**I wrote earlier about the Trump phenomenon and the problem with focussing too much on his personality and not enough on the mental state of the electorate. I compared it to that of Germany in the years before the Nazi takeover.
Now there's a Politico article that adds some psychology to my observations. Matthew Macwilliams states:
Trump’s electoral strength—and his staying power—have been buoyed, above all, by Americans with authoritarian inclinations. And because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans, it’s very possible that Trump’s fan base will continue to grow.
Read more:
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Authoritarianism is not a new, untested concept in the American electorate. Since the rise of Nazi Germany, it has been one of the most widely studied ideas in social science. While its causes are still debated, the political behavior of authoritarians is not. Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened.
Instead of thinking for themselves, instead of making the effort to see the big picture as well as the important nuances about governing, too many voters are willing to let a strong man lead. Combine a strong man, a purchased Congress and a submissive public and we could throw the country into a dictatorship.
2 comments:
I'm with you, Mop!
On the issue of authoritarianism Trump vs. Hillary is six of one, half-dozen of the other. Look beyond the rhetoric at the substance. Trump's authoritarianism is extreme but contained within the realm of border-immigration issues, where state powers generally go beyond what is applied to citizens. One of Cruz's knocks on Trump is that he is not authoritarian enough, with a record that is somewhat socially liberal. Hillary's record is one of support for highly intrusive extensions of the national security state. We can credit Hillary with being an equal opportunity authoritarian. Neither is a friend of civil liberties.
If either is elected, there is little likelihood that the voters will get what they bargained for. Unless Trump has leadership skills that he has shown no sign of, his presidency is likely to be chaotic and ineffective. Nearly everyone in the Washington establishment will be out to humiliate him and they will have plenty of opportunity. Hillary will rely on liberal-sounding rhetoric and her vagina as a cover for her support of the neoliberal policies that feed both the Trump and Sanders rebellions. She is too beholden to special interests to offer any real solutions to the abysmal performance of the real economy and her war-happy tendencies on foreign policy would be unchecked. The danger that she would escalate confrontation with Russia over Ukraine or Syria is very real. So is the possibility of an electoral backlash in 2018. Both Trump and Hillary are so obsessed with opposing Iran that they will likely be paralyzed on the issue of restoring peace to the middle east. Remember that it was Kerry, not Hillary, who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal.
What an awful choice.
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