Right… Left… No Thanks.
A Stoic Political Perspective
I don’t do politics. I don’t write about it, I don’t discuss it, and I don’t think about it any longer than it takes to remind myself: not my circus, not my monkeys. With that said, I’m going to write this one post about this topic and then be on my way, stoically. This is not really about politics; it’s about why the true Stoic has no time for such nonsense. It is not that I or Stoics (classical or otherwise) do not stand for things, or that I suggest you do not stand for things. Rather, what I am saying is that whatever you stand for should be based on reason, logic, empathy, science, and facts—not alternate facts, but real facts. That is stoic, and by definition that cannot have anything to do with modern politics.
Modern politics is not based on reason and logic; it is based on ideology and power structures and has nothing to do with right and wrong. Political parties are just marketing companies selling a product, nothing more. Politics is about power, and power is about money. There is nothing else to it. Take John Boehner, for example. He was a former speaker of the US House of Representatives and a staunch conservative, who was firmly opposed to marijuana for his entire political career. Then, as soon as Mr. Boehner leaves political office, what was first on his agenda? A marijuana business. So, after years of helping to pass laws against marijuana and helping to lock up tens of thousands of people for marijuana possession, now he is a cannabis businessman. Now he sells a drug to all the people he didn’t manage to lock up for the same drug. He even has the audacity to lobby for the legalizing of marijuana. Of course, he attributes that to “evolving” and “learning” and giving the American people what they want and other such fabricated nonsense to justify dishonorable, hypocritical behavior.
It’s true, people can evolve and change opinions, but that’s not what this is. This is far more simple. While in office, Mr. Boehner made his fortune and kept power by towing the party line. Now, out of office, he makes money selling marijuana. It’s really that simple; money is all that matters. I doubt he ever had any real views either way. John Boehner is not a conservative; he’s a capitalist, and nothing more. He will sell anything that turns a profit, including ideology and marijuana. In office, he sold anti-drug conservative ideology for profit. Out of office, he sells drugs.
Meanwhile, while Mr. Boehner “evolves” and makes millions, tens of thousands of people with minor drug possession charges languish in prison because of him. While he lobbies to make marijuana legal, ask this: is he also lobbying to get those people out of prison because he “evolved” and realized he was mistaken? No, of course not; there’s no money in that.
“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.17
“Don’t go on discussing what a good man should be. Just be one.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.16
I have no real issue with Mr. Boehner specifically; he’s no more or less dishonorable than the rest of them, and I give him no more or less thought than the rest of them. I simply needed a non-topical example to further point out there is no need for more examples. That one example serves for every politician, every political party, and every set of political views, left, right, and otherwise; they are all just excuses for building power and making money. Modern politics has one and only one definition: whatever is convenient to power and money is “right” and “moral.” Everything else is “wrong.” There could be no more dishonorable and un-Stoic behavior.
“They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else… They don’t give a fuck about you. They don't care about you at all—at all.”—George Carlin.
Personally, I don’t care if it’s left, right, up, down, sideways, orthogonal, parallel, or whatever; if you subscribe to any modern political ideology, you are not and cannot be Stoic. A Stoic’s life is based on reason, logic, and aligning with nature (true nature, not made-up nature to suit your political agenda). There is nothing political about Stoicism in the modern use of the word. No belief system or individual belief should be accepted by the Stoic without in-depth scrutiny using reason and logic, including Stoicism itself.
“The wise man does not jump to conclusions. He withholds assent, reserving judgment until he has tested the impression with reason.”—Paraphrased from Epictetus, Discourses, 1.27
“The ruling faculty must not be confused, rushed, or overthrown. It must stand ready, calm, and deliberate, examining all with justice and truth.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.9
“Truth is never hurt by scrutiny. Only falsehood fears examination.”—Seneca, implied throughout Letters to Lucilius, esp. 48 and 95
In the context of current US politics, and using myself as an example, I often get mistaken for right-wing. This is partially due to my appearance: 193 cm (6’4”), shaved head, 113 kg (250 lbs), militaristic tattoos, and fit. This is also partially due to my no-nonsense attitude; I am regularly heard to say, “No one cares, shut up and work harder,” and I am firmly opposed to entitlement behaviors. I avidly train martial arts, I am good with various weapons, and I tolerate absolute zero nonsense, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Sounds right-wing. Wrong. I could not be more disgusted with the US right-wing. They are cruel, power-hungry hypocrites and, as far as I’m concerned, the definition of dishonor.
I am sometimes mistaken for left-wing. I am a PhD, a college professor, and part of the so-called “intelligentsia.” I am an atheist and in favor of all rights for everyone. I believe democratic socialism is superior to pure capitalism, and I’ll use whatever pronouns you ask me to use because that’s your choice, not mine. Sounds pretty left-wing. Wrong. I could not have less respect for the US left-wing. They are weak, reactionary, entitled, naive, and, as far as I’m concerned, the definition of weakness.
