More left with that cross

The progressive atomization of society, the deficiency of any optimistic imagination that would counter the universal marazm of climate destruction, the strengthening of positions rich above the working class, or the dominance of large corporations (these are just a fewer of the "most popular" phantoms that hang over the current discourse) make the position of ideologists of leftist groups very difficult. The universal problem of leftist groups lies in the complete divorce of the electorate – the present and desirable from the position of possible success in elections. This front doesn't change much.

Young voters from large cities, who play the function of enlightened urbanity, are primarily curious in world-view issues, with emphasis on ideological liberalism and individual rights. How can anti-cleric, liberal and progressive electorate expectations be reconciled with the expectations of the folk electorate, which is further rooted in the sphere of Catholic culture, and its attitude towards LGBT movements extends between average interest and overt aversion? How to talk about migration erstwhile a postgraduate from Wrocław complains that a friend from India got promoted to a korpo alternatively of him, and his grandmother, remembering with longing times the PRL, identifies all exile with camps on the streets of Paris. It is impossible to deny that the planet in which modern youth lives is diametrically different from the reality of erstwhile generations – no substance how narrowly they may effort to stick to it.

The external impact of public debate, large companies and media does not affect everyone in the same way. The 50+ age group is much little affected by the algorithmic profiling of Tinder, and people of retirement age do not treat Instagram as an integral part of their lives. erstwhile generations have most likely purchased their homes and have not become so much the victims of full taboo speculators who are willing to flood the marketplace with utility facilities suitable for cage farming alternatively than for starting a family. tv – the most crucial origin of information for the older generation, seems to be slipping more and more into the abyss, giving way to fast data doses on TikTok or YouTube publications. What steps should be taken not to alienate any side of this political coin? Can the left inactive scope millions of Poles, who, working in sweat, inactive gotta live “from first to first”, fear migrants and the Church is an crucial part of their identity? At the same time, not to waste the trust credit she received from young people; looking at the results of the fresh presidential election, the trend of Zandberg's popularity and Biejat among younger voters is seen. Unfortunately, the answer is not simple, and reality provides only examples of the alienation of the folk electorate.

The comparative success of the Together organization and Adrian Zandberg – reasoning wishfully – brings hope that the open declaration of a war moderately conservative, believing in God and not very favorable to LGBTQ movements of part of society is behind us. In fresh months Zandberg has focused on access to health, the economy, construction and corporate taxation, leaving ideological issues on the agenda. Despite the success we can measurement in online comments like, “I don’t like the left, but I even respect this Zandberg”, we besides see a dynamic increase in the popularity of the Confederate and Grzegorz Braun. It is crucial to say clearly: we do not know what will happen on the left until the next election. However, we know that for the last decade the left has not been able to get out of the space of a fewer percent of the results, and in the eyes of many voters (not only declared supporters of the right) it is associated more with anti-clericism, open borders policy, moving to the border with pizza.

Anticlericalism and the approach to the Church are very crucial factors in the Polish discourse. In the early millennium, the Alliance of the Democratic Left did not make itself before voters as anti-clerical supporters of new, atheistic enlightenment. The SLD did not win the election by promising a break-up with “Polish superstitious”, even if most of the high-ranking organization activists had not very favourable opinions on the function of the Church in Poland. The Alliance of the Left was aware of the importance the Catholic Church has in the public's eyes, and any effort to face it will only offend the folk electorate. The current left has abandoned this modus operandi and so far at most we have had symbolic acts trying to hit the preferences of a young electorate who is closer to the act of apostasy than efforts to find an ally in a believing average conservative.

Rarely does the present leftist discourse indicate that religion can be a carrier of universalism, as does the nation or family. Many times in past they were and haven't said the last word yet. The fresh transmission of the left-wing side of the political scene is based on the presumption that only individualism is to be the origin of emancipation – completely ignoring more unitary concepts. Since the left has seemed to build its capital on the Women's Strike over the last fewer years and to find its top rival in the Episcopal (because the Neolibers of the Platform could inactive bite off, and the criticism of their policies requires civilian courage), we can presume that a folk voter is not the object of this group's interest. The same electorate left behind as a political orphan will turn to right-wing groups, which, after all, promise economical recovery of the state, while not attacking its identity. Is the alienation of this electorate beneficial to the left? If its intent is to stay within 10% of support, in the function of an eternal oppositionist or forced coalitionist – then yes.

