Zapatista Women.
Offers to escape the complexities of globalization are ubiquitous. Especially in weakened, crisis-ridden or authoritarian democracies something that could be called globalization escapism is becoming increasingly popular, while the state as a self-sufficient and encapsulated shelter is promoted as a fantasy refuge.
The proliferation of nationalist right-wing populism in the global public sphere aggravates this dangerous escapism. Though this may seem pretty obvious, the consequences are however less perceptible, requiring more attention. The escapist tendency, that, following Hannah Arendt, could be called “Weltentfremdung” (alienation from the world), shrinks access to the world. The result is a shrinkage for all of us in access to the world as it is, as well as access to the world as it could be. This has particularly strong affects on marginalised, invisibilized and illegalized actors. But the privileged are also affected: persons with unlimited legal status, access to higher education systems, jobs subject to social security contributions, and so forth.
