The Oasis concerts at Knebworth in 1996 were the “last great gathering of the people before the birth of the internet”, mused Noel Gallagher, the band’s former songwriter, recently. After that, technology fragmented culture. Mass events gave way to bespoke entertainment. “It is no coincidence things like that do not happen any more.”
Except they do. The marches last summer against Britain’s vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump’s US presidency last weekend had a gig feel. As serious as the crowds were about their cause, there was a social side to the throng, the online dissemination of selfies, the individuals (some only thinly political) finding identity in a collective. Recall that Jeremy Corbyn was carried to the top of the Labour party in similar style, and it dawns that people might be turning to politics for communal experiences they no longer get from culture.
All of which has its place as long as mainstream politicians, those tasked with mounting the counter-attack against populism’s recent mastery of the ball, do not read much into it. Political protest is like sex: most of it is done by a motivated few. Braving January temperatures to assail the president of another country requires a civic commitment that is very, very rare. Crowds can deceive. Most people in 1996 were not into Oasis. Most people over the weekend were, more excusably, not marching. As a rule in politics, bet on the side that is not on the street.