The question of religion is very crucial to realize the problems that all groups active in creating political discourse are facing. This is the case, although active interest in spiritual practices (in our country dominated by Catholic rites) is steadily decreasing. The confrontation with the statistic made available by the Central Bureau of Social Opinion clearly shows that more and more citizens respect religion as a marginal issue, declare themselves unbelievers, and even go a step further by making acts of apostasy. Throughout all age groups, we can see a drastic decline in commitment to spiritual practices and an expanding degree of declaration as non-believers. The opinion of young people about the structure of the Catholic Church is very negative – both due to scandals about pedophilia among the hierarchs, and due to the belief that it is the Church that is mostly liable for maintaining the conservative and patriarchal sentiments in society. The groups of the power camp after the defeat of Trzaskovsky argued that there was a correlation between the engagement in spiritual practices and political preferences – the vast majority of believers declare support for the Law and the Confederation. Criticism of the Law and its policies is linked to the criticism of the Church and its faithful, that they are liable for “bringing Poland out of Europe”, “medieval practices” and “dark gardens”.

In specified a space it is very hard to identify with the Church. Among young people, the subject of religion – seemingly – does not exist. In large urban, well-educated environments, declared support for the Church is not seen in a affirmative light. The attachment to religion is seen as a blindfold that curves the “rational” reality. Either way, the left is between the hammer and the hardwood. Young people number on theatrical gestures of antagonizing themselves towards “Polish superstitious” and their parents frequently see an component of their cultural identity there.

While we can view CBOS investigation as a reliable origin of change in the general perception of religion, we can ask whether religion as specified has become obsolete and there is no place for it today. nevertheless fundamental in its nature, this question can lead us to a very interesting observation. The same young people, who frequently declare their reluctance to the Church, become a very susceptible ground for all the ideologies and behaviour that lead to the thought of organized spiritual groups. Cancel culture, which aims to attribute work and conviction to public ostracism, acts as a fundamentalist sect aimed at "cleaning" public space. On the another hand, Instagram and TikTok are overflowing with content of an peri-spiritual character. Romanticization of return to nature and "spiritual roots" has become almost a separate species of online content. From horoscopes or tarots, through approval for beliefs specified as Taoism, to the expansion of neo-Paganic movements aimed at "reestablishing ties with parent Nature". The popularity of hashtags #astrology, #fairh or #fate resembles an enlightened discourse in which enlightened bourgeoisie criticized the “Catholic superstition” itself, giving itself into the hands of “The ultimate Being” taking the form of various powers of providence. The book Theodor W. Adorno says of American philosopher J. M. Bernstein: “Modern occultism is [...] processed through its institutionalization in mass media, and the fact that occultism is incompatible with advancement in natural science, astrology with astrophysics, is bright and undeniable today. Hence, these people who combine “faith” into both, are forced into an intellectual regression that was not erstwhile needed at all.” Adorno himself in the work of “Stars Down To Earth” sought to describe where the popularity of esoteric practices comes from and how they aid their supporters to cope with the surrounding reality: “As much as the social strategy represents the destiny of most individuals regardless of their will and interest, it is designed to be stars in order to gain greater dignity and justification in which individuals hope to participate. The thought that stars, erstwhile decently read in them, give us any advice, at the same time alleviates the same fear of the impenetrable social processes that the star observer himself produces.” Esoterism and popularity of the spiritual sphere are only 1 component of the scenery in societies that depart from the classical model of religion based on conventional spiritual structures.

The reality of developed societies present offers a variety of means, ideas and figures that could fill the spiritual void and do not gotta have any connection with metaphysics. The secular nature of the cult of wealth, which is practiced by characters of the likes, which has already fallen somewhat in the eyes of net users, Andrew Tate – a multimillionaire celebrated for his very direct persona oriented towards wealth and defining success in life primarily through the material aspect – is 1 of the more noticeable trends. Without going into item and how crucial Tate himself is (because even if he does not print the content, we can inactive find in him the father of the founder of the hyper-capitalist parody “from a boot to a millionaire”), he is 1 of the advocates of the widely understood “hustle culture”, peculiarly affecting young men. 1 definition describes "Hustle culture" as a common, contemporary working environment that emphasizes hard work and long hours spent in it as a key to success. Each minute of the day should be utilized as productively as possible and each step should be calculated for profit. This has late become increasingly popular, and many companies encourage their employees to put extra effort and work to accomplish better results. At first glance, this kind of approach seems reasonable, although net figures like Tate tend to accelerate the concept completely. This is correlated with the problem of intellectual wellness among young people, constantly exposed to external incentives "motivating" them to harder work, greater effort and permanent competition with others.

