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When your opponent becomes your enemy.
Posted on: August 2, 2025 at 14:23:55 CT
TigerMatt STL
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Why We're All Arguing: When Your Opponent Becomes Your Enemy
Ever feel like politics has turned into a total shouting match? It seems like everyone's on a different team, and we're not just disagreeing—we're at war.
Political theorist Chantal Mouffe has a really smart take on this. She says that this "us versus them" mentality isn't just part of politics; it is politics. The problem isn't that we have different ideas. The problem is what happens when we stop seeing our opponents as opponents and start seeing them as the enemy.
The Difference Between a Rival and an Enemy
Think about a sports rivalry. The Yankees and the Red Sox, for example. Fans might hate each other, but they still respect the game. They both agree on the rules, and they want their team to win. At the end of the day, they're both part of the same league. That's what Mouffe calls agonism, or a healthy struggle between rivals.
Now imagine if one of those teams decided the other team shouldn't even be allowed to play. That they're a threat to the sport itself and must be eliminated. That's when a rival becomes an enemy. The goal isn't just to win; it's to destroy the other side completely.
Mouffe argues that this is exactly what's happening in our world. We've lost the ability to see each other as rivals who share a common playing field. Instead, we see people with different views as a threat to our entire way of life.
What Happens When We Stop Listening
A lot of people think the solution to our political problems is for everyone to just get along and agree. But Mouffe says that's a dangerous fantasy. When we pretend that everyone can or should agree, we're ignoring the fact that our differences are real.
And when we ignore our differences, they don't just go away. They fester and come out in more destructive ways. We start to see the other side as illegitimate, as fundamentally bad people who don't deserve to have a voice. This is how societies can go from passionate debates to full-blown conflict.
So, how do we fix it? Mouffe's answer isn't to get rid of conflict but to change how we handle it. We need to create a space where we can fight passionately for our beliefs while still respecting the other person's right to have their own. We need to turn our enemies back into rivals.
Ever feel like politics has turned into a total shouting match? It seems like everyone's on a different team, and we're not just disagreeing—we're at war.
Political theorist Chantal Mouffe has a really smart take on this. She says that this "us versus them" mentality isn't just part of politics; it is politics. The problem isn't that we have different ideas. The problem is what happens when we stop seeing our opponents as opponents and start seeing them as the enemy.
The Difference Between a Rival and an Enemy
Think about a sports rivalry. The Yankees and the Red Sox, for example. Fans might hate each other, but they still respect the game. They both agree on the rules, and they want their team to win. At the end of the day, they're both part of the same league. That's what Mouffe calls agonism, or a healthy struggle between rivals.
Now imagine if one of those teams decided the other team shouldn't even be allowed to play. That they're a threat to the sport itself and must be eliminated. That's when a rival becomes an enemy. The goal isn't just to win; it's to destroy the other side completely.
Mouffe argues that this is exactly what's happening in our world. We've lost the ability to see each other as rivals who share a common playing field. Instead, we see people with different views as a threat to our entire way of life.
What Happens When We Stop Listening
A lot of people think the solution to our political problems is for everyone to just get along and agree. But Mouffe says that's a dangerous fantasy. When we pretend that everyone can or should agree, we're ignoring the fact that our differences are real.
And when we ignore our differences, they don't just go away. They fester and come out in more destructive ways. We start to see the other side as illegitimate, as fundamentally bad people who don't deserve to have a voice. This is how societies can go from passionate debates to full-blown conflict.
So, how do we fix it? Mouffe's answer isn't to get rid of conflict but to change how we handle it. We need to create a space where we can fight passionately for our beliefs while still respecting the other person's right to have their own. We need to turn our enemies back into rivals.
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When your opponent becomes your enemy. - TigerMatt STL - 8/2 14:23:55