An epidemic of stupidity, and its danger to society and democracy
It is a delicate undertaking to write about stupidity. Therefore, a warning at the beginning: "Everyone who talks about stupidity presupposes that he is above things, i.e. that he is clever, although it is precisely this presumption that is considered a sign of stupidity" (Robert Musil). We are all capable of stupidity, but can also recognize and overcome it.
Friedrich von Schiller wrote: "Gods themselves fight in vain with stupidity." So is it a pointless fight? No, because our mass media society is facing an epidemic of stupidity, and everything should be done to avoid a further inflationary spread of stupidity.
“stupidity is easier to recognize from the outside, i.e. when it is observable in others (the simplest exercise) than from the inside.”
Nothing endangers today's democracy as much as the epidemic of stupidity. The current leadership already gives a frightening insight into the possible consequences of an unchecked epidemic of stupidity. It may soon no longer be possible to mitigate the coming tsunami of stupidity.
But first things first.
What is stupidity?
Philosophers have dealt with this question more than those who are known to be severely affected themselves. This is mainly due to the fact that stupidity is easier to recognize from the outside, i.e. when it is observable in others (the simplest exercise) than from the inside. In one's case, it is only recognizable in retrospect (much more difficult). To recognize stupidity in the process of thinking or even acting almost presupposes the wisdom and enlightenment of a Buddha. Because then you could still prevent stupidity and thus protect yourself and others.
In modern psychology, cognitive openness and flexibility are considered to be centrally important personality traits for the prevention of excessive stupidity. In the Big Five personality theory, "openness to experience" is one of the five main dimensions on which people differ. This trait includes aspects such as creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to embrace new ideas and experiences. The opposite, rigidity, narrow-mindedness, lack of insight are correlates of great stupidity.
But stupidity is even more defined by actions – and thus by emotional and social skills. Stupid actions are then considered at least unwise, but can also harm the person themselves and others. The more power a stupid person has, the more dangerous he becomes for his fellow human beings .. The worst thing is when stupidity is not noticed for a long time. This ignorance of one's own stupidity is a sign of self-blindness, the inability to reflect appropriately on oneself. Furthermore, stupidity refers to the inadequate ability to draw appropriate conclusions from perceptions, i.e. to learn from them for the future. Because then some stupidities could at least be curbed. Not noticing stupidity can happen. But the core problem of stupidity, is - after recognizing it - not then regretting it and not then changing anything. In this sense, we are all stupid, but we differ in the ability and speed to draw conclusions, learn and change behaviour. If a man repeatedly falls for the same type of woman, who then robs him financially, if a woman repeatedly chooses the type of alpha male, who then turns out to be an asshole, this also has something to do with stupidity in the broadest sense, in the narrower sense it is about emotion and impulse control, i.e. the relationship between thinking, feeling and acting, which is of great importance for stupid action.
“People are made to believe in lies that they still believe to be true even after the lie has been unmasked. That's how strong the suggestive power of propaganda can be!”
Interestingly, a very useful definition of stupidity comes from a cinematic portrayal of an autistic person, Forrest Gump, who in his role in the film of the same name, quotes his mother: "Mom says stupid is as stupid does". So it is important to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions.
Modern stupidity even worse than classic stupidity
While simple stupidity has been understood for thousands of years as a lack of intelligence and talent, postmodern stupidity is more difficult in the multimedia society. It represents a mixture of the diverse components, the key ones of which are: conformism, striving for belonging, lack of knowledge structures, selective attention to information, ignorance of other information and exaggerated emotionality to the point of hysteria. Due to the immense spread of mass media communication with its unverified statements, deepfakes and targeted manipulations, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect children and young people in particular from stupidity. Today's propaganda techniques create a psychological totalitarianism of unimagined proportions. People are made to believe in lies that they still believe to be true even after the lie has been unmasked. That's how strong the suggestive power of propaganda can be!
Through the supervised thinking of the social networks, but also through the one-dimensionality of most media, especially public broadcasting, stupidity and renunciation of the use of reason are becoming more and more socially acceptable. The excessive users of social networks are not only becoming increasingly poorly and one-sidedly informed, emotionally heated and hostile to dissenters, but also more and more stupid.
