Forget self-care. To feel better in this world, we need collective action, says Massey lecturer Astra Taylor | CBC Radio

If you’ve been feeling insecure and unsettled lately, you’re not alone.

From rising inequality and declining mental health to climate change disasters and the threat of authoritarianism, insecurity has become a “defining feature of our time,” says this year’s CBC Massey lecturer, Astra Taylor.

“Insecurity is… something that a huge proportion of the population experiences, not just the most destitute,” said the Winnipeg-born writer, filmmaker and political organizer.

But while many people think of insecurity as an individual problem and try to ease their anxieties by turning to self-care, or by finding ways to be more productive, Taylor says these feelings are actually part of a larger societal issue.

“We all need a bit of self-care, but you can’t meditate your way or exfoliate your way out of this crisis,” Taylor said.

“This is absolutely a structural, social and political phenomenon. And that means that we can only actually address it through collective structural solutions.”

‘The Age of Insecurity’

These ideas form the basis of this year’s Massey Lectures, an annual series where speakers are invited to explore the most important issues of the day. 

The event is a partnership between CBC, House of Anansi Press and Massey College in the University of Toronto. Previous lecturers include author Margaret Atwood, cybersecurity expert Ron Deibert, and historian Margaret MacMillan.

Taylor was active in the Occupy Movement and has been an outspoken critic of predatory practices around debt. Her books include The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age and Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss it When It’s Gone.

In her Massey Lectures, The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, Taylor explores how insecurity is actually an essential feature of our entire capitalist system — not a bug — and the ways it affects so many facets of contemporary life, from work to education to the media we consume. 

“An advertisement will never say, ‘Hey, you’re enough, you’re great as you are,’ right? It’s always going to say, ‘Gosh, your teeth could be …whiter,'” Taylor said. “That’s a very banal example, but it’s ubiquitous.”

It goes deeper than advertising, Taylor says. She points to something she calls “manufactured insecurity” — which, she said, is used to exploit people — and drives much of our politics and economy. 

The current inflationary crisis, with the central bank increasing interest rates in an attempt to curb rising inflation, is one example, she said. 

“The idea is that for the economy to run as it does, workers need to be insecure to keep the price of labour down, to keep wages down, and to keep inflation down — and economists will debate whether that even works,” Taylor said. 

But she said insecurity can also be a source of connection — if vulnerable and desperate people come together, they could form movements and push for changes to the system.

“You can’t pay your bills. You’re afraid of getting fired. You can’t find a job. You are worried about being evicted. You’re worried about the fires. You can’t sleep at night because of your climate anxiety,” Taylor said. 

Being honest about vulnerability and insecurity is the first step toward creating solidarity, she said.

“And that’s where the power comes in to actually win those changes.” 

Collective action

It’s been done before, says journalist and historian Rebecca Solnit. “I’ve seen extraordinary change in my lifetime for the better, all brought about by collective action.”

Solnit points to marriage equality, the decriminalization of being queer, equal rights in the workplace and health care as examples where society has made progress over the last few decades — even if there has been some backlash.

“Are they good enough? No. Are they radically better than they were? Yes,” Solnit said. “What brought them about? Collective action, both as specific campaigns and lawsuits, etc., but also as cultural movements to change the collective imagination.”

A longtime colleague of Taylor’s, Solnit describes the lectures — which will also be published as a book under the same title — as a “fresh and trenchant social analysis.”

Taylor says she hopes her lectures will spark a larger conversation about insecurity.

“I want to put this on the table and see a vibrant debate about these topics and see a social movement around them,” she said.

Taylor will deliver her lectures to audiences in five Canadian cities in September:

• Sept. 5: Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg
• Sept. 8: Neptune Theatre, Halifax
• Sept. 20: Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse
• Sept. 22 and 23: York Theatre, Vancouver (Sept. 23 event is separate panel discussion)
• Sept. 27: Koerner Hall, Toronto

Tickets for the Massey Lectures go on sale July 17 at the venue box offices. They will be broadcast on CBC Radio’s IDEAS in November.