AT THE HEART OF THE REVOLUTION: POLITICAL LOVE AS PARADIGM SHIFT

[摘要] For many recent mobilizations and fronts of struggle, 'love” serves as a primary motivational frame, which fall into four major categories: love of self, love of others, love of the Earth, and love as the revolution itself.While the exact definitions vary across movements, for all, love is seen as a strategic, powerful, transformational—and, importantly, actionable—form of resistance to oppressive, hegemonic systems and modes of thought. And, in most general terms, love can be loosely thought of as quasi-synonymous with 'empathy” and rooted in a sense of interconnectedness and common cause in each of these contexts. Although there are several currents contributing to the formation and adoption of these frames, evidence further suggests that contemporary political love reflects an important break from the geoculture of capitalism within the Left since the financial collapse in 2008 and due to mounting fears over climate collapse in recent years. Through a mixed methods analysis, this study explores this shift via examination of the many meanings and significance of political love across contemporary movements.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh