This is a term whose usage has undergone, and continues to undergo, surprising fluctuations and shifts in interpretation. Derived from the old Latin radicalis, its original meaning is nevertheless quite clear, as it simply refers to that which lies at the root of things and therefore contributes directly to their perpetuation.
For quite some time, it was misused by political parties whose specific characteristic was to distance themselves from any radical practices other than verbal ones, representing instead the soft underbelly of a republic that was thoroughly bourgeois in its customs and preferred to stick to appearances.
More recently, however, the idea of wanting to look at what might be at the root of the many misfortunes befalling our neo-society seems to have become completely intolerable to those in power, to those who claim to be at the helm. Radical thinking has become unbearable to them, and its proponents are generally labeled as the very embodiment of the bad citizen, or in police jargon, as someone on the very edge of terrorism.
Not wanting to conform to what is and wants to remain immutable in its particular order is certainly very reprehensible from the point of view of those who find their footing in this order and who, for this reason, wish to perpetuate it.
It is difficult not to notice, however, that one of the characteristics of this order is that it never wants to address the root causes of the many evils that afflict us. For example, the water in our oceans, rivers, and even groundwater is poisoned, causing numerous diseases and the disappearance of more and more animal species. the air we breathe carries a multitude of pollutants directly responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in Europe alone; industrial food is destroying the health of millions of people while ruining the land, while in other parts of the world millions more are literally dying of hunger; Cultural stupidity is growing to unimaginable proportions, with mindless consumerism remaining the only outlet; Almost all new technologies depend on the massive extraction of rare metals, which has disastrous effects on the environment and human health; At the same time, freedoms are being drastically curtailed almost everywhere; Repressive barbarism is once again becoming the norm. The systematic pursuit of profit and profitability is leading to the gradual disappearance of all public services, thereby condemning the most disadvantaged to ever greater distress.
But never, ever, should we fail to recognize that the central cause of these phenomena, which are making life increasingly precarious, lies in the organizational form of this type of society, in the delusional and structurally deadly ideology of capitalism.
However, as discontent grows and manifests itself persistently across the globe, since the mere prospect of a “good life” is becoming increasingly unlikely for the majority, the ruling order has understood that it must find some distractions, smoke out this damned radicalism through other means that are less dangerous to its continuity. Encouraging certain forms of conspiracy theories through the media or complacent politicians who feed impoverished imaginations is proving rather effective in diverting attention from the overwhelming responsibilities of the system.
All the more so as this tactic can only serve to divide the dominated even further, making them easier to manipulate: the enemy, as you are made to understand, is simply the other, the other who persists in his difference and even claims to assert himself through this difference, the other who, in the end, strangely resembles us.
Another advantage for the domination of this organized social paranoia, this mob of resentment with no way out, is that radical critical thinking, which attempts to distinguish the real roots of contemporary unhappiness, is drowned out by the crowd and becomes more difficult to hear.
In this sense, we must recognize that capitalism has an undeniable form of radicalism in its uncompromising nature, in the death drive into which it leads us.
Rebounds:
[…] “RADICALISM” – Social Ecology ABC […]