Apoliticism is apathy or

antipathy Antipathy is a dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved. Thus, the ori ...

towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased position in regard to political matters. The '' Collins English Dictionary'' defines ''apolitical'' as "politically neutral; without political attitudes, content, or bias."

History

During classical antiquity, the Epicureans assumed disengagement from the life of the city as a doctrinal position. Seeking

pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...

in the absence of

suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...

for the body and trouble for the soul, they saw political activity as a source of unnecessary stress that would not lead to these ends. However, they were not strictly apolitical and participated when political activity would bring them pleasure or aid in the avoidance of their suffering.

Criticisms

Apoliticism as an

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

is criticised for its claim that it is possible to remain impartial. Many

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

theorists argue that by ignoring the political nature of everyday life, "neutral" individuals make a choice to ignore oppressive regimes and practises, which manifests as an acceptance and passive approval of them. The following instance is indicative of this rhetoric:

"all men are political beings ��Every man, in as much as he is active, i.e. living, contributes to modifying the social environment in which he develops (to modifying certain of its characteristics or to preserving others); in other words, he tends to establish ‘norms’, rules of living and behaviour." -
Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...
Selections from Prison Notebooks: State and Civil Society 1971

Another example of this is the political slogan:

The personal is political ''The personal is political'', also termed ''The private is political'', is a political argument used as a rallying slogan of student movement and second-wave feminism from the late 1960s. In the context of the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1 ...

. The phrase was popularised by radical feminist Carol Hanisch in her essay of the same name, which analyses the ways in which the personal problems of women are actually political ones.

References

Citations

Sources

* Rabin, Jack; Bowman, James S. (1984). ''Politics and Administration: Woodrow Wilson and American Public Administration''. Public Administration and Public Policy. 22. New York: Dekker.

External links