🌲 Performative activism

Performative activism meaning action such that does not generate meaningful social change, but instead offers opportunity to gain notoriety apart from shifting of Power.

Seemingly, a few issues quickly appear. How do we measure political prowess? At the very least an obtainable goal? It seems as if power within itself is relative, and so is the ever-changing definition of activism and what is performative. I doubt that I should necessarily be the person to make the judgment call of what is performative, but at the same time, who can? It seems to be extremely difficult to define what social change is and what it is made up of. much less meaningful vs. performative.

Regardless, performative activism is perpetuated by political pundits and organizers alike subjecting each other to litmus tests of levels of political effectiveness. Even the word activism is a content-less label, devoid of meaning, especially in relation to turns such as abolitionist, unionist, or socialist. Jonathan Smucker puts it quite succinctly in his book, Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals:

We often seemed more preoccupied with the purity of our political expression than with how to move from Point A to Point B. It felt as if having the right line about everything was more important than making measurable progression on anything. (Smucker 2017, 28)

The accountability and agitation of our fellow organizers also may play an important role in avoiding or improving performative activism into something meaningful, but it is not always guaranteed that the space where performative activism occurs will allow for that type of criticism and communication.

The anarchist ideal of prefigurative politics is seen through demonstration of the world of tomorrow in the world of today. More simply put, be the change you want to see in the world.

Don’t fall in love with yourselves. We have a nice time here. But remember, carnivals come cheap. What matters is the day after, when we have to return to normal lives. Will there be any changes then? - Slavoj Zizek, Zuccotti Park, Occupy Wall Street

Further Reading

• Smucker, Jonathan. 2017. Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals. Chico: AK Press.

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