Love as a Concrete Revolutionary Practice

In this neoliberal moment, love is seen as apolitical and unrealistic. Love is often used in confusing and sloppy ways, which leads to a disbelief in love itself. Some simply interpret love as fantasy. As discussed in chapter 2, because love is seen as a commodity that benefits one’s bottom line (one’s own interests, social status, financial agenda, etc.), love remains suspect and undesired within personal and social dimensions of life. Some simply “write off love,” arguing that it does not exist. Love is seen as impossible within personal relationships and broader political life. This cynicism of love within social and political communities is a tragedy. In part, love is often relegated to the idealistic because it is understood in abstract terms rather than as a practice. Love is a concrete revolutionary practice that integrates the ways in which eros enables an “enfleshment” of agape and even philia.