Stoicism is not indifferent 

One of the biggest misconceptions about Stoicism is that indifference is the name of the game. Many people who are new to Stoic ideas think that we should all just shrug our shoulders when it comes to what other people do and say. Some new Stoics tell others to remove themselves from every single person or situation they disagree with or dislike. However, this superficial understanding of a Stoic’s role in society falls apart when you consider the words of Marcus Aurelius: 

A branch cut from its neighbouring branch is necessarily cut away from the whole tree. In the same way a human being severed from just one other human has dropped from the whole community. Now the branch is cut off by someone else, but a man separates himself from his neighbour by his own hatred or rejection, not realising that he has thereby severed himself from the wider society of fellow citizens. Only there is this gift we have from Zeus who brought together the human community: we can grow back again to our neighbour and resume our place in the complement of the whole 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.8 

If we grapple with the spirit of Marcus’ message in our own lives, it quickly becomes obvious that restricting all our interactions to our comfortable echo chamber does not fit well with the Stoic call to work towards building a universal global community. 

Stoicism vs. Epicureanism 

The fact that Stoics rejected the Epicurean garden in favour of the political sphere, tells us that contemporary Stoics are following in the ancients’ footsteps when they think and act politically (consider for a moment Seneca the Younger, Cato the Younger, Musonius Rufus, and Thrasea Paetus). 

Progressing towards virtue 

As Stoics, we should not be political because we merely wish to win an argument but because we recognise that a life built on the progression towards the four Stoic virtues of courage, justice, selfcontrol, and wisdom lends itself to striving for a more harmonious workplace, educational system, and society generally. This, in turn, requires that we be amongst the action, just not aligned with either the political left or right, regardless of their respective arguments. 

Change is natural and desirable 

On a superficial level, apathy towards politics might sound like a good idea to those who want the quiet life. But, if we think about it rationally, why would any Stoic prefer to leave important decision making to people who are more interested in power plays than the four Stoic virtues? Furthermore, given that virtue is made manifest in our interactions with others and the environment, it is both natural and desirable for Stoics to work together to bring about change, as Marcus Aurelius himself states: 

Just as you yourself are a complementary part of a social system, so too your every action should complement a life of social principle. If any action of yours, then, does not have direct or indirect relation to the social end, it pulls your life apart and destroys its unity. 

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.23 

Stoics don’t leave the dirty work up to others. They learn from their role models so that they may take steps to learn how best to understand the nature of a problem and what they can do, given their skillset and mindset, to solve it. 

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Kai Whiting is a researcher and lecturer in sustainability and Stoicism based at UCLouvain, Belgium. He Tweets @kaiwhiting and blogs over at StoicKai.com

 

 

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