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CONTENTS
 

• Introduction
• Pessimism of the Intellect and Optimism of the Will
• Against Apathy
• Forms of Political Activity
• Links to Relevant Web Sites
• Policies

INTRODUCTION

This site is intended to discussion questions of political practice in straightforward terms.  What can people do to make a difference in the world?  What kinds of political action might make a difference?

Why is such a site necessary?  In the first place, it responds to questions from students I have taught at the Australian National University.  Much of 'Political Theory' or the study of political ideas, values and the realities of contemporary societies is critical of society.  There seems to be much that is wrong with contemporary society, even a society like Australia.  But people sometimes think there is so much wrong with society that there's no point in trying to do anything or that there is nothing that we can really do.  In that case, there is a danger that focussing on what is wrong with society can simply lead to despair and apathy.  That's the opposite of what critical political thinking is aiming for.  So here (below) are some thoughts on what can be done.

The idea of this site is also that students (and anyone else) can contribute their own ideas.  Making changes politically is something that inevitably involves other people.  It can only make sense to think about political change as a collaborative or cooperative enterprise.  We can only make changes with others.   I don't claim to be any kind of expert on how things can be changed.  But it seemed like a good idea to provide a site where ideas about making changes can be shared and, hopefully, developed.  What follows is (at the moment) just a few ideas to get things going.

If you would like to suggest some addition to this website or a useful link to some other website, please consult the Policies of this Website (below).

Return to CONTENTS.
 

PESSIMISM OF THE INTELLECT, OPTIMISM OF THE WILL
 

'...it is necessary to direct one's attention violently towards the present as it is, if one wishes to transform it.  Pessimism of the intelligence, optimism of the will'

'... pessimism of the intelligence, which can be combined with an optimism of the will in active and realistic politicians...

(Antonio Gramsci, Prison Notebooks, p. 175)

One way into this is to think about the feelings of powerlessness that seem to be generated by some aspects of contemporary society.  Even though there a lot of obvious things that could be done to improve the situation of many people in the world, it seems as if it's impossible to make a difference.  The forces supporting the current order of things seem so powerful, that it is hard to see how the actions of any individual could make a difference.  It's a small step from such feelings of individual powerlessness to despair, from despair to apathy, and from apathy to the pursuit of self-interest, and from there to conservative support of the existing order.

It's certainly true that there are a lot of obstacles to change.  To understand these obstacles is to experience what Gramsci calls 'pessimism of the intellect'.  Pessimism of the intellect is unavoidable, because otherwise we would naively assume that change is very simple and easy.  Then we would very  quickly be disappointed.  Without understanding the obstacles to change we are likely to fall into utopian thinking, which simply wishes for a better world without working realistically to it bring.

On the other hand, as Gramsci emphasises, we need to hold on to our 'optimism of will'.  In other words, our understanding of how difficult change can be should not discourage us from acting to bring change about.  We must continue to act to bring about the changes that are necessary.  If we fall into the opposite of optimism of the will, if we become pessimistic or despairing and apathetic, then the likelihood of beneficial change is reduced even further.  Pessimism of the will itself becomes an obstacle to change.  In other words, political despair is a self-fulfilling attitude.

Return to CONTENTS.

 

AGAINST APATHY

A basic problem with making changes or acting political is the feeling of powerlessness.  People feel ? wrongly, in fact ? that they are powerless to make any difference.  This feeling of powerless has a number of possible sources.

One source of a widespread feeling of powerlessness is the idea that only a total change of society or the world order is worthwhile.  Only a total revolution really makes any difference.  But it's obviously unrealistic for any individual to hope to bring about some total or even radical transformation of society by themselves.
 
 

POLITICS IS A COOPERATIVE ACTIVITY

This is because political  action is necessarily cooperative.  It is only possible to bring about political change with other people.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be political change that you are bringing about.  An important part of any political activity is influencing other people, hopefully to act with rather than against what you are trying to bring about.  If some individual or small group of people could bring about changes by themselves, it's also likely that the changes they bring about would not be good ones.  Dictators are people who are usually thought as bringing about changes by themselves.  Even then, dictators only manage to do things because a lot of other people are prepared to do what they say, usually because another group of people, usually the army, police, intelligence services etc., obey the dictator and force ordinary people to fall in line.  So a radical change of society can only be brought about with the help of a lot of other people and probably the agreement of most of the society.

