20 Things I’ve Learned (Or Had Confirmed) About Humanity During The ‘Pandemic’ (THREAD):
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2/ At least 20% of the population has strong authoritarian tendencies, which will emerge under the right conditions.
20% seems low. My guess is: The only thing that keeps that number from being higher is Rule #1 of this post. People are afraid to stand out. To step up. There is a big % of the population that doesn’t want the responsibility of being “The man” – the manager – the boss – the leader.
Though if the power is thrust upon them – I have a feeling that more than 20% would go full authoritarian. Especially if dire physical or economic consequences are associated. Though the Scale of Forced Authority likely has gradients.
On one extreme is the saying that “Absolute Power corrupts absolutely”. John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, once wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men…”.
Which begs the question: Are great men almost always bad men by nature? Is because it’s the nature of bad men to use any-means-necessary to be great that makes this true? Or is it the power that makes them bad men? Is it that good men have the nobility to not want “absolute power”?
Or on the other extreme is the idea that some people just don’t want to “fail” on someone else’s terms. I remember a quote by Hall of Fame basketballer Charles Barkley who said something to the effect of: “I don’t want to take the game winning shot because I think I’m the best shooter. I just don’t want to lose because someone else missed.” To go out on YOUR shield, not someone else’s.
My hunch is that this observation leans more to the latter. When put in a position of responsibility, you want to do EVERYTHING possible to be successful. You don’t want to die with a bullet in the chamber. YOU want to do EVERYTHING YOU can think of doing to be successful. So, unless you are totally convinced someone else’s idea is better – you are going to go with YOUR idea.
You don’t want to fail at something and say “Shit I knew I was supposed to XXX.” It’s a sucky feeling. I’ve been there.
And there is EGO. Many of us want to think that there is greatness inside us somewhere. We want to flower into the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. The indisputable genius of blossoming greatness. Unfortunately, other than Musk, our history of people perceived to be great does not have a strong track record of public collaboration.
3/ Fear of death is only rivalled by the fear of social disapproval. The latter could be stronger.
I think this one is covered above. Though, written this way, it further illustrates the severity of this situation. Think about it: In almost every prison, the most severe punishment is isolation. People with large, healthy, and loving social networks rarely commit suicide or shoot up public places. The mass shooters are often outcasts that find acceptance in unhealthy or unsafe social groups. Then do ANYTHING to maintain approval.
.
