Psychoanalysis and the Vicissitudes of Activism

In ordinary, vernacular English, the word “activism” is a neutral term that refers to people who are politically active on either the Right or the Left side of the political spectrum. Most are part-time activists who write or sign petitions, put up signs, and go to rallies and demonstrations when the spirit moves them, or when they have the time to do so. By contrast, movement leaders like Christopher Rufo or Angela Davis are full time activists who devote considerable energy and intellectual power to promote their respective causes. Their sense of personal identity and their public image (or “brand”) is deeply intertwined with their sense of mission, and expressed in the work that they perform and the political stands that they take.

Given the rise of the internet, social media and media pundits like Joe Rogan and Rachel Maddow, the relationship between movement leaders and the constituencies they rely on (and claim to represent) merits careful analysis. However, that subject is beyond the scope of our present inquiry. But despite political ramifications of the profound (and ongoing) transformation of the media landscape in recent decades, certain things still hold true. Regardless of what channels they use to disseminate their message, Right wing leaders often invoke the “good old days” to galvanize their followers. They conjure with a (largely imaginary) past to provide examples of the “good life”, promising to restore or defend traditional class, race and gender roles and stereotypes. They promise “law and order”, appealing to nostalgia and people's fear of losing status and wealth and their longing to live in a simpler society. Left wing leaders, by contrast, tend to focus on the present and the future. They tap into people's anger at the status quo, their yearning for a brighter future, promising justice, equality and prosperity, especially for those who are most deprived and disempowered in the current scheme of things.

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