• The boundaries of politics are difficult to define, as many aspects of life can be considered political.
• The choices we make, our actions, and our claims are often based on contestable assumptions and values.
• The concept of depoliticization and the caution towards the politics of everything exist.

Is everything political?

• Various aspects of life, such as clothing choices, music preferences, language use, and food consumption, can be seen as political acts.

Examples: Wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt, buying second-hand items to minimize ecological impact.

• Inaction and silence can also have political implications.

Real-world example: Late Victorian Holocausts

• Historian Mike Davis explores extreme climatic events caused by El Niño in the 19th century.
• The resulting famines had devastating death tolls across China, India, and Brazil.
• Davis argues that the human cost was created by European empires, which undermined local coping mechanisms.
• European empires disrupted indigenous knowledge, infrastructure, and administrative systems.

Example: Indian grain exports to Britain during the 1877 famine, while millions suffered.

• Can claims about the causes and consequences of natural disasters be politically neutral?
• What types of claims about disasters are inherently political?
• How does this example relate to discussions about the climate crisis today?

• Politics influences both disaster relief efforts and seemingly unrelated aspects of life.
• Consideration of what is politicized or depoliticized and by whom is essential.

Can politics be avoided?

• Privilege may play a role in the idea of opting in or out of politics.
• Political decisions impact people differently based on their power.
• Responsibility to be informed and knowledgeable about politics is worth considering.

• Politics is inherent in knowledge due to its connection to human life.
• Power and justice are central concerns in the realm of knowledge.
• Authority and privilege given to certain forms of knowledge are political decisions.
• Power relations within knowledge communities are important to acknowledge.