Modest proposal: We should stop calling our elected officials "leaders". We should stop referring to the "national leadership". We should stop calling for "strong leadership". We should stop seeking to be led.
By Randall Parker at 2008 July 11 11:58 PM Freedom PhilosophySounds good to me, all that nonsense is cringe-making.
Relatedly, is it time to give up the quasi-royal Presidential nonsense and instead adopt a parliamentary system?
A parliamentary system spreads minimises the risk of morons or psychos doing too much damage.
Unfortunately, it is the genetic nature of the majority of the human species to need leaders, especially when there is a confusing situation that threatens the usual way of life.
For example, the 9/11 event that was an unexpected and difficult to understand situation, made the majority of the nation far more submissive and obedient to the leadership, and the nation became willing to do things that were against its best interests, without thinking.
Similar situations have occurred every time a nation suffered a major military-economic setback like Germany after WW I, of Japan facing a terrible economic collapse before WW II. The list is endless.
But the fascinating question is how exactly leaders whose IQ scores are only slightly above average, can gain so much power during crisis. It must be a combination of factors, such as charisma and intensity of personality of the leaders that easily influence the masses that are desperate to be told what to do during crisis, and also the fact that behind these leaders, there are some very intelligent people who do the calculations (always so).
This phenomenon of mass servility during crisis, is an area of psychology that must be studied more seriously and thoroughly, because history repeats itself without duplicating itself, and it is difficult to discern when and how exactly the mass servility phenomenon will spontaneously manifest itself.
Well said Wolf-Dog.
Randall, we're being "led" off a cliff.
JJ,
You are right. I see a lot of bad trends playing out in the next few decades, made worse by our public dis-servants.
What kinds of bad things are going to happen in the next few decades?
Wolf-Dog,
Bad things coming:
1) Decline in oil production. Decline in natural gas production too.
2) Maybe Peak Phosphorus. Morocco has most of the known remaining phosphorus reserves. Important question: Are there big reserves waiting to be discovered? The question is, again, very important.
3) The aging of the US population. More old folks supported by fewer big producers and net tax payers.
4) The dumbing down of the US population. The dummies are growing in numbers faster than the smarties.
5) Continued habitat destruction due to world population growth and overpopulation.