But it's also not obvious that only a radical transformation of society is worthwhile.  Even small changes can be worthwhile.   People don't take much convincing that small changes are worthwhile, when the small changes concern themselves.  If you get a better job or are saved from starvation, that seems pretty important to you.  But when small changes concern other people, it often seems less important.  But to make a difference even to a small number of people, or to make a small change which concerns a lot of people, is still important.  It's very important to the people concerned, obviously.  It may also lead to other changes.  It may allow the people whose lives have been changed to make a difference themselves.
 

REVOLUTION OR REFORM?

Some people still think that only major changes are worth anything.  An influential example of this way of thinking has been some variants of Marxism with their belief in revolution.  Marxists think that only a revolutionary transformation of society - to abolish the 'capitalist system' - will bring any lasting benefits.  Everything else is in danger of being merely reformism.  For most Marxists, bringing about a small change to society - like improving welfare benefits or making a fairer taxation system - does not do anything to bring about the only important change, the ending of capitalism.  Sometimes Marxists have even opposed minor changes, even though they were 'in the right direction', because they thought they would make the working class happier and so make capitalism stronger.  Reforms have been seen as ways that the ruling class could hang on to their power and privileges by giving a few concession - or sops - to the workers.  Other Marxists do welcome small changes or reforms as long as they contribute to the ultimate self-organisation of the working class and so make an indirect contribution to revolutionary change. 

• Obviously, changes which make more changes likely in the future are better than changes which don't lead anywhere.  Providing free education for all members of a society, however poor they may be, is a change which surely makes it more likely that the poor will be able to improve their position further in the future.  On the other hand, state education systems also give a lot of power to the state to influence people's thinking.
• Universal suffrage or everyone having a vote in elections is something which puts ordinary people in a better position to influence things, even if democracies as they currently exists are obviously far from perfect.  On the other hand, the fact that 'we live in a democracy' is sometimes used to suggest that people should not engage in other kinds of protest activities.  'You have the vote, so if you want to change things you should work through the existing political system and not in other ways'.

FORCING PEOPLE TO REBEL

On the other hand, making people worse off now, or allowing them to suffer, so that they will rebel against the 'system' in the future seems a very dubious approach to politics.

• It doesn't show much consideration for the people who are left in poverty or suffering.  Can we trust approaches to politics which don't seem to care about the well-being of people?  Can we be confident that people's well-being will ever be considered, even in the future?
• People react to poverty or suffering in different ways.  The Great Depression of the 1930s helped to bring Adolf Hitler's National Socialists to power in Germany in 1933.  Suffering can bring out the worst, as well as the best, in people.

Another source of feelings of powerlessness and apathy is what amounts to arrogance.  To think that political action is only worth it for you if you can make a significant difference to the world is really a form of arrogance.  Why should one or a few individuals be able to make a significant difference on a large scale?  Maybe that sometimes happens, just as in the world of physics Einstein made a very big difference.  But it doesn't make sense for everyone to think of their own actions in that way.  Most of us can't be Einsteins of political practice, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything.
 

COURAGE

Trying to change things sometimes requires a degree of courage.  Obviously, you can still do some things even if you are not prepared to take any risks at all.  Anonymous donations and voting in election with a secret ballot are usually fairly safe activities.  But many kinds of action do involve a degree of risk, and therefore also a degree of courage.  If a friend of yours tells a joke which is racist, or sexist, or homophobic etc., protesting about it may not be comfortable for you.  Your friend might be angry - this is an even bigger problem when there is a group of friends.  But doing nothing in these situations also involves guilt.  And the risk you run by protesting is very small compared to the risks run every day by people of colour, by women, and by lesbians and gay men and other minorities.   And guilt might get a lot worse if someone is being intimidated or harassed and we do nothing.  Sometimes the victims of harassment are driven to desperate measures, even suicide.

In fact, it's often much easier to protest than you think.  Even a single objection - even the refusal to laugh - can be quite effective.  Jokes aren't usually that funny when nobody laughs.   If you can't bring yourself to protest, do you really want to remain friends with people like that?

And do you have the choice simply to do nothing?  If you don't protest, then if you don't want to stand out, you actually have to laugh along with the joke.  So then you are collaborating with the person telling the joke, even though - let's assume - you don't agree with it.  The same is true in more seriously dangerous situations.  People in Nazi Germany risked a lot if they protested against the policies of the regime, even their lives.  On the other hand, by doing nothing they were effectively collaborating in an immoral regime.

Many people around the world show enormous courage in standing up against brutal regimes, which will not hesitate to torture, imprison or kill their opponents.

It's a choice we have to make.  It may be difficult to risk being tortured, imprisoned or killed.  But conforming to the people we live with, even when we disagree with what we are doing, can also be boring, as well as demoralising.
 

