“I realised: cynicism is apathy dressed up as wisdom”. An alter-native from POWU’s Book Club gets wise about how the world can be different
A/UK’s founder and co-initiator Indra Adnan has been running a book club on her recent volume, the Politics of Waking Up - join here - and we’re delighted to find that it’s generated what we would call a classic “Alter Native” story, a personal testament to the possibility of alternatives, from participant Milly Shotter (first published on her Substack).
Milly shotter:
For the past eight weeks I’ve been spending every Wednesday evening in a group discussion on the book The Politics Of Waking Up. Led by author Indra Adnan this slim volume packs a big punch.
It explores everything from individual agency to capitalism to the climate crisis to feminism and more.
Interestingly, this repeated and structured form of engagement has provided me as much a window onto the world as it has a mirror for myself.
Unwittingly I’ve had the opportunity to observe my default pattern of thinking when it comes to these big topics. What did I notice? I’m a cynic.
This isn’t entirely a shock to me. But what is new is my questioning of how this pattern of thinking helps or hinders me. On some days it shows up as healthy scepticism.
I’ve often been praised for my ability to always ask ‘why’. But on gloomier days this healthy scepticism can all too easily slip into sullen cynicism.
It’s a fine line. What I began to notice however is that cynicism was getting in the way of my ability to engage with these big topics. Topics that I know to be important and that I care about engaging with.
Like many realisations, it can take weeks, months, if not years, to grapple with an idea that one day somebody articulates so neatly that you can almost hear the penny drop with a satisfying clink.
This happened recently when listening to one of my favourite podcasts - Jon Richardson and The Futurenauts. One of the hosts, Mark Stevenson, perfectly summed up the problem of cynicism. He said ‘cynicism is apathy dressed up as wisdom.’
I certainly don’t profess to be wise; equally I wouldn’t consider myself apathetic. But I cannot deny the truth of the sentiment.
More often than not cynicism leads me to mentally and emotionally disengage, which is in essence apathy.
Since this increased awareness around my propensity to cynicism, I’ve noticed two things which help to counteract it. Perspective and alternatives.
These are both something I’ve found in James Plunkett’s book End State. Firstly, perspective is what inspired Plunkett to write the book.
He realised that we had faced, and overcome, many seismic shifts as the ones we’re experiencing now, most recently after the industrial revolution.
I think we can get so wrapped up in our day-to-day hand wringing, finger wagging and twitter tirading that we forget humanity and societies have always faced challenges. Our problems are not special. They are just different.
With regards to alternatives, in each chapter Plunkett explores a complex issue - from the benefits system to the future of work, but crucially he provides a solution.
Solutions that many would suggest are unfeasible but are no more radical than the idea of public sewers or free education 150 years ago.
Cynicism, apathy and fear are all understandable reactions when faced with the biggest challenges of society. But perspective and knowledge of alternatives can help override them.
As the famous David Graeber quote goes ‘The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.’ Now that’s what I’d call true wisdom flying in the face of apathy.