The Problem of Compassion by Donna Burroughs

The Problem of Compassion

By Donna Burroughs | Graphics by Mia Dugandzic | CW: Classism

It’s difficult to read the news these days. Every day, you’re faced with an onslaught of bad news. Cuts to Job Seeker and other benefits will impoverish millions of Australians, both major parties continue to advocate for the coal industry, as if last summer’s bushfire devastation is all forgotten about, and proposed fee hikes in the university sector will leave low-socioeconomic students with less control over their futures.

In my experience, what makes such stories particularly difficult to read is the blatant lack of compassion that characterises them. Such policies are detrimental to social cohesion and negatively impact the individual lives of millions. Being forced to choose between paying rent and buying food has detrimental impacts on mental health, as well as the economy at large. Refusal to act on climate change will threaten families in Australia’s backyard and abroad. And forcing prospective Arts students into decades of debt,while many federal politicians received their Bachelor of Arts for free, is simply cruel.

But these policies aren’t just at odds with my personal sensitivities; they’re at odds with what Australia’s supposed values are. There’s a lot of opinions out there on what constitutes ‘Australian values’ and one loud voice in the conversation is the Department of Immigration. They state that Australian values are embodied by a:

‘Spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play, and compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good.’

Evidently these values aren’t reflected in public policy. Locking low income students out of arts degrees isn’t ‘fair’, and forcing millions into poverty during a pandemic doesn’t really scream ‘compassion for those in need.’ And yet, I doubt any Australian, from either side of politics would deny the importance of such values, or better yet, the goodness of such ideals. So, what explains the discrepancy between Australia’s supposed values, and the values actually exhibited by our political representatives?

Humans have never been particularly kind to each other. But neoliberalism has excelled at entrenching and encouraging the worst instincts of human nature. Pioneered by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and US President Ronald Reagan, neoliberalism rejects the idea of common interest, prioritises economic growth at all costs and places the blame for poverty on the poor themselves. It is a system that ‘has convinced people they are defined by selfishness, greed, and vice’ and proceeds to celebrate the process of exploiting those around you in the name of personal gain. Kindness and empathy have been relegated to the private sphere; you’re a saint if you volunteer to distribute food to homeless people, but you mustn’t ask why the government doesn’t intervene to help them.

Politics isn’t a vehicle for maximizing public wellbeing and happiness, but an institution that functions to serve corporate interests. When the odd politician defies the norm, and brings compassion to their political campaign, they are demonized by mainstream media and discredited by their political opponents. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has been labelled a ‘bitch’, and is continually attacked for her economic and racial background. Daniel Andrews lockdown strategy, which centers the goal of protecting human life and avoiding loss has earned the premier the label of ‘Dictator’. While his strategy is certainly not without fault, this epithet has certainly caused me physical pain to read, given I’ve spent this semester studying the actions of an actual dictator, Stalin. This teaches us that politics of compassion, which includes policies that aim to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities, do not belong at the official center of politics.

Neoliberalist values such as pragmatism, competition, and aggression, shoulder off traditionally feminine traits of compassion and kindness. Although a version of feminism has made itself compatible with a neoliberalist system, evidenced by hashtags of #girlboss and #ImWithHer, neoliberal misogyny grows out of previous centuries of misogyny. Instead of the idea that women do not belong in power, it is traditionally feminine traits that do not belong in power. Australian political commentators turn their nose up at the idea of ‘nanny states’, ones that take care of society’s most vulnerable groups, ones that embody feminine traits. Apparently the idea is a government ambivalent to the plight of its most vulnerable citizens, and leaves the invisible hand of the market to magically solve social ills.

This is an economic and political ideology that praises aggression and entrenches previous centuries of traditionally toxic masculine views that deride compassion as weak and bad for government. This is having detrimental impacts at both a personal and global scale, from young workers struggling to make ends meet during a pandemic, to the effects of climate change. There is a dire need for the reintroduction of genuine compassion and kindness into politics. The problems in our world are not going to be solved by headstrong politicians yelling over each other, by budget surpluses or the invisible hand of the free market. We can and will start to see change when we allow ourselves and our politics to be influenced by the human need to show and receive compassion.

References How neoliberalism is normalising democracy- openDemocracy https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/how-neoliberalism-is-normalising-hostility/ The Challenge of Compassion in Politics- Rowman & Littlefield https://www.rowmaninternational.com/blog/the-challenge-of-compassion-in-politics Can politics ever be compassionate? - openDemocracy https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/can-politics-ever-be-compassionate/ All you need is a politics of love- openDemocracy https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/all-you-need-is-politics-of-love/