Socialist Activism Is No Longer What It Has Ever Been
Special Report: Continuity and Discontinuity in Activism
The Model of Distant Engagement and Changes in Socialist Party Activism
By Rémi LefebvreEnglish
Laid out by Jacques Ion, the model of selected commitment is today socially obvious. It spreads out and justifies itself from actors to the observers. As a self-fulfilly prophecy, its asserts itself as a kind of militant common sense, which valorizes in the party an approach to militancy focused on the individual autonomy. The article shows that the model conceals the phenomenon of historical continuity and homogenizes the varied kinds of militant investing, yesterday and today. It also shows that the figure of the distant militant has become the legitimate representation of commitment in the socialist party. We try here to think jointly of the representation of militancy and militant activities in this organization.