible. The DIY ethic can also extend to how any group or individual applies DIY political stances to daily life—especially how they avoid contributing to institutions they see as exploitive. These efforts include converting cars to run on vegetable oil, learning bicycle repair, sewing/repairing/modifying clothing, starting gardens, dumpster diving, etc. To a certain extent, DIY is simply a way of finding ad hoc solutions to problems that are otherwise usually solved with wealth or corporate support. Within electoral politics there is often a very strong DIY impetus around grassroots organizations (although Do-It-Ourselves might be a better acronym). Often such groups form to focus on a single-issue movements that they feel is underserved in mainstream political channels; areas such as civil rights, women’s issues, environmental, or gay rights. Technology has accelerated the ability to get more political messages out faster and farther through alternative conduits for communication. Citizen journalism, including political blogs and podcasts contributed largely to the last presidential election. Such journalism, rejects the one way flow on information, and is shaped by the greater participation and open feedback loop of its audience. Inevitably the effective new strategies in politics pioneered by DIY grassroots activists are now being utilized by mainstream lobbyists and politicians.