Foundations of Political Interest in Loneliness

The article investigates the foundations of the fast-growing political interest in the phenomenon of loneliness. Since the second half of the last century, loneliness has been problematised in medicine, psychology and sociology. This has led to considering loneliness a somewhat subjective experience caused by the individuals’ development of dissatisfaction with their social relationships as these disregard their needs and expectations. Only recently, this concern has raised political attention, and this precedes and therefore solicits that of political scientists. There is a remarkable presence of state initiatives at different levels and places, among which the Ministries of Loneliness arisen in the UK and Japan stand out. Moreover, the WHO and the EU have launched programs and strategies to politicise loneliness and promote affordable and scalable responses. Although the topic is increasingly present and influences current public policies and agendas, available data do not yet allow establishing whether states need to fight against loneliness and whether – and with what outcome – they are doing so. It is however already possible to assess and qualify the foundations of potential policies to combat loneliness. This is of utmost importance to understand whether the problem of loneliness has gained political relevance for itself or its political impact. With a deontological approach for which a class of acts of political decision-making can be correct/wrong in themselves, regardless of their consequences, the article draws upon the Kantian notion of interest. This theoretical framework allows distinguishing between social and political interest in loneliness. The first pertains to the political problematisation of loneliness as such; the second is for the consequentialist sake of politics itself. Empirically, this theoretical framework is made operational through the study of 12 European countries for which data on loneliness among citizens are available. The trends from 2013 to 2019 are then associated with data on citizens’ confidence in the political process. The hypothesis is that the increase in political interest in loneliness does not depend so much on the growth in prevalence of the phenomenon among the general population but rather within those age groups with less political confidence. Statistical data relating to loneliness in the 12 European states (European Social Survey), loneliness among older adults (SHARE), loneliness among young people, and loneliness of the loneliest age group for each state (European Social Survey) are associated with indicators measuring trends in citizens’ confidence in the political process (Fragile State Index and European Social Survey). Preliminary results suggest that the recently increased political interest in the fight against loneliness is not explained by a general increase in loneliness in the states but rather by an increase in the phenomenon among those age groups in which such a development is also associated with a consequent decrease in confidence in the political process. This indicates a more consequentialist than deontological approach to loneliness, with a more political than social foundation of the interest in loneliness by politics.