TIME

'But I just don't have the time'.  Many people - at least people with jobs - feel very busy.  Jobs seem to be increasingly time-consuming.  In America, in particular, people are working longer and longer hours (see Juliet B. Schor, The Overworked American (New York, Basic Books, 1991).  And anyway, there are just too many causes demanding attention.  We can't do something about all of them, so we might as well do nothing.

Not all forms of political action take much time.  Giving money, signing petitions or voting involve only  a relatively small amount of time.
 

But time is also a matter of choice.  Obviously, some people have no choice about how much they work.  They have to work as much as they can simply in order to survive.  But for many people, particularly in relatively affluent Western countries, how much they work is to some extent a matter of choice.   It may not always be easy to get a job with flexible hours, but how much we work overall depends to a large extent on how much we want to spend or consume.
 

CONSUMPTION

Consumption is something we are all encouraged to do.   Even people on large incomes - large by Western standards, not just large by world standards - still complain that they just haven't enought money.  Yet they have more money in real terms than most of their fellow citizens and vastly more than people had a few decades ago.  They haven't enough, because they spend much more.  Often they have financial commitments which they didn't need to have - second or third cars, holiday homes, larger homes, designer labels... - but which, once they have them, leave them short of money.  As a result they still have to work more, just to pay the bill.

But this situation is obviously a matter of choice.  We don't need to consume everything we are told to by advertising.  We don't need to 'keep up with the Jones's'.
 

• Consuming a lot doesn't necessarily make you happy.
• The novelty wears off.  That new purchase that was going to change everything soon seems like just another part of the furniture or a basic necessity you don't think much about.
• Is the extra consumption really worth the hours of (usually boring) work that you have to put in to be able to afford it?  Spending money seems like fun, but the money you spend is equivalent to a certain amount of work.
• If you work less, you have  more time for activities which might be more rewarding and which may save you money anyway - you might enjoy cooking for yourself rather than spending a lot on fast food or restaurants.
• A lot of enjoyable activities don't cost anything or very little (think of your own examples).
• We are encouraged to turn relatively inexpensive activities (like walking or jogging) into expensive activities by buying expensive trainers or jogging shoes etc.  We don't have to do.

Adverts work by making certain brand names familiar.  They give us information about new products, sales, prices and so on.  None of that might seem too bad.  But they also work by making us feel dissatisfied with what we've got.

• You can't be confident, unless you have the right deodorant.
• You won't attract a partner, unless you have a glamorous car or perfume or clothes.
• Your children may suffer, if you don't take out a suitable private health insurance.
• Think of your own examples.

It becomes clear that making political changes also involves making personal changes.  Finding the time for politics, making decisions about consumption, taking risks, avoiding arrogance, all involve making personal changes to our own lives.  Some forms of politics are even more directly personal.

• Prejudice  - an aspect of many forms of social and political subordination - is a complex and subtle thing.  Even when you believe in principle that 'all people are equal', it is sometimes difficult to avoid expressing or supporting the kinds of prejudice which help to reinforce inequality.  We've all been brought up in societies which are racist, sexist, homophobic etc., so it would be surprising if our attitudes didn't reflect the ideas that contribute to these forms of oppression or subordination.
• The personal is political.  The politics of gender and sexuality are directly concerned with personal relationships.  So how we behave in these relationships has political implications.  We can either help to support or to undermine relationships of inequality or subordination.

IDEALISM

Idealism is, in some ways, a necessary condition of political change.  If our values simply conform to the values prevailing in our society, then we won't have much interest in changing anything.  Idealism involves being committed to values which are not shared by the rest of society, or at least are not realised in the kind of society we live in.

On the other hand, idealism can backfire.  If we're  too idealistic, then the values we hold are so different from those of the rest of society that it is very difficult to see how society can ever be changed.  If only a few people share our values, then we will be unlikely to get enough other people to support the kinds of political change we would like to see.  The political response to this kind of idealism is to find ways of approaching the goals we believe in.  However distant the goal, it should at least be possible to take the first step.

But sometimes extreme idealism doesn't lead in  the direction of political change.  It can also lead to pessimism and despair.  'Society is wicked, and there's no way it will ever change'.  From this kind of disillusionment it is only a short step to cynicism and apathy.  If things are so bad, why bother even to try.   In the end, idealists of this kind stop believing in the values they started out with.   This explains the popularity of the (fairly cynical) saying (to the effect that) 'If you're not radical when you're young, then you have no heart.  If you're still radical when you're old, then you've no brain'.

