A Marxist’s thoughts on personal relationships in political times
I’m in love with someone who’s not as politically committed as I am. He cares, but not the way I care. He can compartmentalize his life in a way I’ve never been able to do. He goes to work and comes home and doesn’t spend all his time thinking about systemic inequality.
Part of me respects this. Part of me thinks he’s part of the problem. If everyone cared as much as I care, we could actually change things. Instead, most people just want to live their lives and hope the system leaves them alone.
I was reading something about love in politically divided times, and it said that most relationships fail when one person is more politically engaged than the other. That it becomes impossible to relate across that divide. That politics becomes personal.
So I’m probably going to break up with him. Not because I don’t love him, but because I can’t be with someone who doesn’t understand that we’re in a crisis. That everything we do matters. That personal happiness is less important than collective liberation.
He thinks I’m being dramatic. He’s probably right. But I’d rather be dramatically principled than comfortably compromised.
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Author: admin
