Activist culture can generate despair by demanding attention to every issue

Evidence

Activists tried to organize their sentiments in ways that opened up room for political change; even so, the interviews with activists all gave me the dizzying feeling of perching on the edge of despair. There were too many issues, some overwhelming, all demanding attention. … There was no reliable method for sifting some issues out of conversation, as there was for the volunteers, so that by the end of each exhausting interview, activists ended up sounding very concerned about nearly all issues. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 113

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Autonomy-oriented culture amplifies despair when individual effort fails — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1170; Attention-and-shame culture magnifies people’s baser impulses into harm. — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 1101; Demand for authoritarian institutions arises from popular despair at democratic disorder.

Broader Connections

• Autonomy-oriented culture amplifies despair when individual effort fails #complicates (0.80) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1170
• Attention-and-shame culture magnifies people’s baser impulses into harm. #expands (0.78) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 1101
• Demand for authoritarian institutions arises from popular despair at democratic disorder. #complicates (0.70)