The Right has convictions without wisdom. The Left has convictions without courage. Both are devoid of justice and temperance. Both fail all Stoic core precepts of virtue, and neither is worthy of a Stoic.
For this writing, I took inventory of myself and the US parties. I listed the top 10 political positions of the US Right and Left, and I listed them for myself. My list is a fairly equal mix of right and left, and I cannot even claim to lean one way or another. Not that I do not have strong opinions on most top issues; they just do not fit into the broken boxes known as “left” and “right.” Further, my opinions can change depending on the country, society, and culture being discussed. Currently, I split my time between homes in Greece and the US. Some views I hold in the US do not hold in Greece, and vice versa. This is because I do not have political views. I have social views, and those views depend on the society, i.e., the original definition of politics (πολιτικά) as defined by classic Greek philosophers.
Modern political views are the refuge of weak minds corrupted by a mass marketing machine. Social views are the duty of every human, especially every Stoic. There is a massive difference. One demands you conform. The other demands you think—critically.
The very idea there are two and only two options, and you must fit within one, tells you all you need to know about US politics. Why two? Because those are manageable products. “Right” and “Left” are just brands; the parties are corporations, and together they have a monopoly. It’s about profit—not justice, governance, ethics, or anything else politics should be about. The parties just split the issues down the middle, handed them out to each other like playing cards, and told you that you need to pick one. If you don’t, they shame you with idiotic statements like, “You have to pick the lesser of evils,” and “It’s your patriotic duty to support one side or the other.” Then, whichever you pick, the other side demonizes you and calls you a traitor.
The Stoic does not “pick the lesser of evils.” The Stoic rejects the unvirtuous. Done.
The Stoic does not respect or support any system unless it earns respect virtuously, and when it fails to do so, the Stoic withdraws support. As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing more to it. You lie, you cheat, you say one thing and do another, and we’re done here.
It’s not about my views; my actual political views are meaningless to this discussion. It’s about modern politics and why you, if you want to be a Stoic, must not lower yourself to such things. The Stoic does not believe what they are told out of hand. They do not tow the party line. Stoics do not follow the masses, and in fact, anything followed by the masses is immediately suspect, put on trial, and subjected to the most profound scrutiny.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.10
“You should meet the opinion of the masses with this calm response: ‘You are mistaken.’”—Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 29
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid by the crowd.” —Epictetus, Discourses, 1.2.24
“We should not, like sheep, follow the flock in front of us. We should plan our course by reason.”—Seneca, Letters, 123.10
If you wish to be Stoic, you must divorce yourself from modern political parties and modern political agendas. You must not participate in the gender wars, class wars, or culture wars, except to condemn them. You must not submit to left versus right or play into the political party games. The truth is, the ancient Stoics did participate in the politics of their time and considered it a duty to do so, but both the word and the process had a different meaning. The word “politics” (πολιτικά) was not about parties or power; it was about how people lived justly and virtuously together in an organized society. It was the art of living in common under reasoned order. As a Stoic, that must be your approach as well.
Do not have political views; have social views. Each one formed independently and virtuously, through reason, logic, wisdom, justice, empathy, temperance, and truth. No exceptions. This is where honorable civic duty lies.
Refuse to subscribe to groupthink, especially political parties.
Refuse to be labeled right or left. Don’t explain; don’t argue. If someone wishes to learn, teach, but do not explain or argue with those who do not seek to learn.
Do not choose between the lesser of evils. Evil must be opposed—done. The Stoic does not participate in injustice, hypocrisy, and greed just to stop greater injustice, hypocrisy, and greed. Fight all of it or remove yourself from it.
Lead by example. Say and do what you mean; mean and do what you say. If you cannot mean what you say, then nothing you say has meaning.
In everything said and thought, ask yourself, does this align with courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance? If the answer is no, do not do it.
None of that means you do not stand for things, or that you do not fight for things, or that you remove yourself from public discourse. It simply means you refuse to support a corrupt and ignoble system designed to cage and contain, rather than uplift and free.
Above all, remember, Stoicism is never exclusionary, never to be weaponized against any group, and never political (in the modern sense). Stoicism is never to be used to keep someone else down. Stoicism is a human philosophy meant to empower and uplift whoever adopts it and to be taught to whoever has not yet adopted it and wishes to do so. It is not male, female, white, black, brown, gay, straight, trans, left, right, corporate, religious, or anything else besides human. If you are playing at stoicism for any other purpose apart from the improvement of yourself as a virtuous human and for the betterment of humanity—virtuously—then you are perverting stoicism.
If you accept this, then your political agenda is clear; you don’t have one.