Too Busy Surviving to Participate • Lucky For Some

Introduction

Do you pay attention to politics? What’s happening in the wider country or world? Do you find it boring? People in suits, (mostly) yelling at each other in a prestigious building paid for by the hands of sticky fingers and your tax dollars? Well, it probably won’t come as a surprise to hear that this is neither a new phenomenon nor accidental.

The reality is, for most of us, politics feels distant and disconnected from our daily lives. While we’re juggling multiple jobs, worrying about rising rent prices, interest rates, or figuring out how to put food on the table, the suited elite debate in air-conditioned chambers about issues that seem far removed from our immediate concerns. But here’s the thing: this disconnect isn’t just a coincidence – it’s a feature of the system, not a bug.

Why? Because a disconnected electorate can neither engage in the civic process, nor hold it’s leaders to account. Furthermore, by being fed a constant cycle of increasingly partisan news articles and social media feeds, we miss what is actually going on. And that is usually that decisions are being made ABOUT you, but with neither your consent, or really in your interest.

With attention deficit democracy, I am trying to wake up people to how the combination of mass ignorance, fear mongering by the government, and lying politicians is putting our entire system of government to a death spiral.

James Bovard

Below I’d like to chat a little bit more about the ideas behind marginalising electorates. Importantly, why it’s critical that we look up from our digital shackles and daily struggles and pay more attention to exactly what is happening, and the implications for life (that sounds dramatic I know). The discussion below isn’t comprehensive, but it shows how the game is played: through smoke and mirrors, misdirection, and economic sleight-of-hand, these suited, self-interested senators make it increasingly difficult for us to see what they’re really doing..

Blown Mental Bandwidth

It’s hard to keep up in Australia at the moment. It’d be cruel to assume that a lack of engagement is as a result of not caring (although who would blame you?). We’ve heard our prime minister bang on about “Cost of Living” measures here for the past year, the last instance being his post-parliamentary sitting year appearance on InsidersWith an election around the corner it’s likely that won’t be the last time we milk the dead animal of “Cost of Living” measures, but it leaves one to ask, why do things still feel so fucking hard?

I’ll let you in on a secret, that’s because they are…

Even though inflation has finally dropped back into the target band for the RBA the reality is that things are still expensive. Just because that number “now has a 2 in front of it” (an idiom our illustrious treasurers appears to adore more than his collegial front benchers) the price of goods and services, since prior to the pandemic, have significantly increased. Food and drink alone is 20% more expensive on pre-pandemic levels There are a number of reasons for thiswhich are beyond the scope of this piece, however, what it means is that despite Labour’s “action” on cozzie-lives relief, it’s still rough out there.

When you need what feels like a degree in algebra just to balance the weekly budget that leaves you in a state of distress. Almost constantly. Your brain is in survival mode, but with no end in site. There is no flight, just the constant fight of trying to get by. This cognitive load isn’t just about being tired - it fundamentally changes how we process information and make decisions.

So when politicians talk about “civic engagement” or “democratic participation,” they’re asking people who are mentally exhausted, financially stressed, and time-poor to somehow find the bandwidth to engage with complex political issues. This is not only fundamentally untenable and unfair, but, to be frank, it’s absolutely fucked.

The level of gaslighting borders on the psychopathic. To continue to tell people you’re making their life better, without acknowledging the reality, that for many, is truly barely an existence.

How can it be possible to care about the politics that shapes your life, when you’re too busy surviving the outcomes of that very process?

Echo Chambers and Identity

”The algorithm”. You know it right? The all-seeing, all-dancing but truly unaccountable target of much political rhetoric. You couldn’t contrive a more convenient scapegoat for everything from misogynistic behaviour in young men to election misinformation. But while our politicians wag their fingers at Big Tech during Senate inquiries and media appearances, they conveniently ignore how these same systems help maintain their power by keeping us distracted and divided.

Don’t kid yourself for a second, this is absolutely by design, or, more accurately, convenient misdirection. Firstly, social media algorithms these days are a complicated mix of machine learning rules that are so complicated that many companies fail to predict their outcome, up to, and including, genocide. The one rule, above all, is to keep you on the platform. Glued to a screen, swiping. Calm as a Hindu cow.

This is complicated further by the fact that your feed isn’t just showing you content - it’s creating a carefully curated reality tunnel that reinforces your existing beliefs and biases. Whether you’re left, right, or somewhere in between, you’re being served a steady diet of content designed to make you angry at “the other side.”

