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talkpoliticsYou must have heard the statement that the wisdom of the people should not be underestimated. Politicians tend to particularly love these words. Especially those of them who like to regularly flirt with people's fears and hopes instead of doing their job. You know, the ones we call populists.
Now here is another statement, made by one Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian and author of two world best-sellers, Sapiens and Homo Deus. History, he argues, teaches us of a very important thing: we should never underestimate people's stupidity. Because it's one of the most powerful forces in the universe, if not the most powerful.
Another quote, this one ascribed to Einstein, famously says that two things are infinite, the Universe and people's stupidity - although he is not sure of the former.
It is because of the power of stupidity, Harari argues in his books, that we can never rely on people to make the best decisions, and often neither their leaders can be trusted to do what is best for humankind. They may do it occasionally, but that would be more likely due to chance and favourable circumstance (even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day).
Especially at times when various political leaders around the world are vowing to reinstate the good old times when everything was fair and good, promising that they are the ones who can solve people's problems and answer their concerns, we should be particularly careful. As the world becomes a smaller place, its problems tend to become bigger as they involve more people: nuclear proliferation, climate change, rapid technological progress, social tremors. These problems can only be solved on a global scale because they have a global scope. They cannot be solved locally, on a national level. And populist leaders who sell nostalgic fantasies of a past when that used to be possible, are the most dangerous factor in modern politics, because they are an obstacle to addressing the future adequately.
I strongly recommend Harari's books.
Now here is another statement, made by one Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian and author of two world best-sellers, Sapiens and Homo Deus. History, he argues, teaches us of a very important thing: we should never underestimate people's stupidity. Because it's one of the most powerful forces in the universe, if not the most powerful.
Another quote, this one ascribed to Einstein, famously says that two things are infinite, the Universe and people's stupidity - although he is not sure of the former.
It is because of the power of stupidity, Harari argues in his books, that we can never rely on people to make the best decisions, and often neither their leaders can be trusted to do what is best for humankind. They may do it occasionally, but that would be more likely due to chance and favourable circumstance (even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day).
Especially at times when various political leaders around the world are vowing to reinstate the good old times when everything was fair and good, promising that they are the ones who can solve people's problems and answer their concerns, we should be particularly careful. As the world becomes a smaller place, its problems tend to become bigger as they involve more people: nuclear proliferation, climate change, rapid technological progress, social tremors. These problems can only be solved on a global scale because they have a global scope. They cannot be solved locally, on a national level. And populist leaders who sell nostalgic fantasies of a past when that used to be possible, are the most dangerous factor in modern politics, because they are an obstacle to addressing the future adequately.
I strongly recommend Harari's books.
(no subject)
Date: 2/8/18 06:27 (UTC)And of course ignorance can be re-inforcing. Because folk are kept unaware of the true costs of things (infrastructure, roads etc) those costs aren't factored in when it comes to economic ideologies. Libertarianism, for example, tries to ignore social costs for things like roads and infrastructure, or compliance costs for things which damage the environment. And the advocates of such ideologies manage to get folk to agree with them, despite flawed premises, etc.
Until, as a collective, we are educated better, we are completely at the mercy of the least educated majority and it's prejudices, and the ability of a few to galvanise and engage that majority by appealing to its worst nature and most blinkered prejudices.
I wish I had answers; but as a member of the hated elite, the minute I open my mouth I've added to the opposition.
(no subject)
Date: 2/8/18 18:33 (UTC)That puts us at the mercy of the charismatic.
(no subject)
Date: 3/8/18 06:49 (UTC)It puts us at the mercy of the charismatics who have a platform. And the platform owners who allow the right charismatics to get up on stage and have their say. And even then the charismatics can be shouted down as clueless celebrities when they say something other platform owners disagree with.
So it's a combination of things, but that combination is fairly heavily skewed in favour of the folk who own the platforms/media, and the relative popularity thereof.
(no subject)
Date: 2/8/18 18:10 (UTC)Now, almost all those people are too decrepit to wield power or raise much of a fuss. Instead the nostalgia has transferred to the 1980's, and the "simpler time" is about a globalization boom, entrenched sexism, gay people being invisible, and a kind of multiculturalism where each group stays in its own assigned seating and never makes demands.
Not substantively different -- just cranked forward another 30 years.
Taking the long view, I've become suspicious that this ongoing nostalgia isn't based on stupidity, but an almost inevitable sense of insecurity.
As a kid, you need food, shelter, parental affection, and a little spare time to play. Assuming those things are provided (a big assumption yes) you can enter adulthood with a positive outlook. But then, you need adult things. Steady work, a secure home, transport, tools, etc. You need those for your kids too. That's a lot of stuff, and it's all stuff we need, to feel like successful adults. Can't own property? You've failed. Can't educate your kids? You've failed. Can't retire? You've definitely failed.
Pretty easy to see how childhood times, passed largely in ignorance, are more appealing. And hey, maybe your failure is your own, or maybe it's your parents ... or maybe it's all these haters, trying to retool your childhood environment into something else. Maybe they're messing it up. If we could just stop their meddling, we could do what our parents did...
(no subject)
Date: 2/8/18 22:08 (UTC)