The Myth of the Social Body

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The social body is this metaphor that is constant in political philosophy and body politic. It can often have almost fascist undertones or even overtones, right? To keep the foreigners obey. And so our point was like, well, hold on, but let's actually be more biological about it. Like, no body is an island in isolation. All bodies are permeable. We have our microbiomes and we have to eat as you just said. But where is this myth of this body that is autonomous and independent and cut off from the world?

“Democracy may not exist, but we’ll miss it when it’s gone” — or so suggests the title of Astra Taylor’s new book. We all know how democracy falls short, in practice, of its lofty ideals; but we can also appreciate how democratic values are crucial in the fight for a more just society. In this conversation, we dig into the nature of democracy, from its origins to the present day. We talk about who gets to participate, how economic inequality affects political inequality, and how democratic ideals manifest themselves in any number of real-world situations.

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Astra Taylor is a filmmaker, author, and activist. Her documentary films include Zizek!, The Examined Life, and most recently What Is Democracy? Her books include The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital age and the new Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone. She has taught sociology at the university level, and written for publications from n+1 to The London Review of Books. She was active in the Occupy movement, and is a co-founder of the Debt Collective.