Our worst enemy...Apathy?

[Hexen]

Do you think that our worst enemy is actually Apathy or rather Capitalists created it in order to stay in power as much as possible?

[Dimentio]

Do you think that our worst enemy is actually Apathy or rather Capitalists created it in order to stay in power as much as possible?

I think the worst enemy of all revolutionary progressive visions is the performance of successful movements which have led revolutions well in power.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I'm apathetic to apathy. I don't really believe it exists... people can be cynical and feel defeated and that there are no alternatives and this causes what people call political apathy. This is definately somethign that is cultivated by the ruling class... they will either make you jusmp through a million "legal" hoops in trying to change things or they will try and crush you or they will try and co-opt movements... all of this leads many people to conclude that change can not happen and they get discouraged or begin to accept/demand less.

Most people who say: "I don't know about politics, or I don't care about politics" probably do care about not having benefits at work or getting their tuition increased and all sorts of political issues that effect their daily lives. What they really mean when they say these things is, "nothing will change, what I do doesn't matter" and so these people often turn to spirituality, life-style politics, and other personal expressions of politics ("I'm just doing my little part to make the world a kind place").

We can counter apathy by showing in practice how to fight and win demands by having militant independent politics and clear class-based politics. When the civil rights movement began many "apathetic" people were angerily opposed to the movement because they thought (correctly) that it would cause a racist backlash against their communities. the movement overcame this by winning and finding tactics that could force the rascists to back down such as the lunch-counter sit-ins. I forget the statistics but the sit-in movement began with just a few actions and a dozen or so people and when they began wining, within months, people all over the south were doing this and then students in the north began emulating this success. In the US in the 1930s, it was the same thing with the militant strikes... after 5 years of depression and union defeats, the unions began winning and this led to a big strike-wave where workers began having sit-in strikes all over the country after they saw these tactics win in the auto-industry.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I concur with Jimmie Higgins above. I'd add to his point regarding legal loopholes. Living in Britain, I see first hand all the time the 'political apathy' that drowns people. One can indeed distinguish between apathy and political apathy. I speak to a lot of people who moan about their shitty work situation, mounting bills and what have you, yet you cannot start a political conversation with such people. The ruling class has done a good job of establishing 'Politics' as a field on its own, that is seen by most as 'not their business or interest', and something best left as some sort of reality game for the rich and privileged. Certainly, that is the situation in my country.

We must separate ourselves from the field of Politics as a 'profession' - indeed, there has been no abating to the rise of the 'career politician', in our language 'careerist lackeys' - and try to engage with people on their own level. The smallest issue can act as a catalyst for revolution; minor workplace discontent can turn very easily into a heated political issue. We, as Socialists, must understand the bread and butter issues of ordinary people in the context that they put them across, instead of resorting to high level political and theoretical jargon at all times.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I was reading something not too long ago about radical immigrants in the US in the early 20th century (by Howard Zinn... hmm sorry, I can't remember where) and there was a quote about how many immigrants felt shut out of the mainstream political process and it would never occur to anyone in their community to support the Democrats and Republicans, but many people did join the US CP because it was organizing in their communities, organizing in their workplaces, fighting for tenants rights and against religious and ethnic bigotry.

I've read similar things about the IWW and Socialist party who attracted marginalized migratory workers and Midwestern workers respectively. People who didn't think politics were for them suddenly were exposed to politics that made sense based on their experiences and their needs.

Probably half of US workers do not vote and I think the situation is largely still the same as it was for the Jewish immigrants or Midwestern factory workers or Northwest loggers - only there isn't the same level of working class radicals organizing on the ground in working class communities at the moment.

[Die Neue Zeit]

The ruling class has done a good job of establishing 'Politics' as a field on its own, that is seen by most as 'not their business or interest', and something best left as some sort of reality game for the rich and privileged. Certainly, that is the situation in my country.

The new phenomenon of "Red Toryism" fuels further this shit, diverting the masses with "participation" in more localized issues.

[RadioRaheem84]

Everyone in here has it right on the money. Politics has been handed over to "experts" and people feel genuinely disenfranchised and disconnected from the political process. Instead they place all of their hopes in candidates who ironically they know won't do anything to change the situation.

There is also the issue that people have been bogged down by work and the situation with maintaining their livelihoods. The population gets immediate gratification from worrying about and changing their own situation amongst close peers than amongst society. Couple this with the ruling class suppressing decades of information from a variety of subjects in the media and the people are left with only looking at all things socio-political and economical from a surface level. Anyone with the least bit of more knowledge than what they see on TV is looked at as an expert or thinking too much (outside the box).

Another issue is that people have accepted the way things are (at least before the crisis) and feel as though there is no point in stirring the pot and losing the little they've gained when they have the chance to gain more.

[Tatarin]

I very much agree that in order to start to organize anything, the discussion must be on the same level as those who want the change. Whether or not a person realize it, politics is the second most important thing next to air, since it even can decide if you can legally breath air at all (just ask the victims of nazism). In other words, it is important to show people that politics isn't something "up there" but a deciding factor every day, but also that power has always come from below, and not above.

Even internet 'piracy' has become a political movement - although not that big - it did manage to get a full 7% of the total Swedish vote, a party that existed a mere 2 years and have two policies it want to push (no surveillance, free downloading) in comparison to the Sweden Democrats (fascists-in-costumes) who after 20 years only got 3%.

[mikelepore]

I don't think it's apathy. I think it's the fact that people are taught that the range of all things possible is what they talk about on television. On television they talk about the opportunity to have a backyard barbecue, so it's possible to do that. On television they never talk about setitng up a whole new way of living, a cooperative and classless society, so that's impossible.

[Tablo]

I don't think it's apathy. I think it's the fact that people are taught that the range of all things possible is what they talk about on television. On television they talk about the opportunity to have a backyard barbecue, so it's possible to do that. On television they never talk about setitng up a whole new way of living, a cooperative and classless society, so that's impossible.
I totally agree. It isn't so much apathy as a lack of information on alternatives to the current system.

[Black Sheep]

The real pure apathy comes after smoking pot.