Voters will always be stupid
Too stupid to understand the nuance of government, the system, anyway
Too stupid to appreciate the legacy they have inherited
Therefore it’s elites that failed us
Voters are always dumber than the final political, government, business product
But elites lead and carry the entire system on their shoulders
They get well rewarded for it too
And yes, they need the masses to reward them, and to be led by them — as much as the masses need them to LEAD them
By elites I of course mean:
INSTITUTIONS
MEDIA
INFLUENCERS and the famous
the RICH, yes
AUTHORITIES, including local authorities
Institutions failed to prevent the obvious rot emerging
Populism rot
Ideological rot
Some helped those forces rise, or even created them
Perhaps those institutions became too antiquated, and performative
Perhaps corrupt
Perhaps just weak and ineffectual
Elite institutions failed, failed as elite, failed to be elite
Failed to adhere to the standards they used to hold themselves to
Influencers gleefully jumped on the next hot thing
It’s no surprise that the modern spineless, braindead social-media famous creatures would do so
But legacy media followed suit
There used to be a barrier of entry before your opinion was worth sharing
Now there are no barriers so any nonsense gets proliferated
The journalistic integrity was slowly corroded, undermined by those who never made any pretence of such integrity (but every pretence to form opinions)
And thus our elites failed us and allowed the plebes to be inundated with bad takes, misinformation, half-truths, propaganda
The rich, the famous, the respectable — have also used this opportunity to cosy up to the power
To empower one group is to disempower another
To empower one part of the system is to disempower another
Power is shared between myriad entities, and this share periodically shifts
The centralised, political power should not be at odds with local powers, with financial powers,
But it should not be in league with them neither
Opinion of some famous person shouldn’t matter much, in the grand scheme of things
Those elites failed us too, in opening their fucking mouths, and feeling more important than they really were
As a result of all that — voters got all the toxic waste, cesspool — which they were never supposed to have seen
Overton window was obliterated
Overton window was there so that the masses don’t have to figure it out why some seductive ideas are actually awful and destructive
If masses knew history and could think critically — we’d hope they wouldn’t make the mistakes of the past — and could be trusted with responsibility of making hard decisions
But they can’t
Again: the masses relationship with elites should be that of synergy — in which elites lead — and masses follow
Relationship in which elites bear the burden of hard decisions, and responsibility
and masses cede some of their power, in return for stability
It’s ultimately really just division of labour — with everyone’s best interest being cooperation and thriving
But elites have failed us
Elites betrayed the masses and used them to achieve their ends
Elites beguiled the masses to get one up on the rest of the elite
PS what happens next?
Plebes will enjoy their short-lived bump up in status, a vain moment of taking elites down a peg, a glimpse of empowerment
Elites will have played their trick once or twice, getting one up on the “rival” elites, only to be burned by the very fire they started
The total rejection of elites and authority will be the next step, and will feel so satisfying, to the poor ordinary people!
Maybe we’ll replace scientists with flat-earthers, billionaires with activists, doctors with antivaxers, culture and philosophy with netflix,
leaders and merit with entertainers and relatably pathetic morons
and then we’ll regress as society
and suffer instability
and in due time will nostalgically look back at the times of BORING STABILITY and BORING COMPETENCE
And will slowly rebuild it
Nothing new historically