Virtue signalling has always existed. The cynic who complains about the indulgent and unprecedented excess of modern signalling will have difficulty explaining the Arc de Triomphe or the Sistine Chapel or the Pantheon or the ubiquitous cathedrals of the medieval era. At every stage of history, humanity has spared no effort and expense to signal the things that inspire us.
Any complaint about modern virtue signalling must be understood in that context: modern signalling is not easily comparable to the extravagances of the distant past. Nonetheless, modern signalling is subject to its own fluctuation and has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades. Quite simply, the progressive signaller has stepped up their game.
The underlying values have not changed: the progressive signaller has pursued the same things for many decades. The aspiration for ending racism, the advancement of women, solving global poverty, preserving the rainforest: these ideas would be just as home in the 1980s as the present. But it is also true that contemporary signalling has a very different feel from its predecessor: it has acquired a renewed purpose and sophistication.
1980s virtue signalling was largely a form of exhortation. There was a self-congratulatory tone whereby privileged persons saw themselves joining hands with the less privileged and saving the world. Importantly, there was an asymmetrical relationship between signalling and cancellation. The priority was to create awareness and positive change. And while cancellation sometimes played an important role, the typical 80s campaign was more heavily weighted towards signalling.
Now, this dynamic has reversed. A greater sense of crisis has emerged, superseding the traditional roles of signalling and cancellation. The defensive mission has become paramount. We are no longer signalling for awareness, we are signalling for the direct protection of the vulnerable. Signalling has acquired a new and serious purpose and we all have a role in that mission.
Virtue signalling begins with the voluntary waving of a flag. Participation is a question of choice. But when that flag acquires a protective purpose, participation becomes critical. The person who refuses to wave the flag is refusing to protect the vulnerable. And since this is unacceptable, we require them to wave the flag.
As the progressive cultivates a heightened sense of social crisis, the fundamental nature of virtue signalling has changed. It has moved beyond self expression and public awareness. It is protective. It is purposeful. And crucially, it is no longer voluntary.
This phenomenon is not new: protection is the customary role of virtue signalling during a crisis. But this transition explains why contemporary signalling has a rather different feel from its 1980s counterpart. Newly potentiated by cancel culture, it is a more formidable creature than before.
Isamu Drayya, November 2022
NEXT: Conclusion
isamu drayya 