Chpt 25: Very Little Gravitas Indeed

Performative activism, moral grandstanding, social pressure, peer group conformity, slogan chanting and virtue signaling.

Is it a net negative or positive for a movement? Is it a net negative at a personal level? Some view it as a genuine expression of moral values, while others see it as a self-serving act of social posturing. Is it a virtue that should be praised and encouraged, as more people get involved in perceived social justice issues? Or do we see through the thinly veiled attempts to engineer perceived social hierarchy.

Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Giving the Signal

At its very core, virtue signaling is about using moral expression as a social currency, rather than a reflection of authentic values, or even a catalyst for meaningful action. It is the very act of expressing your moral or virtuous beliefs, most often for social approval, in order to project a positive public image. The use of social media as a way to project and amplify moral signaling has grown exponential. It’s very easy to have an opinion, vote in a poll, or participate in piling on in an argument from behind the safety of a phone or computer screen.

This very public expression of moral outrage quite often accompanies an emphasis on symbolism over substance, a closed mindedness and dogmatic approach to the subject in question (Chpt 4). This self-righteousness and arrogance, projected through their guise of moral superiority, is frequently incapable of meaningful engagement and constructive dialogue. With trends towards chanting, slogans, performative activism and dismissive attitudes towards others perspectives, experience and knowledge. Shouting down your opponent is easier than thinking through a problem objectively and critically assessing your own bias.

This is mirrored against genuine expressions of moral values. Consistency and authenticity shines through in those who have deep-rooted commitment to their beliefs and stated values. The substance of the argument is more important than the symbolism, with an openness to learning and growth about the topic. It frequently goes hand in hand with mutual respect of others, recognising that there is always more to learn and engaging in respectful dialogue is important. Genuine individuals approach their moral convictions with humility, acknowledging their own limitations and striving for self improvement.

You learn nothing from life if you think you’re right all the time

Anonymous

The Mental Drive

I’ve previously touched on several things that I think contribute to both an increase in “activism” and “moral outrage theatrics” (Chpt 4). Be it a lack of true moral and philosophical education (Chpt 6), a lack of emotional intelligence (Chpt 17), a rebellion against authority, restrictive educational indoctrination, or simply as a useful idiot in the games played by ideologues and demagogues. The psychological evidence does indicate that social approval and self-presentation are key drivers. Going upstream against the prevailing social norms and views expressed by your peer group, as a young individual, is incredibly difficult. As we grow and form our own sense of self it is easy to feel a need of belonging, acceptance and validation from others that surround us.

The peer-pressure for activism is often combined with an appeal to emotion. This is used to conceal a lack of evidence or reasoning. Emotional appeals are an effective persuasive technique because they can bypass our critical thinking and target any emotion, including fear, hate, love, and compassion. People will quite often believe a claim as true simply because they have an emotive reaction to the argument. Social approval also reinforces social learning. If someone observes another in their social group receiving praise, or avoiding negative social consequences for participation, they are far more likely to adopt similar behaviors.

Performative activism, mostly online, but more often in public settings by small groups, is used to try and bring awareness to a cause. Often triggered by emotionally charged social issues, such as conflicts or the environment, and often accompanied by feelings of empathy, compassion or guilt. By aligning with virtuous causes the activists can feel like they are contributing to a positive cause. This does not always receive a positive response from the public, no matter how strong the appeal to emotion, and often has no real benefit to those they claim to want to help.

“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.”

Thomas Sowell

Recent surveys in the UK show that public support for performative and disruptive activism groups, like Just Stop Oil, have fallen dramatically. Only 32% of the general public felt approval for the group, and 44% held a very unfavorable opinion of the campaign. Performative activism is quite often perceived as a distraction from real solutions, uses marginalised communities as props and can undermine public trust in activist groups, or activism as a whole.

The wider ranging consequences of virtue signaling and performative activism, when perceived as inauthentic and self serving, can breed cynicism and mistrust among others. It can lead to a focus on symbolic gestures rather than substantive action to address the issues. Focusing on the instant gratification and social validation rather than long-term commitments to truly ethical and moral behavior. It is a vice, not a virtue.

Vacuous Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Protest and freedom of speech are hugely important for a health and democratic society. I am certainly an advocate for that. Without these freedoms a society will soon become stagnant and oppressive. The right to protest allows citizens to hold public officials accountable, to foster debate and critical thinking about important topics. A more informed and engaged population is good for democracy. They can also promote social change, and have in the past been drivers of some of the most important civil rights changes in modern history (Suffragettes, Minority rights, Gay rights).

But performative activism and virtue signaling is not freedom of speech, for they are not actually saying anything. They deal in absolutes, not reality, outrage and emotion and not nuanced thinking. Throughout history human beings have become very good at discriminating true allies from fair weather friends. In the past it could mean the difference between life and death. As such, humans are obsessed with moral hypocrisy and very good at spotting those who practice it.

The politician that advocates strong environmental policy, but owns a private jet, the celebrity that endorses a vegan lifestyle but gets caught eating a steak, the ‘stop oil’ protestors living a lifestyle surrounded by hydrocarbon products, the anti-capitalist tweeting from an expensive mobile phone, the senator that submits bills on corruption but is paid handsomely by dark money lobby groups, the president that forces a country to war in the name of democracy but never has to suffer the consequences of that rhetoric.

This is why we find virtue signalers irritating. When individuals send signals to others to convince them they are better than average, the result is often what theorists call a ‘runaway’; an arms race toward more and more extremes. Nothing gets better, the messages get stronger, the posturing more ridiculous and the rhetoric less and less relevant to the real world.

To live a life of virtue, match up your thoughts, words, and deeds.

Epictetus

Conclusion

Protest and freedom of speech are fundamental human rights that belong to everyone regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or political beliefs. They can provide useful mechanisms for societal change. When constructive, it finds solutions to problems, rather than simply tearing things down.

Virtue signaling and performative activism is ineffective when it alienates through violence, intimidation, hypocrisy or the refusal to accept facts over dogma. When we see someone virtue signaling, we often have strong reactions – sometimes admiration, sometimes annoyance or contempt. But these intuitions are a product of our own self preservation mechanisms that help us identify allies, not necessarily to evaluate whether a persons actions will have a positive effect on the world.

One thing I can say for certain, the eyes tell the whole story, mostly, there is very little gravitas indeed.