We should condemn political violence, but also tackle the cause

We’re seeing an increase in political violence, including assassination, assault, arson attacks and more.

Nobody should be subjected to this, and political leaders are right to condemn it. However, these statements often feel perfunctory and make no attempt to address the cause of this rise in violence.

The growing inequality in our society is systematically stripping people of their voice. Our society is supposed to be democratic. But “one person, one vote” does not grant people a genuine say when the world is run by multinational corporations that often wield more power than entire countries. These organisations are run by unelected officials who report to institutional investors and high-frequency trading algorithms.

Individual voices are further drowned out by media publishers and platforms overwhelmingly owned by the 1%. None of this is hidden. Jeff Bezos has directed the Washington Post’s opinion section to defend ‘free markets’ and ‘personal liberties’, effectively excluding dissenting views. Elon Musk bought Twitter to loosen moderation policies, a shift that, according to researchers, has coincided with a sharp rise in hate speech and harassment.

Nor can ordinary people find the time to organise and campaign due to the expanding financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. Nor can they organise themselves into bigger units thanks to anti-trade union legislation.

Let me be clear that explaining something is not excusing it. The people who carry out these acts are responsible for them, and no grievance makes violence acceptable. But condemnation alone changes nothing if we refuse to ask what produces the violence in the first place. When we, as a society, systematically deny people access to every “proper channel”, political violence becomes a predictable outcome, and we should not be surprised when it follows. If we want to actually reduce it, rather than simply deplore it, we have to address the root cause: the systematic exclusion of ordinary people from real decision-making. That means extending democracy into the economic sphere.