But where idealism is combined with politics - looking for the next step towards political change in the right direction - there is no reason to expect idealism to turn into cynicism and conformity.  If anything the reverse.  The more real changes you see - and, in particular, the more changes you are involved in - the more politics seems a worthwhile activity.
 

HISTORY

If we look at the past, then it is fairly obvious that substantial changes have taken place.  Social movements, heroic individuals, political parties, pressure groups and so on, have succeeded in making changes.  Think what it was like for women, gays and lesbians, aboriginal people etc., just 100 or even 20 years ago.  To think that no such changes can be made again in the future seems unlikely.  In fact, many of the changes (of course, not all) have increased people's ability to change things:  e.g. democracy (however imperfect);  improving levels of literacy and education;  the proliferation of social movements;  the affluence of a much larger proportion of the population, at least in developed countries (of course, this doesn't help those who are poor or unemployed or those people in developing countries).
 
 

CULTURE

Changing society may be impossible without cultural change or changes in people's values and attitudes.

• Without cultural change people may not want to change anything.  They may be happy with the way things are even if the form of society they live in needs changing.  For example, whites in South Africa - or whites in the USA and other parts of the Western world - may be happy living in a racist society from which they benefit.
• Certainly, changes in society can be expected to lead to cultural changes.  Since women have had the vote and taken part in politics, at least some men have changed their ideas about women not being capable of participating in politics.
• On the other hand, legel and political changes may not bring about real change unless cultural changes are achieved as well.
• Equal pay and non-discrimination legislation may not have much effect, if employers and many male employees continue to be prejudiced against women or people of a different ethnic group or 'race' etc.
• The legal system is supposed t o treat everyone fairly.  But there are numerous examples of women, lesbians and gay people, African Americans and so on, being treated unfairly, because of the values and attitudes of judges.  The recent judgement in Italy that a woman wearing jeans cannot  be raped is a blatant example.
• Even though women have the vote and can stand for office in most Western democracies, there are far fewer women holding public office in these countries.

The aim of bringing about cultural change may influence the kinds of political practice that are useful.  Some forms of political activity may not be helpful in bringing about cultural changes, others more so.

Return to CONTENTS.
 

UTOPIA

Utopian political thought describes a desirable or ideal or even perfect form of society or polity but fails to identify ways of realising that form of society or polity. This may be because the form of society or polity described is simply unrealisable.  The term was used by Thomas More in his book Utopia (1516) and derives from Greek the words 'ou' and 'topos' meaning 'no place', but also alludes to the Greek words 'eu' and 'topos', meaning 'a good place'.
 

FORMS OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY
 

NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE

There are many different forms of political activity.  A lot of political energy has been spent in the past on deciding which is the one and only effective form of political activity.  It is at least worth asking whether this is necessary.  Many forms of political activity can be seen as compatible or complementary rather than mutually exclusive.  Again, a feeling that it is impossible to decide which is the best form of political activity in a particular situation can be a source of confusion, a feeling of powerlessness and ultimately apathy.  It all seems too difficult.

It seems more productive to look at the variety of ways that people can make political changes.   They can do so as individuals, in groups, in movements or in parties.  They can employ a variety of tactics or forms of politcal practice.
 

INDIVIDUALS

Personal change.
Lifestyle.
Consumption.
Money.
Direct action.
Letters and petitions.
Individual initiatives.
Forming groups.
Joining political parties.
Forming political parties.
 

GROUPS

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

ORGANISATIONS

Social Movement Organisations

Trade Unions

Political Parties

Voting in elections.
Not voting in elections.
Joining a political party.
Forming a political party.
 

REVOLUTIONARY PARTIES

Joining a revolutionary party makes sense, if you believe that only a complete social revolution can achieve real change and that political reform is always futile.
 

TACTICS
 

CYBERPOLITICS

The internet provides a new set of ways of engaging in politics.
Making conventional forms of politics easier:  coordinating activities;  discovering people who think similarly;  petitions;  reaching the public.
Unconventional forms of politics:  culture jamming;  e-mail as a weapon against corporations and bureaucracies;  cyber-piracy.
For a discussion of Politics and the Internet see the websites for ABC Radio National  'Future Exchange', including Mobilising Cyberspace and Crash the System.
 

Return to CONTENTS.
 
 

RELEVANT WEBSITES

These links are included as starting-off points.  They are obviously not produced by me and may not reflect my views.  Again obviously, I haven't exhaustively explored these sites myself, so I cannot guarantee that they do no include material which may offend.

