Praxis and Prefigurative Politics

Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, realized, applied, or put into practice. "Praxis" may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practising ideas. ...

Origins

The word praxis is from Ancient Greek: πρᾶξις, romanized: praxis. In Ancient Greek the word praxis (πρᾶξις) referred to activity engaged in by free people. The philosopher Aristotle held that there were three basic activities of humans: theoria (thinking), poiesis (making), and praxis (doing). Corresponding to these activities were three types of knowledge: theoretical, the end goal being truth; poietical, the end goal being production; and practical, the end goal being action. Aristotle further divided the knowledge derived from praxis into ethics, economics, and politics. He also distinguished between eupraxia (εὐπραξία, "good praxis") and dyspraxia (δυσπραξία, "bad praxis, misfortune").[3]

The world is currently facing a grim constellation of interconnected crises—ecosystems are on the verge of collapse, war-torn regions are overwhelmed by humanitarian suffering, and global inequalities are deepening at an alarming rate. These compounding challenges underscore the urgent need for a radical shift in how we imagine and create our present and future worlds (Khasnabish and Haiven 2014; Power et al. 2023). In traditional politics, a decline in voter turnout since the 1990s indicates a waning trust in representative democracy to navigate these challenges and map out alternative futures (van de Sande 2020). At the same time, there has been rising interest in ‘prefigurative politics’—social change projects where participants embody their goals and vision of a future society through their ongoing practices (Monticelli 2018). Rather than ‘wait’ for large-scale structural change, people collectively prefigure new forms in the ‘here and now’ (Cornish et al. 2016).

A broad distinction is often made between prefiguration as a project-based construction of alternatives, such as eco-villages, and prefiguration as a means of resistance, exemplified by uprisings and protest movements (Trott 2016; Yates 2015). The former often involves deliberate efforts to organise in a prefigurative way and to establish varying forms of organisation to uphold these principles (Monticelli 2022). In contrast, the latter often involves groups that do not initially frame their actions in terms of radical social change; rather, new prefigurative understandings and practices tend to emerge ‘spontaneously’ through the struggle itself (Sitrin 2020).

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However, emergent prefigurative politics has been a significant topic of exploration in the field of social theory. For example, Marxist theorists, such as Barker (1995) and Raekstad (2015, 2018), have examined the links between prefigurative politics and collective struggle, drawing on the Marxist notion of collective self-emancipation. Unlike orthodox interpretations of Marx, which emphasise the socialist capture of the means of production as the solution to human emancipation (Maeckelbergh 2017), these thinkers highlight the transformative power of collective resistance for human consciousness, needs, and drives. Raekstad (2018), for example, argues that Marx stressed the importance of struggle not only for changing society, but also for transforming those involved in ways that enable them to bring about social change.

Drawing on Marx's theory of praxis (Marx and Engels 1975), Raekstad (2015) contends that the process of struggle often necessitates innovative forms of organisation and action. Initially, people may adopt practices (e.g., collective decision-making) as practical means to address challenges within their resistance efforts. However, due to the intrinsic link between praxis and consciousness, engaging in these practices can foster the development of new capabilities, needs, and drives, transforming how participants understand and relate to their actions (Raekstad and Gradin 2020). From this viewpoint, prefigurative action can emerge from participants' novel experiences and evolving understanding within a struggle: practices that were initially seen as means to an end can begin to be perceived as the possible embodiment of the society they aspire to create (Raekstad 2015).

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... These studies emphasised the transformative potential of collective participation, suggesting it can foster psychological changes that facilitate the adoption of prefigurative practices. These individual studies do not typically emphasise specific psychological changes, but instead refer to multiple changes to engage with this emergence process. The main psychological changes documented were empowerment, identity change, and sense of community.