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In this paper, I revisit a series of debates in American political theory that began in the early 1950s and focused on the meaning of apathy in democratic politics. As I show, these debates were also about the role of theory and theorists in politics. One group of scholars accepted apathy as a social fact and claimed that classical ideas about political participation should be re-examined as part of a broader realist turn in political theory. Another group rejected this view and suggested that apathy only represents political and social inequalities that prevent citizens from participating. Political theory, they believed, should help individuals transcend reality instead of accepting it. In this article, I offer a new interpretation of these debates and show their significance for the development of political thought during the second half of the Twentieth-Century.

Between realism and relevance: apathy and political theory 1950–1970