Why Radical Change is Elusive: Rethinking Social Transformation

Widespread poverty, government incompetence, environmental degradation, and other social problems lead to persistent socio-political discontent. While we actively express our despair through critiques and protests, our society remains fixated on a routine cycle of unproductive and ineffectual social relations and institutional frameworks. It seems that we are trapped in a perpetual loop, leaving us questioning what prevents meaningful social transformation. This paper contends that our passive engagement in our socio-political affairs and our seemingly inhibited ability for radical change is fundamentally influenced by forces and patterns entrenched in our current socio-structural arrangements, which rechannels “social libidinal impulses.” I argue that deeply embedded patterns not only mitigate our critiques and grievances but also suppress our capacity for critical awareness, thereby hindering a thoughtful social transformation. To explore these issues, I first revisit Fromm’s concept of social character, showing how socioeconomic patterns condition collective behaviors and desires. Second, I present how emotional and psychological attachments are formed within the existing socio-economic framework that sustains social conformity and limits transformative changes in our society. Finally, I propose that our aspirations for meaningful social change are anchored not only in our capacities for rational discourses but basically in our emotional and libidinal attachments.