The “hustle culture” concept gained prestige thanks to entrepreneurs who are seen as “fail” due to the fact that they work long hours without taking breaks for remainder or spending time with their family. These individuals are frequently portrayed as function models for aspiring entrepreneurs who may not realize how harmful it is to put work above everything else in life. There is simply a strong correlation between social media and intellectual health, and social media have only made this problem worse. Instagram, TikTok and Facebook enabled influencers and celebrities to share images of their work by late night, glorifying and sustaining a dangerous way of reasoning among younger generations who look at them as a origin of inspiration. The attitudes promoted by influencers like Andrew Tate go hand in hand with the worship of individuals specified as the president of Tesla and the richest man in the planet – Elon Musk. This social media businessman created an image that seems to be an extraordinary inspiration for young people. Musk portrays himself as a genius, a mad scientist from the Iron Man comic books, detached from the business aspect of doing business. The planet revolved photos where Musk sleeps on the level of Tesla's car factory, and was expected to show how despite his wealth and position he never abandoned his passion for technology. The current Twitter owner (Portal X) takes care of his image and the way he is perceived by the public, who mostly sees him as “one of us”.

False class solidarity between specified influencers and their audiences/supporters is very beneficial for the system. The youth Reichs will effort to give everything for the chance to accomplish a "success" like their idols. However, the problem is that most supporters of Musko or Tate characters do not have the same opportunities as they do. Elon Musk comes from a very wealthy household with minerals mines in South Africa (which is trying hard to mask), and Tate, who has never spoken of how precisely he earns money, has heard allegations about human trafficking in the Balkans from which he comes.

How left-wing groups can fill the void created in the age of declining popularity of institutionalized spiritual movements, the same movements that have been the binder of social tissue over the past centuries. How to fill void erstwhile ideas have become dangerous and even undesirable in the process of “sound and rational” management of a state apparatus.
Is there any way to usage the universalism of the Gospel to make a fresh communicative that would not discourage progressive voters and at the same time supply moral support for a more conservative electorate? Is there a chance to usage something in the form of “undenominational Christianity” that Jacek Kuron spoke about in the 1970s (then very left-wing)? Or should the question of spiritual matters in general be left out of creating a fresh plan for the left, and should it be left as the individual sphere of all man and not put into public debate? How can we talk in universal language to those who are at the core of the present working class but do not believe that social classes inactive exist?

The model of Western societies fulfills the prophecies of Charles Marx, who foretold the sophisticated ability of Capital to sneak into different, far from economics, the sphere of our lives. This Tinder shows how the concepts utilized so far in the planet of finance have gone to a common vocabulary defining interpersonal relations ("What does the another individual gotta offer me?" ‘ Isn’t there a better chance? ’ The spiritual sphere is besides subject to the phenomenon of commercialisation – figures of influencers offer us “save” within a functioning system. It involves achieving success understood in material terms or escaping the anxiety resulting from our participation in the system. Sold to us by culture and social media mantras about creating their own world, their bubble and space, are only a reactionary way to cope with the surrounding reality.

In Adorn's Cultural Industry, we can find a very interesting thought: " amusement is an extension of work in late capitalism. It is sought by those who want to escape the strategy of mechanized work in order to be able to meet it again. Since mechanization has specified power over the time of a free man and defines so thoroughly the production of amusement articles, the experience of mass culture is only secondary images of the work process itself." While the quote refers to amusement and culture in mass terms, it is very up-to-date in the wider view of today's socio-economic landscape. Mass culture now exists at the interface of the media, business, politics, arts and bonding it into 1 full of social applications. Young artists usage business online practices of Public Relations professionals. Humoristic profiles on Instagram make their sketches based on events from the planet of politics. Lost in “hustle culture” aspiring businessmen effort to keep up with the aesthetic trends of publishing videos on TikTok. So that a decently selected song can make a larger scope of material to reflect 1 way or another on their activities. The cultural crucible thus seen appears as an incredibly integral region for our lives and worldview. But how can we escape politics and worldview erstwhile everything is so connected?

It would be a very hard task to make a fresh programme, a fresh narrative, without being aware of the influence of the sphere of mass culture on shaping attitudes and electoral preferences among people (especially in the highly developed countries of the global West). Socially speaking, cultural chaos is to be expected due to the collapse of institutionalised religions, technological improvement and social diversity, and the disappearance of fresh pre-capitalist relics, but nothing like that. Culture has never been more unified and integrated. In terms of uniformity, culture present beats everything. Film, music, tv or magazines are a compact system. Culture has become openly and brazenly an manufacture obeying the same production rules as all another commodity manufacturers. In my opinion, would it not be possible to make a communicative that gives hope alternatively of depressing?

The interdisciplinary approach seems to me, in the case of policy considerations, to be far justified. It is at the interface of faith, mass culture, geopolitical events and popular media that our perfect co-ordinates place. The hypothetical question is how to exploit the prevailing spirit of times and how to contact social vulnerability in specified a way as to build an effective narrative. Even if the question appears hard or even impossible, it seems to be more upbuilding than the political pushes of Magdalena Biejat and Adrian Zandberg, who in a hypothetical alliance would oscillate around 10 percent of the support. The Confederacy itself is slow looking at twice the result. But they were never to be able to convince “normal people”, were they?

Michał Szymanski

Graphics in the text header: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay