In response to Zoe Williams' article on Anton Jäger's book, two correspondents offer contrasting views on hyperpolitics and the state of political organizing.
Decline of Traditional Participation
Mark Bergfeld, a trade unionist from Brussels, agrees with Jäger's premise that people no longer attend meetings, but notes they also avoid church, synagogue, or volunteering. He argues that modern working hours and digital culture have shifted engagement. "I co-produced a podcast on cleaners' work and lives and have been running an influencer campaign with hairdressers because that is how we get the union message out," he writes. While intensity without organization rarely produces power, the task is to build institutions appropriate to the present, not nostalgic for a golden age.
Hyperpolitics and Institutional Destruction
Derrick Joad of Leeds elaborates on hyperpolitics, drawing on Sheldon Wolin's idea that democracy is a short-lived surge nullified by powerful opponents. He points to the destruction of union power under Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, who sought a party of volunteers, not activists. Joad argues that hyperpolitics poses no threat to capital; real threat comes from sustained organized struggle. He sees hope in new unions like the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which have checked employer abuse in retail. Ephemeral groups like Occupy are easily ignored. He suggests the Green party's popularity among youth may stem from being the only organized group openly opposing societal inequities.
Both correspondents, while critical of current political structures, see potential in new forms of organizing and unionism to counter corporate power.
