With the UK General Election 2019 just around the corner and the first votes in the 2020 Democratic primary process due to be cast in the New Year, I wanted to talk a little bit about the limits of video essays through the lens of theory and praxis as explored by Karl Marx and developed by Hannah Arendt. The past few years have seen an explosion of left-wing or at least capitalism-sceptic politic content here on YouTube including that by creators such as ContraPoints, Philosophy Tube, Sarah Z, Shaun and many, many more. This has been concurrent with a rise in socialist movements in the real-world (as I discussed in my video on Millennial Socialism and Centrist Dads).
Where these videos do a great deal to promote the act of thinking critically about the world (in particular neoliberalism and neoliberal capitalism), there is often less of a focus on how the insights one might gain from such a theoretical engagement with the world might lead to some kind of action or activism.
In today's video, then, I draw on the dualism between theory and praxis (and Hannah Arendt's notion of the vita activa) to foreground the idea that, if our theoretical engagements with the world through theory are to have any meaning, then we need to ensure that contemplation has an outlet in praxis. And, in particular, to vote and maybe consider getting involved in campaigning.
Further Reading
If you're in the UK and would like to find out how to get involved in campaigning for the Labour Party, then you can find campaigning events near you at
And if you'd like to vote in the Democratic primaries and would like to ensure that you're able, Bernie Sanders' campaign has a well put-together tool at
If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as video essays and more then do consider subscribing.
Thanks for watching!
Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas
Website: www.tomnicholas.com
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