What is Existential Politics?
. . . and what will readers get for subscribing?
Hello, my name is Ben Cobley and welcome to my new Substack.
You may be asking what on earth does ‘Existential Politics’ mean? What will arise from the idea and make this blog distinctive and worth reading?
Basically, I see ‘existential politics’ as a way of approaching politics, not just as the stuff that politicians do but as the way we all relate to each other and the world. It is a relational approach rather than one which sees itself as rational for example. Indeed an existential approach to politics sees people claiming to be rational as an important part of politics.
You may have noticed how people sometimes agree or disagree about things because they want to show whose side they are on rather than from any thoughts on the matter itself. You may have done this yourself. I certainly have.
This is how politics - and indeed life - is fundamentally existential in character - and these are the things I look to dig into: to understand and reveal things rather than just to judge them.
I used this sort of perspective in my book, The Tribe: the liberal-left and the system of diversity, on contemporary identity politics. Here on Substack I am looking to apply the approach more widely, for example in looking at the fundamentally progressive nature of our politics, culture and institutional life – not just in the United Kingdom, but elsewhere too.
From this perspective of existential politics, the world opens up. Not as a function of ideology, or as something already known, but as something interesting and dynamic that often takes time and effort to understand.
Why a new blog?
My first reason for setting up this new blog is the prospect of making some income from blogging (details follow). Trying to earn money as a writer is an often-dispiriting business. The pay is generally not great, and many (including left-wing publications) expect their writers to write for nothing. Busy editors often don’t reply to pitches or only when it’s too late. In any case they have their pre-conceived notions of what they want said on their pages – and by whom.
This is just the way of the world. But, as well as not being particularly lucrative, it is not always conducive for experimentation and exploration. As Hannah Arendt wrote, “Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.” Or, as E.M. Forster put it, “How do I know what I think till I see what I write?” With blogging, it is much easier to fly kites: to start writing and see where it leads you rather than start from a pre-conceived conclusion and work towards it.
The offer
For subscribers, I am offering (from now) a mix of ‘public’ and paid-for content. If you wish to subscribe just for free stuff, you will receive an estimated one article per month to your email inbox. Paid subscribers will receive a minimum of two or three additional posts per month with a much more personal perspective – discussing events, people, books and institutions in a more frank, informal manner, in a way I wouldn’t do in fully public posts – and indeed on my Twitter. There will be an emphasis on critique: and not just of easy targets.
The first two paid posts will be on:
The new SDP – what to make of the revived Social Democratic Party following their recent conference in London;
Scruton for lefties – a piece on my reading of the conservative philosopher Roger Scruton and the ways he might appeal to left-wingers.
As the subscriber base grows and I get more used to the platform, I will also likely start up Q&As and other things to involve readers in the blog. I may also consider guest posts.
For paid content, I am charging the minimum monthly rate, US$5 (currently £3.70) or US$40 (currently £30) per year. There is an extra Founder Member layer for those wanting to contribute more and the option to offer one-off contributions via the ‘Other subscription’ category.
I hope you will choose to subscribe and contribute.
Best wishes
Ben Cobley