Loss of Politics

[showa58taro]

Read a very interesting piece about political philosophy in the West now against the 90s that really resonated with me.

Back in the 1990s, there was an unconscious abundance mind-set. Democratic capitalism provides the bounty. Prejudice gradually fades away. Growth and dynamism are our friends. The abundance mind-set is confident in the future, welcoming toward others. It sees win-win situations everywhere.

Today, after the financial crisis, the shrinking of the middle class, the partisan warfare, a scarcity mind-set is dominant: Resources are limited. The world is dangerous. Group conflict is inevitable. It’s us versus them. If they win, we’re ruined, therefore, let’s stick with our tribe. The ends justify the means.

It strikes me as true both right and left, the end of bipartisan (or multi partisan) cooperation and the massive shift to us vs them and extremism across the board. It seems hard to see how we get out of this cycle of scarcity and fear.

[Foo]

Read a very interesting piece about political philosophy in the West now against the 90s that really resonated with me.

Back in the 1990s, there was an unconscious abundance mind-set. Democratic capitalism provides the bounty. Prejudice gradually fades away. Growth and dynamism are our friends. The abundance mind-set is confident in the future, welcoming toward others. It sees win-win situations everywhere.

Today, after the financial crisis, the shrinking of the middle class, the partisan warfare, a scarcity mind-set is dominant: Resources are limited. The world is dangerous. Group conflict is inevitable. It’s us versus them. If they win, we’re ruined, therefore, let’s stick with our tribe. The ends justify the means.

It strikes me as true both right and left, the end of bipartisan (or multi partisan) cooperation and the massive shift to us vs them and extremism across the board. It seems hard to see how we get out of this cycle of scarcity and fear.

We have become a very tribal culture. Access to everything at anytime has made it very easy for people to seek out and dwell in like minded groups. Those groups tend to foster extreme thinking because the Overton window shifts.

Let's look at sexual deviance. In 1900. you would put yourself at great risk to even whisper such thoughts. By the 1970, you could seek out clubs, but you needed to be very interested. Today, a casual person could probably spend all day in forums about dog and sister fucking.

Same with politics, people can shout into echo chambers day in and day out, constantly reinforcing whatever they believe in. What may have been an extreme opinion in society at large is acceptable in the group, maybe even not extreme enough. They get pulled more and more into the fringe of society while the group appears normal to them.