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Why is politics important?

1. One might be tempted to find one’s balance through self-work, staying on the margins of society. However, this is a precarious situation. The dominant group can at any time make a decision that undermines the viability of such a marginal life project.

2. A satisfactory social organization is first and foremost one that functions well even with a large number of non-moral individuals.

The danger of trying to live on the margins

When the dominant group makes a decision that undermines the life project of an individual or small group attempting to live on the margins, the latter has little chance of effectively defending itself, for two reasons:

Limits of individual development

When one undertakes deep work on oneself, one may eventually reach a stage of maturity where one no longer needs rules other than those one sets for oneself, and thus may be tempted to no longer be interested in politics. This is a mistake, because we still need an effective political system to regulate those who do not make this effort, who will always be the majority.

Cognitive dissonance in the case of under-investment in politics

When an individual under-invests in politics, cognitive dissonance may lead them to adopt a simplistic Rousseauist view, essentializing the oppression exerted by society. Specifically, this individual gradually perceives this oppression as natural and unstoppable. As a result, individual development becomes their last possible refuge, ultimately leading them to adopt, without even fighting, the risky position at the margins described at the beginning of this document.

Psychologism

As we have just seen, if the space given to political struggle is too small, the functioning of society gradually comes to be seen as natural. This also leads, by transfer, to seeing any individual who does not feel comfortable in this society as suffering from a lack of adaptability. It is this individual who should then be treated.Thus, by under-investing in the political field, we gradually transform any rejection or inadaptation to the current system into a psychological disorder. This is illustrated by the excessive extension of mental disorders in the latest versions of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), and by the increasing number of individuals who identify with it, in more or less attenuated forms, and therefore launch a campaign for the recognition of their disability, instead of engaging in political struggle.See the question 'Ending the abusive use of psychotropics and psychotherapy'.

Go deeper

↣ Arte report: The time of the peasants
     Illustre parfaitement qu'il est illusoire de penser que l'on peut faire sans la politique. Si les masses n'arrivent que difficilement à se défendre contre l'appétit sans limite des dominants, alors que dire d'un individu isolé.

See the question 'Ending the abusive use of psychotropics and psychotherapy' which describes in more detail the consequences of psychologism.Also see the questions 'How to succeed in life?' and 'Should one seek pleasure?' which discuss the priorities in life.