What’s most concerning is not just that people are waking up to the fact that life is political—it’s how they respond once they do. Many individuals who have long dismissed politics as irrelevant, uncomfortable, or “too messy” are now realizing, often through personal discomfort or loss of privilege, that politics is everywhere. It shapes housing, healthcare, education, safety, work, and even the air we breathe. For many, this awakening isn’t the result of deep moral reflection—it’s the consequence of their previously shielded reality finally being breached.

But instead of facing the systems and histories that made their comfort possible and others’ suffering inevitable, many choose what appears to be a safe middle ground—a “third way” centrism that promises balance, reason, and neutrality. This ideological posture, common in late-stage liberal democracies and particularly among white, formerly apolitical individuals, is less a position of thought and more one of avoidance. It often emerges as a way to stay close enough to power to feel relevant while maintaining distance from any clear commitment to justice or structural change.

This form of centrism is not moderate—it is evasive. It allows individuals to claim political engagement without ever taking a stand against the root causes of injustice. It gives cover to the status quo by framing real movements for change as “too extreme” or “too divisive,” ignoring that injustice itself is already extreme and divisive. Rather than acknowledging their own history of disengagement, these newly “centrist” participants enter the political space lacking both historical perspective and systemic understanding. They often speak over those with lived experience, reject radical critique, and end up supporting the very policies and figures that maintain structural harm—all under the illusion of pragmatism.

The “third way” is not a neutral path; it is a retreat into comfort, a refusal to grapple with the responsibility that political awareness demands. It’s what happens when people confront the consequences of their apathy but still aren’t ready to do the work of solidarity, accountability, or structural analysis. We should encourage political awakening—but it must be paired with humility, education, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. Anything less simply reinforces the systems that those of us who have always had to care are still fighting to change.