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| Apathy Wins by a Landslide |
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In opposition to the prevailing wisdom opposition to the status quo is not necessarily negative, as the aridity of current mainstream politics is driving more and more people to consider alternative ideas and value systems. The side effect to this new thinking is that some people will inevitably be attracted to many ideas that are perceived by the supporters of the status quo as extreme. These views may emanate from the right, the left or from the growing current of Islamic political thought. It is clear that this mode of thinking is itself positive—whether or not one disagrees with the proposed idea—as it forces people to decide what views they want to hold, rather than to adopt by rote the liberal consensus view contained within society. Although this type of thinking may be considered healthy, there are, inevitably, severe repercussions which will arise. For example, owing to the political establishment’s torpid superintendence of current policies, some people are more likely to become much more susceptible in the longer term to a more crude, simplistic and narrow political mindset, as the BNP‘s 750,000 votes have shown in the last set of elections. As one contributor stated in 2002: “The managers of archaic ideological conflicts have been astonished by the speed at which their known and comfortable positions have been overtaken. Conservatives—and that means all ‘mainstream’ political parties—have a vested interest in prolonging familiar antagonisms, however exhausted and played-out these may be. Indeed, these are only the palest shadow of the original social forces once pitted against each other, overtaken now by fatigue, habit and of course their favourite causal explanation, ‘apathy’. Apathy is no such thing. It is the sullen silence that covers growing popular disaffection from the ‘depoliticized’ politics of the perpetual centre; beneath it, deeper political divisions are striving to find expression.”
The growth in far right parties is not just happening in the UK, but has already occurred on a bigger scale in France where the National Front candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen beat the socialists into third place in the last presidential election. Far right parties have also enjoyed considerable advances in Holland, Denmark and Austria in recent years. The inexorable growth in nationalist, patriotic, and xenophobic sentiment will lead to a degeneration of intellectual and political thinking among some within society, as values and ideas lose out to reactionary factors like race, religion, and colour. Although Tito’s Yugoslavia was far from perfect, the ideological bonds of socialism proved at least sufficiently robust to bind the various nationalities together within the republic. Once the bonds of communism became diluted because of its inherent flaws, and nationalism rose to the fore, the country split asunder into its constituent races. Though no such parallel event is on the immediate horizon in western Europe, the growth in anti-Semitism, the increasing attacks against Muslims, the constant attacks on asylum seekers, and the still endemic racism all inevitably leads to a more nationalistic, fragmented and polarised society. Regardless of the views of the far right, it is clear that currently their support in society far exceeds their electoral support. Consequently it would be a mistake to view this section of society who didn’t vote as being apathetic, in fact there is a fervour and conviction in many of their views which is the complete antithesis of apathy.
The real apathy which forces people in society to no longer concern themselves with political affairs or what is beneficial for the collective good remains a big problem. Apathy here is driven by one’s own self-absorption and individual self-interest. No one on any side of the ideological spectrum—irrespective of their political views being Islamic or capitalist—benefits from a society where cynicism, apathy and extreme individualism are the modern day currency of political life. For any serious ideological discussion to take place, it requires a society that is aware of its heritage and which contemplates its political future. If one wants new ideas to flourish or old ones to be reinvigorated, new horizons to be reached or past glories to be regained, new values to be instilled or old ones refreshed, this requires a society that is politically, intellectually, and emotionally tuned in—not the apathetic situation we currently witness. The power of thought, the desire to progress, and the obligation to our future generations to provide an appropriate intellectual legacy are fundamental aspects in advanced societies and should always be protected.
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