The Political Impact of Self-Help & Personal Growth Narratives - What Progressives Should Know

I have long said that this podcast is about Bridging The Divide Between Personal and Social Change, but I feel it is important to explain why exactly self-help and personal growth ideas matter for progressive and leftist movements. Narratives from finance to fitness to personal relationships can all subtly influence politics in ways that campaigns alone just cannot do and cannot mitigate.

Episode Notes:

Slate Article on presidential candidates, showing off their fitness accomplishments: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/07/francis-suarez-miami-running-5k-rfk-jr-push-ups-presidential-campaign.html

Totalizing conservative media and business ecosystem with talk radio advertisers and influencers

Conservative Finance - Dave Ramsey

Growth in Conservative Fitness Influencers - Andrew Tate, More Plates More Dates, etc.

Why should progressives be involved in self help, finance, fitness, etc.? 5 reasons:
It’s Personal, Practical, Positive, Pre-political, and conservatives already have a Presence

Trump has allowed Democrats to campaign strictly on the preservation of democracy, but that won’t last forever.

A lot of people just don’t understand how political happenings relate to their own lives

But people are looking for help with problems in their lives, that they may not know have systemic influences

Mutual aid is powerful because it’s practical

My article on pro wrestling and mutual aid: https://www.prowrestlingmusings.com/post/rediscovering-the-dark-order-s-purpose-through-mutual-aid

False health claims to make you not care as much about systems and play on your fear of getting sick and the financial consequences

Conservative ideology and self-reliance

Avoidance of the system instead of trying to fix it

Progressive ideas are seen negative, whining, as things for weak people, and not aspirational

TikToker claimed people who say housing is a human right are whining and need to pick themselves up by their bootstraps: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8dhGjPX/

We need positivity in the progressive narrative

We need both personal changes strategies and to address systemic factors like healthcare, food deserts, and inequality

The ability to fall and get up with support is positive!

Democrats allocate all of their energy to campaign season only. They should have more efforts outside of that. Conservatives already do.

Folks like Ramsey lead you to think that all of your economic hardship situations can be fixed by just working harder

Self-reliance advice can be bad advice.

Imagine how much better your retirement would be with a union and a pension rather than working 18 hours a day to contribute to a 401k.

There is always some truth to these ideas though.

Even fitness experts, like Andy Frisella, have been getting into politics

His 75 Hard program and its issues are a whole different topic

Going from self-help, fitness, finance, etc. to politics is just like a sales funnel

Not everyone can comply with these programs, maybe 30% succeed and then are sold

Influencers will show results and then use those results to make you believe that anybody and everybody can solve all of their own problems on their own, without regard for systemic factors, and without public assistance

Countering the claim that “if only poor people did the hard things in life, they would not be poor.”