The different political formations try to attract citizens in order to obtain the largest possible number of votes. However, a sector of the citizenry decides not to participate in the electoral processes. Usually whoever takes this position defines himself as apolitical.
The causes of apoliticism
There is no single reason to explain this social trend. It is a very widespread phenomenon and is related to all kinds of political systems, whether democratic or totalitarian.
There are individuals who do not vote in elections and ignore political reality because they consider that no party represents them adequately.
Other people are deeply disappointed by the political reality as a whole and as a result they do not choose any option. In this group the use of some expressions is common: "all politicians are equal", "I do not believe in politics", and so on.
In some cases the personal ideology does not fit with the system of parliamentary democracy. This is what happens among activists and militants of anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist ideology, who defend the free association of people outside the conventional parties.
Some practice apoliticism because they do not believe in the democratic model, since they consider it inefficient, demagogic or simply corrupt.
The apolitical approach may be related to markedly individualistic positions or to a social trend of contempt for everything related to politics.
The origin of this approach is sometimes based on positions of an economic nature. There are people whose only ideology is money and the decisions they make depend exclusively on their monetary interests.
A critique of apoliticism
As Aristotle affirmed, man is a political animal. This implies that it is not possible to live apart from the problems that affect society as a whole. Even if someone has no interest in the public or in political debates, the decisions of the rulers will have some influence on their daily life.
To declare oneself apolitical is like affirming that one is not interested in life in society. On the other hand, the decision not to vote may be based on very well-founded reasons, but whoever opts for this option is directly benefiting the most voted political party.
Finally, the rejection of politics in any of its forms very often presents a deep contradiction, since it makes no sense to define oneself as apolitical and at the same time criticize political decisions.
If someone does not want to know anything about an issue, it does not seem reasonable for them to criticize that issue.
Fotolia photos: ArtFamily / Enjoys25