“In addition to classic stupidity, a wave of modern stupidity, often in the form of bullshit, has established itself with the triumphal march of the media.”
Digital experts and brain researchers speak of "digital dementia" to indicate that basic abilities, such as rational, critical thinking and self-reflection, are increasingly falling by the wayside in social networks. We live in times when nonsense and lies are being produced on an unprecedented scale.
“the nonsense that used to be said around the campfire in front of 20 people now easily reaches millions. In this respect, modern stupidity has a much more intense effect than in earlier times. It makes more people stupider than ever before.””
In addition to classic stupidity, a wave of modern stupidity, often in the form of bullshit, has established itself with the triumphal march of the media. Bullshit is the deliberate lie, the spouting of nonsense, because you don't bother to think, research, think critically or are simply lazy. People believe en masse in obvious lies and clearly recognizable nonsense. The triumph of anti-male ideologies, especially since the #MeToo campaign, is an example of such mass manipulation, especially in social networks.
The well-known German-Argentine doctor and social critic Esther Vilar ("The Trained Man"), who lives in London, formulated accordingly: "Modern stupidity is then not characterized by a lack of arithmetic or comprehension, but by a lack of creativity, lack of humor, coldness and ruthlessness." In other words, the nonsense that used to be said around the campfire in front of 20 people now easily reaches millions. In this respect, modern stupidity has a much more intense effect than in earlier times. It makes more people stupider than ever before. And an additional dilemma is that when nonsense and lies are repeated more often, they become more and more believable, an effect known as the "truth effect" in psychology. In addition, most people have the irrepressible need to belong to the majority and are willing in their conformism to adapt their own opinion and their innermost attitude. Believing that you belong to the right majority with your opinion also promotes aggressiveness and hostility towards dissenters. Competences that are essential in democracy, such as discussion and debate, are increasingly being lost.
More and more stupid people in positions of power
Stupidity is a timeless characteristic of being human, perhaps the most multifaceted concept in cultural history. That's why it should be of particular interest to us today. For Immanuel Kant, it is a "defect of the head", a consequence of the "flexible heart". The inadequate use of one's own mind leads to boundless immaturity, a state of chronic stupidity. Nothing worse can happen to democracy than mass immaturity of citizens. After all, what good is the best democracy if people cannot use it properly due to mass stupidity?
“The human capacity for stupidity has not increased, but it is accessed much more often than ever before. [...] But I believe that stupidity has ceased to be ashamed. It has become socially acceptable to loudly trumpet stupid positions.”
The human capacity for stupidity has not increased, but it is accessed much more often than ever before. The ability and willingness of all of us to be stupid is a stable factor in human coexistence that should not be underestimated. Everyone is stupid, to some extent and with varying frequency. So you should expect it. Not to do that would also be stupid. But I believe that stupidity has ceased to be ashamed. It has become socially acceptable to loudly trumpet stupid positions. The modern media world makes it possible to spread millions of stupid messages and penetrate so many brains worldwide as has never been possible before.
“Evil people shape criminal policies and anti-social power structures, stupid people follow them”
This world puts stupid people in positions of power to a large extent. Because many want to believe the same thing in order to feel strong and belonging. What most people think, however, is usually wrong in the long run, sometimes even dangerous. Evil people shape criminal policies and anti-social power structures, stupid people follow them and carry out without reason what has been devised by the bad guys. This applies to dictatorships in particular, but unfortunately also to democracies. Stupidity becomes dangerous when it is combined with the exercise of power, on a small scale and especially on a large scale. Politicians must be neither stupid nor evil and certainly not excessively narcissistic. The representative party democracy of our day is miles away from the Athenian original model of democracy. At the moment, it produces a particularly large number of stupid specimens in management positions. This is related to the tendency towards so-called egalitarian structures, quotas and other coercive actions. Fortunately, the increasing number of stupid people in political leadership positions still creates a significant unease in large parts of the population.
