‘Why Optimism of the Intellect Is Needed to Counter Britain’s Spiral Into Despair’

Where does hope come from? The relentless diet of terrible news sits heavily on our shoulders and drags us all down at least a few notches.  

Charlatans like Nigel Farage and President Donald Trump seem to get away with murder. And the disappointment of Labour in Government – and its maddening decisions to do things like cut the regulations that stop the city exploding the economy again, boil our blood. The constant dread of climate chaos, the awful relentlessness of unnecessary poverty, and of course the daily horrors of Gaza mean that shadows darken our path. 

None more so than the decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.  Because it is so revealing. Progressive Governments, if they are to deliver meaningful change, need not just visions and ideas but countervailing forces to take on those of the right. 

For a Labour Government – I repeat in Kinnock-esque Welsh tones, ‘a Labour Government’ – to actively and purposefully undermine the ability of citizens to protest against the inhumanity of what is happening in Gaza shows a Government that’s become deeply enmeshed in the British establishment.  

Because this isn’t just about Palestine Action, this is about asserting the coercive power of the state over any and all challenge to what is in the interests of that establishment.  And worse than that the principle has been established, that on the most spurious grounds the interests of the state can crush the deeply held beliefs of the citizen and in the future Robert Jenrick, Farage or worse can apply that principle to anyone on the left who gets in their sights.

This then becomes a double whammy. By refusing to offer the country the change they promised at the last election, Labour paves the way for Reform, not because people believe Farage will be any better, but in the absence of hope you might as well roll the dice. 

But they make matters worse by preparing the ground for an authoritarian state response to anyone who challenges the economic and global orthodoxies of the establishment they have submitted to. This of course is a vicious spiral, the more a Government resists the economic democratic changes needed, the more people will protest beyond the ballot box.

And it’s not just citizens that Labour looks to discipline, but its own backbenchers. Suspensions handed out to MPs merely trying to defend their constituents stands in stark contrast to rebellions under the last Labour Government who knew that keeping left wing rebels like Jeremy Corbyn inside the tent was crucial in electoral terms.  

But by suspending people like Corbyn, the brittleness of this approach has been exposed through the inevitable creation of a left-wing alternative with mass appeal in the shape of Your Party.

So yes, the world can feel bleak. 

But then we remind ourselves that we can be and are so much better than this. That nothing lasts forever. And that what seems impossible today can become reality tomorrow. 

Important evidence for this can be found in research being pulled together by Common Cause which shows the trend, though uneven, that UK citizens increasingly prioritise universalism and benevolence values. 

As time passes, people are placing greater importance on helpfulness, friendship, social justice, equality, and environmental protection. And yet support for the far right seems to be rising.  The answer to this conundrum seems to be that some support for the far right’s always been there but now that minority demand has been met with organised supply in the shape of parties like Reform. 

In a 2024 essay for Foreign Affairs, Larry Bartels explains: “The gains of populist and far-right forces have less to do with a genuine shift in political beliefs among the public than they do with changing elite politics… Misconstruing the nature and appeal of populism muddles a clearer understanding of the contemporary political landscape.

“And goes on to say there is “almost no relationship at the individual level between feelings of economic disaffection and support for right-wing populist parties.”

These findings echo other hopeful signs emanating from the work of Common Cause, such as their research that shows that most of us think we are progressive, it’s just that we don’t believe everyone else is. This is something vital to build on here in all the gloom.

So is the parliamentary vote against the disability benefits cuts which gutted the Government’s harsh welfare reforms. Members of the Parliamentary Labour Party finally found their voice.  Politicians who won’t get a job, who probably won’t be re-elected, and who didn’t sign up for this can start to channel the Government into more progressive waters. 

The campaign being pushed by Gordon Brown to end the two-child benefit limit paid for through a tax on the excessive profits of the gambling companies is another source for hope.  As is the tidal wave of support for public ownership of water and the imposition of taxes on wealth to make our country more equal. The people, it seems, are way ahead of the politicians.

But some politicians are pointing the way – although interestingly they hail from beyond Westminster. In the pages of Byline Times, Sadiq Khan makes the progressive case for London and Manchester’s Andy Burnham sets out an agenda for radical change.  

And despite questions about its culture, it’s surely a positive thing that the aforementioned Your Party has attracted some 700,000 committed to an essentially social democratic endeavour.  

Finally, those brave souls who risk imprisonment to defend Palestine Action give us hope that humanity and compassion will prevail. 

Hope has become a slippery concept, devalued with audacity by the likes of Barack Obama who raised its prospect but denied its means. 

The right of course binge themselves on fear, indignation, nostalgia and resentment.  And yes, these things can be tipped by the scales of the algorithm to project a dark mood that society is indeed broken. But hope is the only currency that can fuel progressive.

Daily kindnesses and courtesies, deeds of astonishing generosity and bravery tell us a deeper story about ourselves and our fellow human beings.

The Nigerian British poet Ben Okri once wrote: “The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” 

Antonio Gramsci famously intoned the mantra of “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will”. But is this good enough? 

We need optimism of the intellect as well as optimism of the will. We can, we must, and we will build a better world. And the only reason I know this to be true, is because we always have.