Re:Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
by TheOtherHobbes on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @07:46AM
(#13695042)
We pretty much still do instinctive, animal politics when it comes to respecting leaders. Style trumps substance.
But I think it's analogous - and possibly related to - the difference between individual decisions made by instinctive, narrative logic and emotions, and decisions made after formal, extended, peer-reviewed reality-based research.
It took a long time for humans to invent science and logic, partly because science and logic use a lot of time, energy, and resources. So you need a certain level of physical security before you can even consider them.
If you research the history of science, many of the post-enlightenment heavy hitters were independently wealthy. They certainly weren't worried about food or having a roof over their heads.
Moving beyond animal alpha politics requires the same leap in collective intelligence - which may require everyone to be independently wealthy.
Democracy isn't enough, because when you have a majority making political choices instinctively, and a resource-rich minority manipulating them for personal greed, there's no room left for rational post-animal post-alpha politics.
Put simply, Trump and Clinton are both inevitable products of a scarcity economy.
But I think it's analogous - and possibly related to - the difference between individual decisions made by instinctive, narrative logic and emotions, and decisions made after formal, extended, peer-reviewed reality-based research.
It took a long time for humans to invent science and logic, partly because science and logic use a lot of time, energy, and resources. So you need a certain level of physical security before you can even consider them.
If you research the history of science, many of the post-enlightenment heavy hitters were independently wealthy. They certainly weren't worried about food or having a roof over their heads.
Moving beyond animal alpha politics requires the same leap in collective intelligence - which may require everyone to be independently wealthy.
Democracy isn't enough, because when you have a majority making political choices instinctively, and a resource-rich minority manipulating them for personal greed, there's no room left for rational post-animal post-alpha politics.
Put simply, Trump and Clinton are both inevitable products of a scarcity economy.