Title: Political Nihilism and the Death of Democracy - Francois Zammit
Date: Tuesday 22 February
Time: 18:00-20:00 CET
Venue: Zoom
Following the electoral success of nationalist or right-wing parties and candidates in various Western style democracies and the backlash against the Capitol Hill insurrection of 2021, swathes of articles and literature have been written to discuss the waning of democratic principles blaming it on the return of Fascism. However, this paper argues that the return of far right politics is not the cause of the erosion of democratic principles but another effect of the true cause.
This seminar argues that the real culprits for this political scenario is the corporate left. In the post-ideological era of the 1990s, the rise of figures like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, marked the prevailing of a corporatist left that has dominated politics ever since.
By tying the fate of the working class to the success of corporations and industry lobbies, left political parties have eroded the trust of the working classes in democratic institutions. Furthermore, this was exacerbated by the financial policies enacted by the European Union and the Obama administration in response to the financial crisis of 2008. The empty discourse of the Davos politician, and the failure of the political class to address the needs of the many, has made political discourse meaningless, leading to a nihilistic view of democracy and politics.
Francois Zammit is a Philosophy doctoral student. His areas of interest are political philosophy, ethics and technology; with a special interest in biopolitics. His research looks into the political paradigm of neoliberalism and its effects on the individual and society.
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