Politics, Friendship, and the Search for Meaning

Being friends is about looking into each other’s eyes, doing things together in the world, an endless exchange of gut laughs and bear hugs, joy and grief and dancing. These are all the things Facebook will often drain from you by dominating your time with hollow parodies of friendship.

Les épicuriens ont souligné l’importance de l’amitié, mais, selon leur conception, l’amitié est déconnectée de la vie politique, c’est une amitié privée. Pour Aristote, l’amitié, dans sa forme la plus élevée, a une dimension politique ou civique. Nous aimons nos amis non pas parce que nous les apprécions, mais parce que nous partageons les mêmes…

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In contemporary market society, we draw sharp distinctions between interested and disinterested ties. But “pure” friendship is always an idealization, one that misleads us from seeing reciprocity and mutual obligation at the very foundation of all social relations.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed three bases for friendship. A friendship can be based on utility, as in being friends with our next door neighbor whom we may need someday. A friendship can be based on pleasure, as happens when we have a buddy whose company we enjoy and with whom we have interests in common. And a friendship can be what Ari