The writer Jorge Volpi argues that collective manifestos carry less and less weight these days, and now have practically no influence or relevance in political terms. âThe discrediting of the figure of authority as a whole [â¦] further erodes the idea that they might serve some purpose,â he said in December during a graduation ceremony at New York University (NYU). Perhaps the strength of the âsigned hereunderâ no longer carries the importance it once did or has the ability to mobilize voters, but leaflets and manifestos signed by numerous hands have the capacity to stimulate discussion and at the same time to feed the eternal debate between what is published and what is public.