You can find a lot of relevant links on some of the issues listed below on Rick Kuhn's Australian Politics web site.
 
 

ABORIGINAL/ INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
 
Timeline of Aboriginal Resistance 1790-1997.
 

ACTIVISM

There are lots of links to activist groups and sites at Active:  Stuff for social change, currently concentrating on Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle, but soon to include Canberra.
 

CHANGE - SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL

The Social, Political and Economic Change Project hosts a wealth of information and links.

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) includes pages on Child Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 
 

CLASS POLITICS
 
Autonomist Marxism:  An Interview with Harry Cleaver.
 
 
 

CONSUMERS
 
 

ENVIRONMENT/ GREEN/ ECOLOGY

The Australian Greens website has a lot of useful links to other green-related sites, including the Greens International Index, which includes links to green parties around the world and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) such as Greenpeace.

GAY/ LESBIAN/ QUEER

An excellent catalogue and archive of materials is available from HOMODOK, Amsterdam's Gay and Lesbian Archive and Documentation Centre.

QueerTheory.com provides many useful links relating to Queer Theory, Gay and Lesbian Studies, Gender Studies and related fields.

Many links on Canberra gay and lesbian organisations, resources etc. etc.   This list also includes specifically Political/Activist Resources for Australia, including Canberra.

Also based in Canberra is the ANU Queer Department, formerly known as the ANU Sexuality Department, which includes a number of links to Canberra gay / lesbian/ queer organisations, groups, resources etc.

A lot of Australian (particularly Sydney) links are hosted by Sydney Sidewalk community pages.

Mainly US information and links are available at  Sidewalk San Diego.

International news related to gay/ lesbian/ queer issues is compiled on the The Wockner List.
 
 
GLOBALISATION / ANTI-GLOBALISATION

Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.  

DAWN 2000: Gender Issues in International Trade. 

World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil - information on the World Social Forum for alternatives to globalisation, for the involvement of social movements and civil society in economics.   Timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

'Anti-Globalization - A Spreading Phenomenon' is a very useful report on the anti-globalisation movement produced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (!)  Not written from a prticularly sympathetic perspective, as you might expect, but still contains much useful information, analysis and references to other sources (mainly newspapers reports).

George, Susan 2001: comments on Global Resistance, Background Briefing broadcast on ABC RN, 18. 2. 01.  See also Peckham, Gardner 2000: comments in Global Resistance, Background Briefing broadcast on ABC RN, 18. 2. 01 at same address.

Robinson Rojas Archive on Globalization, Poverty, Sustainability, Development.

Flora - Fair Trade not Free Trade.  Formerly site of the MAI-NOT campaign against the Multiplateral Agreement on Investments.

Corporation Watch's Globalization and Corporate Rule index with pages on Corporate Power, Trade Agreements, Grassroots Globalization, Global Financial Crisis, Resources, World Bank/IMF and United Nations etc.
Also Corporate Watch - The Watchdog on the Web for more general news and resources.

Global Trade Watch of Public Citizen.

Focus on the Global South - A Programme of Development Policy, Research, Analysis and Action offers pages on alternative approaches to development.

A short list of references/ books/ articles...
Books etc.
Scholte, Jan Aart:  Globalization:  A Critical Introduction (Macmillan, London and New York, 2000).

 
HIV/AIDS

AIDS Council of NSW (ACON).
 
 

HUMAN RIGHTS

A lot of information and links is available at Amnesty International.  It includes a host of links to Human Rights related websites.   Explore it for yourself!
 
 
 

LAW
 

MEDIA 

Slow TV/ The Monthly Magazine with interviews about Australian Politics, Society and Culture.

NEWSPAPERS

Australian Journalists Association (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) at  http://www.alliance.aust.com/3.htm, where you can also find the Journalists' Code of Ethics.

Australian Press Council at http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/complain.html
 
 

PEACE
 
 

TRADE UNIONS, EMPLOYMENT AND WORK
 
 

WOMEN/ GENDER
   
 

WORLD POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT
 
 
 

Return to CONTENTS.
 
 

POLICIES OF THIS WEBSITE
 

• This website is produced by David West.  I teach political theory of the Australian National University in Canberra. Contact me by e-mail at <David.West@anu.edu.au>.
• Suggestions for additions or changes to this website are welcome.  In fact, my hope is that this site should both be, and form a part of, a collaborative project concerned with understanding political change.
• Any information about relevant web links would be very helpful.  Obviously, the decision to include a particular suggestion or web link has to be mine.