Riots and the Unbearable Lightness of Simply Being

Recently in the UK large quantities of people went onto the streets to loot, attack the police and create general mayhem. I’m not sure whether such behaviour is best described as rioting, looting or a combination of the two; nevertheless in this posting for reasons of simplicity I will use the terms riots and rioters to describe such behaviour and those who took part. There are many causes of these riots, greed, gangs, unemployment and poor education may all play a part. However in this posting I want to consider only one reason why these riots occurred and what might be done to help. I want primarily to consider the mental state of the rioters. It might be thought that this state was mainly characterised by anger justified or not. I reject this characteristic and will suggest an even more characteristic of many of the rioters was an absence of caring about anything. The title of one of Milan Kundera’s novels is ‘The unbearable lightness of being’ in this posting I will suggest a major cause of this lawlessness was the rioters’ sense of the unbearable lightness of simply being.

What exactly do I mean by the unbearable lightness of simply being? I mean an absence of really caring about anything which inevitably leads to a sense of inner emptiness and a shallow way of living. What then do I mean by caring? As in previous posts I will use the term care in the way Frankfurt uses the term. Someone who cares about something identifies herself with what she cares about. She is hurt or benefited depending on whether the thing she cares about is damaged or enhanced (1). The person who cares about something is contrasted to a wanton. A wanton is someone moved by mere impulse and inclination and someone to whom nothing matters much (2). It is clear a wanton is not someone who is merely alienated from society. An alienated person must care about something in order to be alienated. I suggest human beings by their nature must care about something. Frankfurt argues that anyone who doesn’t care about anything including herself is not really a person (3), see also my previous postings concerning robots robethics and autonomy .  In reality there is of course a continuum between people who care a great deal about something and people who care very little about anything at all. I would further suggest if someone doesn’t  care much about anything that she will have a sense of simply being. Someone who has a sense of simply being is likely to find this state unbearable, because as I have suggested human beings have a natural propensity to care. Such a person a person will be bored leading to frustration rather than anger. Boredom is not some trivial unimportant state. Boredom is a state of simply being. Frankfurt argues quite rightly in my opinion that our interest in avoiding boredom is not simply resistance to discomfort but a quite elemental urge for psychic survival (4). One consequence of boredom is that a bored person may be easily swayed by emotions such as greed to loot. A further consequence is that a bored person may seek temporarily relief from her discomfort at her sense of simply being by rioting.

I have argued anyone who cares very little about anything can quite easily become a rioter. But why should someone who cares about something in her life be less likely to become a rioter? Firstly if someone cares about something then because she identifies herself with what she cares about her life is not empty. She doesn’t have that sense of the unbearable lightness of simply being in the way a wanton does. She doesn’t have this unpleasant state to relieve. Secondly someone who cares about something is likely to have a more distinct individuality than some who cares very little about anything and is thus less likely to follow the herd, see my previous posting. A lack of distinct individuality may be particularly important in the case of teenagers. Lastly someone who cares about something is likely to take deterrents seriously because these might harm what she cares about. Conversely someone who cares very little about anything is unlikely to take these deterrents seriously. Accepting this last point suggests current deterrent sentencing is unlikely to prove to be very effective.

If my analysis is accepted and a fundamental cause of the riots was, the rioters’ sense of the unbearable lightness of simply being, what steps might be taken to alleviate this sense and hence reduce the probability of future rioting? One obvious answer would seem to be better education. Firstly a better education might help someone get a job and this job might alleviate her sense simply being. I of course accept the fact that someone has a job does not automatically mean her sense of simply being is alleviated. It is also true that some of the rioters had jobs. Nevertheless I would argue being employed will in all probability alleviate this sense to some degree. Secondly a better education might allow some to gain a sense of achievement. Someone with a sense of achievement is unlike the wanton in that she must care about herself to some degree. It follows educational achievement might alleviate someone’s sense of simply being. However in the present economic climate there are not enough jobs to satisfy everyone and some people will never obtain a sense of achievement by academic means. Unfortunately it follows that better education will not be very effective in alleviating this sense of simply being for many people.

Are there any other steps that might be taken? I my previous posting I stressed the importance of good parenting and attachment theory. I believe people who where well attached as children are likely as adults to care about something and as a result are less likely to have a sense of simply being. I will not pursue this argument here. Secondly David Cameron has suggested that all sixteen olds should do some sort of civil service. Such a scheme might well mean that some sixteen year olds care about something and this caring might well help alleviate the sense some of them have of simply being. However not all sixteen year olds will gain this sense of caring. Many might see any such scheme as imposed on them and hence alien to them. Moreover such a scheme would be of limited duration. Nevertheless such a scheme might be of some limited value. Thirdly happy people have less of a sense of simply being and we should actively encourage policies that promote happiness, see action for happiness . Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, sport and music might be something which those who have failed at education, or who the education system has failed, might care about. Such caring might alleviate their unbearable sense of simply being for those who participate. It follows youth services promoting sport and music should be vigorously encouraged. Unfortunately in the present economic climate these services are likely to under financial pressure.

1. Frankfurt 1988, The Importance of What We Care About. Cambridge University Press, page 83.
2. Frankfurt, 1999, Necessity, Volition, and Love. Cambridge University Press, page 106.
3. Frankfurt, 1999, page 90.
4. Frankfurt, 1999, page 89.