Carmen has raised a very important issue in her comment on “A question about Epicureanism” on August 4th. I think this issue deserves commenting upon in its own right. I quote her in part:
For me the difficulty posed points to a weakness in Epicurean philosophy: a significant amount of the anxiety we experience is CAUSED by social and economic arrangements which play out in the one arena Epicurus counsels we avoid: politics.
“How do I get food? clothing? shelter?” Having work, a place to live, and food require the kind of social cooperation which, by definition, involves politics.
This is an issue that concerns me, too, one that I have wrestled with personally. When I started this blog I tried to discuss what Epicurus would think of a host of modern-day issues were he alive today. In pursuing this rather difficult line of thought (how could I possibly be right more than a fraction of the time?!) I wandered perilously close to party politics and was publicly criticised for it (rightly if I claim to be an Epicurean).
And yet Carmen is right. If you eschew politics and refuse to get involved or even vote, how can you stop the bad guys taking all the power, all the money and all the opportunities, leaving you frantically anxious and without food, clothing and shelter?
The simple times in which Epicurus lived apply no more. Now you have self-absorbed, greedy corporations and mega-millionaires with unprecedented resources, sucking the life-blood out of their nations and communities, paying little tax and congratulating themselves because “God” has blessed them and not us.
Given this modern scenario I can only conclude that Epicurus would actually abandon his strictures on politics and agree that, stressful though it might be, it is better to undergo the stress of opposing the corporatocracy now than to have even worse more stress by being deprived of freedom and the necessities of life later on. Epicurus could never have foreseen the undermining of democracy and the hi-tech surveillance and intrusion into private life that is the hallmark of Homeland Security, supposedly operating for our safety.
Can we have a new style of Epicureanism? Is it valid? Or are we doomed to even greater stress and insecurity?
Answer:
Posted on behalf of Carmen:
Epicurus would have adjusted his thinking to the realities. As you point out, he could not have foreseen the extremes of individualism, violence, competition, and greed which have driven us to our current crises.
We can’t avoid politics. I would even argue it’s irresponsible to not vote.
Also, Thomas Jefferson, a politician and a former President, WAS en Epicurean, and a bona-fide one. In his letter to William Short, he describes how he’s done the inner work of an Epicurean, discerning between different kinds of desires, etc. Therefore, there have been Epicurean political philosophers and Epicureanism is a more dynamic and evolving tradition than one would think and includes practitioners who were “Engaged Epicureans” sort of in the same way that there is an “engaged Buddhism” movement also.
I would even argue that we need more Epicurean activists today. Epicureans in antiquity were, in part, missionaries who approached people on the streets to engage them in philosophical discourse because they believed it was important to help educate people on the right and pragmatic methods of pursuit of happiness, that this philosophy was a worthwhile gift to share.
What we have to keep in mind regarding Epicurus’ thoughts on politics is that he lived in the times after Alexander the Great who amassed a huge empire but died young and was unable to create the bureaucracy to preserve it. The cracked into four kingdoms and there was a lot of instability in the days of Epicurus, a lot of back-stabbing, political intrigue, etc. and that is the background to Epicurus’ history and his founding of his doctrine. This was eloquently related in a video by Lootra, a youtuber who did an excellent series on Epicureanism.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA3D3F7070776AD5
Thank you for this. I had some very hostile words accorded to me some years ago, saying I was no Epicurean because I ventured to comment on politics (the Iraq war, for instance) on this blog. Actually, I really agree that you cannot separate politics from everyday life. I think what Epicurus meant was not to go into politics as a career because it was so damaging to ataraxia, which it is. Who in their right mind wants to be a national politician in the United States of America at the moment?.