ABSTRACT
This essay presents a theoretical interpretation for the paradoxical emergence of non-democratic and neoliberal governments in countries where, starting in 2009, contention cycles related to democratization and economic justice grievances have taken place. We look at the prevalent subjectivity and morality among activists, in order to detect factors that – among a myriad of other causes – influence (although in a non-linear way) the frustrations related to the outcomes of the mobilizations. We address, especially, anchored on Jodi Dean’s political philosophy, how a subjectivity based on the individual and a self-compassion morality suggest the presence, inside the realm of social struggles, of aspects quintessentially bounded to the same reality that the movements aimed to change.
Keywords
Global Wave of Protests; Democratic decline; Political subjectivity; Political morality