In Defence of Political Ignorance

Why it’s okay not to know or care about politics

i.

Political participation, when done correctly, can be an invaluable thing. However, there is a big gulf between beneficial and morally obligatory. In this article, I’m going to argue that no one has a moral obligation to be actively involved in politics. This means that I think it’s okay not to sign petitions, protest, or engage in social media activism. In short, it’s perfectly acceptable to tune out of politics, even if you’re privileged by injustice in some way.

Most people agree with me. I can say this with full confidence because the majority of people are terribly informed and largely apathetic about politics outside of election periods. This is especially true of the domestic politics of nations other than their own, let alone the international politics of NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions, the UN, etc.

Why is this the case? If I had to guess, I would attribute political apathy in large part to nihilistic pessimism about politicians. If all politicians are crooks and the whole thing is a racket, why bother staying informed? I don’t think this is a good justification, for reasons I won’t get into now; however, it’s worth noting that what I’m arguing for isn’t quite as controversial as it first appears.

I’m now going to assert something about moral obligation. I think the burden of proof is on people claiming that something is a moral obligation rather than the other way around. If you disagree with me on this, you’re unlikely to find the rest of the piece convincing, because all I’m going to do is rebut strong arguments for why we might be obliged to participate in politics.

ii. The Utility Argument

We all have an obligation to do good. Engaging in politics is good. Therefore, we all have an obligation to engage in politics.

I’m willing to concede the second premise outright. Let’s assume that all political participation leads to good results. This means we won’t be spreading misinformation about BLM/feminism on social media, inadvertently doxing innocent people, commenting on policy issues beyond our understanding, and escalating partisan divisions. Not to mention that it would take a very special…

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