Polar Opposition

philosophy for a new political age

I was unfortunate enough to log in to my social media accounts just after American conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was murdered this week. This means that I now can’t unsee that image: a man bleeding to death on stage at an event to discuss ideas.

I don’t normally write about current events or politics. But I have had some thoughts brewing for a while, and now feels like the right time to share some of them.

What strikes me most about politics at the moment is the depth and complexity of the issues that are at stake. I don’t think it is as simple as “polarisation,” which is what I hear a lot of people talking about.

For me, there is a complex interaction unfolding, where political lines are hardening into polar opposites and disappearing at the same time.

One of the enduring images from Ancient Greece is the image of the Ouroboros, the snake eating its tail. It feels to me that traditional “left” and “right” politics are both eating their own tail. This creates a complex an…