Practice like a Stoic: 30, Do whatever political good you can

It turns out, all politics is local. At least, that’s where you can really make a difference

Demonstrators holding signs during the March on Washington, 1963. Image from picryl.com, CC license.

[This series of posts is based on A Handbook for New Stoics—How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, co-authored by yours truly and Greg Lopez. It is a collection of 52 exercises, which we propose reader try out one per week during a whole year, to actually live like a Stoic. In Europe/UK the book is published by Rider under the title Live Like A Stoic. Below is this week’s prompt and a brief explanation of the pertinent philosophical background. Check the book for details on how to practice the exercise, download the exercise forms from The Experiment’s website, and comment below on how things are going. Greg and/or I will try our best to help out! This week’s exercise is found at pp. 180-182 of the paperback edition.]

“This is what I think ought to be done by virtue and by one who practices virtue: If Fortune gets the upper hand and deprive him of the power of action, let him not straightaway turn his back to the enemy, throw away his arms, and run away seeking for a hiding place, as if there were any place whither Fortune could not pursue him. … Even in an oppressed state a wise man can find an opportunity for bringing himself to the front, and that in a prosperous and flourishing one wanton insolence, jealousy, and a thousand other cowardly vices bear sway. We ought therefore to expand or contract ourselves according as the state presents itself to us, or as Fortune offers us opportunities; but in any case we ought to move and not to become frozen still by fear. Nay, he is the best man who, though peril menaces him on every side and arms and chains beset his path, nevertheless neither impairs nor conceals his virtue, for to keep oneself safe does not mean to bury oneself.” (Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 4–5.1)

This beautiful passage by Seneca is one of the best examples of Stoic pragmatism. Seneca reminds us that no matter how difficult the circumstances, and how seemingly restricted our sphere of action may be, we can nonetheless find something useful to contribute to society, some way to exercise virtue. This is particularly important in times when we feel that we cannot affect large-scale events, economic and political upheavals, or environmental disasters. A single vote does not (usually) turn an election. Our individual choices in the marketplace do not, by themselves, alter the economy or habits of a nation. Our individual actions are not going to appreciably alter the earth’s environment.

We can, however, and ought to—according to the Stoics—make a difference for some people, some of the time. The famous activist Malala Yousafzai could not overcome misogyny and bigotry by herself. Indeed, perhaps these are chronic human problems that will never be overcome. But she is making a difference for many people, some of whom she is able to help directly: She donated money she had won as a prize for her activism to help rebuild sixty-five Palestinian schools, and on her eighteenth birthday she opened a school for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. More broadly, she has been an indirect force for positive change, inspiring people to take up her cause of education for young girls, and has become a role model for countless people around the world.

As we know, not everyone can be a Malala, nor do we have to be. That’s precisely Seneca’s point. So long as we interact with others and are embedded in a social network within which we play an active role (as a colleague, a friend, or a family member), we have the power to make the world a better place. What we need to do now is become aware of the boundaries—“even in an oppressed state,” as Seneca says—and search for opportunities available to us. Seneca talks about expanding or contracting ourselves in response to external conditions, meaning we should adapt to the situation: If we can do a lot, we should, but if we can only do a little, that’s no excuse for doing nothing. So, reexamine your own life through Seneca’s lens, and see where you can act effectively to make the world even a little bit better. It’s the virtuous thing to do.