Implications of apathy: The politics of desire

Overview

As our societies grow ever more complex and global, it has become increasingly difficult for individuals and groups to meaningfully affect societal change. The vast power and reach of contemporary political and corporate networks, and the increasingly nuanced way they present their actions and products to the public, have made drawing the clear distinctions between “right” and “wrong” that are necessary for effective protest nearly impossible. This Plan examines how these realities have shaped the political consciousness of the Millennial generation, and have often led to a culture of political apathy.

Using ideas from Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt’s books Empire and Multitude, the author chronicles her generation’s history of political activism. With the failure of the protests against the Iraq War in 2003, which at the time were the largest protests in human history, the young generation began to struggle with the reality that the political establishment was willing to ignore them. Not wanting to condone the system in any way, many young activists adopted a policy of negation, aiming to minimize their interaction with the nation-state whenever possible. While many have criticized this platform as apathetic, it more accurately seen as a complete rejection of U.S. political culture, and its own form of protest.

Excerpts