Tom Nicholas
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Early Access: When Video Essays Aren't Enough: Theory, Praxis, Elections
🕑 Added 2019-11-30 10:59:50 +0000 UTCHi all! My new video is out properly tomorrow but, as it's up and ready to go, I thought I'd give you all early access to it!
With both the UK having a general election in a couple of weeks and the Democratic primaries kicking off in the US in the New Year (and likely many other super important elections taking place throughout the world in the coming months and year), I wanted to discuss elections through the lens of Hannah Arendt's notion of theory and praxis.
Hope you all enjoy, do let me know any thoughts! And thanks as ever for your ongoing support!
Comments
Tom Nicholas
Thanks Linnea! I understand some peoples' scepticism towards voting and elections as a method of bringing about change and the argument that change through reform can only ever be of a certain scale. I follow an anarchist sociology professor on Twitter, for instance, whose work I genuinely adore and who is very vocal about refusing to vote. Certainly, in the last few years, in the battles between the Justice Democrats/DSA and the establishment wing of the Democratic Party and that between the grassroots of the Labour Party and Parliamentary Labour Party, we've seen the manner in which political parties can act as a barrier to change rather than a root towards it. Nevertheless, the resistance that left-wing movements within both those parties has received shows that there clearly is a great deal that can be changed through the democratic process. In reality, the policy platforms put forward by both Sanders and Corbyn would, in most European countries, be deemed fairly mainstream social democracy and that those platforms are deemed "radical" probably says more about the rest of politics in the UK and US than it does about them. However, I think it would be devastating to turn one's nose up at the possibility of alleviating some of the burden presently placed on working-class people in either country due to the idea that the change wouldn't quite be enough. This is potentially something I'd like to take a look at in a future video. There wasn't quite enough time to pack all of that into this one however!
Tom Nicholas
Thank you, really glad you thought so!
Darin LaGarry
Good and timely message Tom.
Linnea
Really enjoyed the video :3 I posted this on YouTube as well anyway but I was wondering what your thoughts are on the idea that voting is incapable of the kind of systemic change leftists advocate for because its operating within neoliberal capitalism? Fwiw I agree with voting as harm minimisation I guess you could call it so this isn't a criticism but I'm interested in your thoughts
