Hobbyhorses

In his new book, Politics Is for Power, Tufts University professor Eitan Hersh makes a provocative argument: Watching cable news, obsessing over the latest scandal—even voting only in presidential elections—is political hobbyism. Instead of engaging with politics as a civic duty, or as a means to change our communities, he says, we treat it like a sport—tune in, do little, rinse, repeat. Here, Hersh offers some ideas on how to break out of passive politics, and spring into action.

Instead of thinking of politics like a hobby or a sport, how should we think of it? When I think about people doing politics, I think about people working with other people on goals or strategies to influence the government. Maybe they want to get some of their neighbors to vote a certain way or they want to lobby a politician. Most people aren’t going to do politics like that; they don’t have time. But what’s happening is there