Think about it, this entrenches your worldview and your idea of identity while reinforcing outrage that any diverging point-of-view is somehow a personal attack. And why? Because evidence shows that fear and anger drives engagement. Some anecdotal evidence indicates that the dumpster fire that is X (among other micro-blogging service), actively suppresses anything that will take you off it’s platform - meaning you’re unlikely to read a blog or watch a video that is unaligned - and, accordingly, eliminating any chance of a more nuanced discussion.

Really think about it: when was the last time your social media feed showed you a nuanced discussion about economic policy or what our national values really are? Instead, we get endless culture war debates, manufactured outrage, and oversimplified takes on complex issues.

The result? We’re all (largely unconsciously, and certainly not by informed consent) trapped in echo chambers that make us feel like we’re engaging with politics, when really we’re just participating in theatrical warfare (attitude reflecting the leadership of our parliamentary incumbents) while the real decisions happen behind closed doors.

False Choices Narrative

Let’s talk about the greatest illusion in Australian politics - choice. Every few years, we’re presented with what appears to be a democratic decision between Labor and Liberal (sorry, Greens voters, but you know how this usually plays out). We’re told this is the cornerstone of our democracy, that this choice matters fundamentally. It’s a disappointing state of affairs when it more often feels like that South Park episode where voters have a choice between a turd sandwich and a giant douche.

When you peel back the rhetoric and look at the actual policies that affect your daily life - housing affordability (at an all time low), wage growth (currently lower than than before the pandemic), corporate regulation, corruption(can these guys even spell ICAC?) meaningful mineral resource taxation (the pludering continues) - you’ll find an uncomfortable truth; there’s often surprisingly little enactable policy daylight between the major parties.

Moreover, beyond political point scoring on trivial differences in opinion, there is no impetus for reform that will meaningfully benefit your average punter.

Sure, they’ll argue ferociously about cultural issues and throw around terms like “better economic managers,” but when it comes to addressing the fundamental power structures that keep ordinary Australians struggling (little alone those on the fringes of our social structures)? The differences start to look more cosmetic than substantial.

Even more telling is when both major parties attempt to collaborate on legislation that would benefit themselves at the expense of democratic choice. The recent attempt at electoral reform would have made it harder for smaller parties and independents to register , effectively entrenching the power of the major parties. It’s in moments like these that the facade of opposition falls away, revealing their shared interest in maintaining the status quo. Red flags abound.

There is, however, a silver (or other rare-earth metal) lining. Australia’s preferential voting system means a vote for an independent or minor party isn’t wasted. The rise of successful independents, particularly the Teal Independentsshows that voters are increasingly aware of this and are willing to send a message to the major parties. In his latest Quarterly Essay George Megalogenis argues that a turn towards the Independents is underway. Minority governments with an impactful crossbench will likely be the only way these stale and self-interested major parties are held to account.

A continuation of a broken two party system is in Labour and the Coalition’s interests, and that’s because they care about one thing, power, and it’s perpetuation.

Civil society ought to aim at empowerment, and democratization, that is, expanding to the limits the capacity of the people to participate in making the decisions that affect their own lives, their communities and the world.

Noam Chomsky

Conclusion

If you made it this far good on you. If not, I don’t blame you, it is a bit boring and moreover a little hard to wrap your head around. I’m not trying to say that you have to go out and get a post-graduate degree (don’t get me started on Australia’s waning education institutions) but you should be informed, for yourself, and more importantly for the vast majority of you, for your kids.

Here’s the truth. While you’re struggling with a head full of white noise, trapped in a cacophony of clicks and likes, and being fed false choices, the people in power are counting on our disengagement. They’re banking on you being too tired, too divided, and too cynical to call bullshit on their theatre.

Remember this though - they work for us. Not the other way around. Our mandatory preferential voting system gives us real power if we choose to use it. The increasing popularity Independent and minor party political candidates proves that when we look up from our screens and pay attention, we can actually change the game.

So next time you hear a politician talking about “cost of living relief” while they backdoor a deal that will erode your earning power, or watch them blame social media algorithms while they benefit from the division these platforms create, remember: your disengagement isn’t just convenient for them - it’s crucial to their survival.

Don’t kid yourself. This is class warfare whether you realise it or not. You are not winning. They want you neither conscious nor engaged. So wake up, look up, and pay attention. Because while you’re busy surviving, they’re busy thriving - and that’s exactly how they planned it.