Seconds: Deep In Your Room – Hurting Through The Gloom.

Caleb finishes his desk job for the day at A1 design offices around 5.30pm. He cycles home and chains his steel frame bike to a lamppost outside. The first thing he does when through the door of his two bedroom maisonette, bought with help from his parents, is walk into the living room and boot up his MacBook Air. Then he turns on the house lights, takes off his rucksack, removes his shoes and puts the kettle on before settling down in front of his Apple to catch up on the day’s news.

He revisits his favourite Twitter accounts and from there hyperlinks to a selection of articles that have been shared and ‘liked’ over the last 12 hours, including The Guardian, New Yorker and a BBC website feature (as well as a YouTube video of a rare David Bowie interview which he streams in the background). His eyes settle on the opening paragraph of the first article he chooses to read, then his gaze follows the first line of the next paragraph and the next for more pertinent information; he half reads the whole of paragraph four before scrolling to the comment section at the bottom – what am I supposed to think? The pattern is repeated for each of the three articles he mulls over.

After checking his personal emails, deciding he can’t go at short notice to the Momentum organised march to emphasise the need for safeguarding the NHS over the coming weekend (he has casual family commitments), he gets up from the sofa somewhat discombobulated and prepares dinner in the adjacent kitchen - leftover Saag Aloo from Sunday night takeaway. He warms it up and while on the stove uses his iPhone to air a podcast to accompany his eating. Saag Aloo tastes even better the following day – and what was that about deforestation in the Amazon... ? Later the same night he'll fall asleep to Newsnight and the bleating of Evan Davis (or two hundred unaccounted for sheep).

By day, Caleb presents himself as a conscientious Millennial. He works in a creative environment where ideas bounce around, some of them political. His carbon foot print is good, he recycles at home and work (although he buys branded bottled water at lunch). He cares about the environment, likes the outdoors. To him it 'matters' what happens to society and he engages in political conversations – he’s even a paid-up Labour member (£5 per month). He likes Corbyn, doesn’t understand Tories, shares views with both Liberal Democrats and Greens, is depressed by UKIP followers and Brexiteers. He thinks Trump is a looney and America has lost its shit.

‘Be cool’ is one of his mantras. On the outside he observes and contemplates life from a cool distance. On the inside he wants to improve it for himself and everyone else but can’t make sense of the various 'liberal'/'progressive' propaganda (calls to arms?) he reads, is offended by the ‘right’ or ‘alt right’, and does not prioritise politics or social action. Reading, thinking, watching and playing football is how he likes to spend his weekends. He values 'Me Time' and yet he excuses himself from getting out there politically speaking on the basis of time, or the lack of it, because he’s not even vaguely sure of how he might be of use to someone less fortunate than him, God forbid somebody in any kind of dire situation. He won’t volunteer and while he feels a nagging but easily ignored guilt, to feel aggrieved or to feel anger and to be motivated by injustice is not in his make up – he won’t claim or entertain outrage. In quiet moments alone he idly reflects: What in the world can I do? What difference would it make?

Movements that might define themselves as ‘progressive’ and/or broadly speaking of the ‘left’ – which emphasise the need for a (sometimes) radical rethink of the way society works and advocate for change from the bottom up, with people coming together as agents – in the last decade or two, at least, generally get stuck when it comes to inspiring, motivating, even getting an email response from individuals such as Caleb, whether or not Caleb-types feel they have already done enough (e.g. set up a direct debit to a 'progressive' political organisation). Caleb may RT or comment on FB but he won’t go any further. Again, his concern is genuine on one level (he cried at I, Daniel Blake even if guilt at his own privelege was the main reason for his tears) but on other levels the nature of his concern remains largely unexplored and seldom acted on (save at the time of a general election or referendum – he will at least vote). Ultimately, Caleb is comfortable deep in his room, dimly hurting through the gloom at the injustice of the world or observing passively from behind double glazing as is, in truth, very much his preference.

In the wake of Brexit, Trump and the resurgence of the right, in reply somehow progressives/the left need to galvanise Caleb-types to give priority to politics/social action in their lives, to work it into their daily or weekly remit, get them to engage with other real people either in debate (sometimes with those from the other side of the political spectrum) or in helping people in need – the poor, disenfranchised, the illiterate. Calebs need to become the voice, personification or embodiment of the left out there, at large in situations of all kinds.

Still, it’s hard to do when the middle class, generally speaking, remains (for the time being) reasonably well off and relatively unscarred by the various machinations of government, stagnant or declining real pay, rising rents, ill health and immigration.

But what if the advance of technology and dominant narrative espoused by the rampant strain of capitalism sweeping the UK – that values efficiency above all (save time/money to create more time/money to do more things) – were to take Caleb’s job away from him at A1 design? Sure as eggs are eggs there is a computer already in existence that can do his design work better than him and in a nanosecond of the time. How would he feel then? What then would he do? What difference could it then make?

Struggle against adversity is something that progressive/left-leaning movements of the past have nearly always associated with political action and struggle as being a necessary element in any success, especially in a country such as the United Kingdom which might be described as conservative with a small ‘c’ (even if behind closed doors it can be anything but). In the UK today there remains adversity, indeed a widening gap in some (if not all) areas of the country between rich and poor – and the poor suffer from government austerity measures, an outdated benefits system and unstable working patterns. There is reason to struggle whether affected directly or otherwise. Society as a whole does not benefit from inequality. Caleb needs to be made to see this much and that his fate is linked with those who will or are losing out. Calebs need to represent to others Freedom -  in their independence and the sheer will power of their thoughts and actions.

If, for instance, Jeremy Corbyn’s vision of a more inclusive, compassionate politics is to occur where people are ‘not left behind’ and the left is going to succeed in bridging the perceived gap to them (some of whom are the UKIP vote) then Caleb-types are essential as the agents of change. Not for their money (though this certainly helps), not simply to march or protest (when their diaries allow), but principally for their education, energy, communication skills (at least in IT), and their time - to help organise social wellbeing and cohesion in areas where support is lacking (to run foodbanks, help people fill in benefit forms, help others recognise and articulate their employment rights, and so on). Time is money and money is something even Labour doesn’t have a huge amount of. Rekindle the voluntary spirit among the middle classes that in part characterised Victorian Britain, even the Britain that existed pre-Thatcher and the state endorsed rise of individualism, and things may begin to get better for the poor and Caleb-types may come to realise their purpose.

Time, thanks to technology, capitalism and the dominant idea of efficiency, may soon be something all of us Caleb-types can spare more of and we should use it creatively and unselfishly. Until then even if we can only get involved in small ways, we should aim to make our involvement regular and consistent.