The illusion of neutrality

There exists a particularly dangerous contemporary fantasy: that of being able to remain "outside" of politics. As if a neutral position were possible, as if silence weren't already a way of taking sides. We are political beings in the same way that fish are aquatic beings: it's not a choice, it's our condition of existence.

In every daily gesture, in every complicit silence, in every "I don't get involved in politics," we are already doing politics. The difference lies only in whether we are conscious of our position or if we prefer the comfort of believing ourselves neutral. We don't choose whether to participate in the political game, only if we do it actively or passively, if we swim with or against the current.

The myth of neutrality serves perfectly the interests of established power. When someone says "I don't do politics," they are doing precisely the politics that the system needs: that of the passive spectator, the silent accomplice. The only real choice is between being conscious of our political position or letting others choose it for us.