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Early Access: When Video Essays Aren't Enough: Theory, Praxis, Elections (Patreon)

Published:
2019-11-30 10:59:50
Imported:
2026-06
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Hi 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!

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When Video Essays Aren't Enough: Theory, Praxis, Elections | Tom Nicholas

With the UK General Election 2019 just around the corner and the first votes in the 2020 Democratic primary process due to be cast in the New Year, I wanted to talk a little bit about the limits of video essays through the lens of theory and praxis as explored by Karl Marx and developed by Hannah Arendt. The past few years have seen an explosion of left-wing or at least capitalism-sceptic politic content here on YouTube including that by creators such as ContraPoints, Philosophy Tube, Sarah Z, Shaun and many, many more. This has been concurrent with a rise in socialist movements in the real-world (as I discussed in my video on Millennial Socialism and Centrist Dads). Where these videos do a great deal to promote the act of thinking critically about the world (in particular neoliberalism and neoliberal capitalism), there is often less of a focus on how the insights one might gain from such a theoretical engagement with the world might lead to some kind of action or activism. In today's video, then, I draw on the dualism between theory and praxis (and Hannah Arendt's notion of the vita activa) to foreground the idea that, if our theoretical engagements with the world through theory are to have any meaning, then we need to ensure that contemplation has an outlet in praxis. And, in particular, to vote and maybe consider getting involved in campaigning. Further Reading If you're in the UK and would like to find out how to get involved in campaigning for the Labour Party, then you can find campaigning events near you at https://events.labour.org.uk And if you'd like to vote in the Democratic primaries and would like to ensure that you're able, Bernie Sanders' campaign has a well put-together tool at https://voteforbernie.org If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as video essays and more then do consider subscribing. Thanks for watching! Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas Website: www.tomnicholas.com

Comments

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

Tom Nicholas
>>29533788

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!