The more people can cover and harm other people with stupidity from their positions of power, the more these stupidities spread and the more explosive the whole thing becomes. It threatens to become an epidemic, especially if at the same time education and media are losing more and more quality. Therefore, in the sense of an indicated prevention of stupidity, managers in politics, media, administration and business should be examined particularly critically. If they commit dangerous stupidities for the country, its citizens and the economy, they must be stopped promptly. Waiting four years or even two parliamentary terms (eight years) to correct serious political mistakes is far too long and can severely damage the country. To this end, the structures of direct democracy must be strengthened and the power of the parties limited. Today it is still a political utopia, but in the modern media world it is an increasingly urgent necessity.
The modern party state as a hotbed of stupidity
One's own stupidity is often hard enough to bear, but to suffer from the stupidity of politicians and powerful others is completely unnecessary and unbearable. In the modern party state, many dangers lurk that stem from stupidity. Anyone who rises to the top in German proportional representation through party lists and backroom dealings is too often anything but competent these days. Apart from the manipulative skills of verbally impressing others and securing emotional sympathy, not much is necessary. Belonging to a minority on a quota list is an advantage. But that doesn't make things any better. On the contrary, it divides society more and more and provides for more and more tribal social structures (tribalism). The propagation of quotas is increasingly proving to be epochal stupidity, but it cannot be stopped at the moment because of all the populism.
“The greatest danger to today's democracy does not come from the right or left, but from the epidemic of stupidity. This, in turn, has to do with a lack of critical, controversial and informed thinking in the media and, increasingly, with a loss of quality in the education sector.”
As a result of the pseudo-democratic squabbling on party lists, the high-ranking candidates there primarily represent their parties and themselves. The people hardly play a role anymore, except perhaps as an electorate when it comes to the polls again. Those who then rise through quotas on party lists rarely have anything to do with foresight, wisdom and backbone. Politicians on party lists are used to saying and thinking what the party leaders want. The parties ensure a stupidity-oriented negative selection of top personnel. At best, mediocrity comes to the top. Conformism and opportunism prevail, as dropouts report again and again. Without a far-reaching reform of the party state with a far-reaching disempowerment of the parties, the malaise of today's democracy will not be solved. Temporarily and initially, there will be the founding of more and more new parties in rapid succession, which will usually burn up like shooting stars after a short time, because they treat the problem only symptomatically, but not causally.
The main danger to democracy: Epidemic stupidity
The greatest danger to today's democracy does not come from the right or left, but from the epidemic of stupidity. This, in turn, has to do with a lack of critical, controversial and informed thinking in the media and, increasingly, with a loss of quality in the education sector. These characteristics increase the dangers of being manipulated by the mass media, of a new totalitarianism and, as a result, of blind extremism. It is an incredible stupidity to cover political dissenters with hatred and agitation instead of arguments and at the same time to present oneself as a knight against hatred and agitation. This behaviour is not only obviously implausible, but of the greatest psychological naivety.
The rampant problems in the education system are clearly visible: According to official figures, primary schools no longer successfully teach reading, writing and arithmetic to 30% to 40% of pupils. According to unofficial statements, the numbers are significantly higher. A combination of causes is responsible for the misery: austerity of the infrastructure, unsuitable teacher training, diffuse management structures and, above all, flooding with migrant children.
“One believes to have the special knowledge and the ultimate insight of the chosen ones, but in reality these are only bullshit ideologies. It's like in the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes": the political elite is naked. In today's case, this means stupid and incompetent.”
New Stupidity – End of Maturity?
Stupidity is the order of the day. Any shame of stupidity has disappeared. Publicly displayed stupidity wafts through politics and the media. The trend leads people to the top of the state and parties who have no business there. They show neither courage nor wisdom, but a lot of ideological obedience, naivety and lust for pleasure, in short: stupidity. The new stupidity disguises itself superficially with a supposedly deeper cleverness. One believes to have the special knowledge and the ultimate insight of the chosen ones, but in reality these are only bullshit ideologies. It's like in the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes": the political elite is naked. In today's case, this means stupid and incompetent. It's just a matter of the public not recognizing this. This is the task of the media and, unfortunately, also of large parts of the education system, which take care of this.
Being stupid is the order of the day! The education system is ruined.
The decline of the education system in Germany is very convenient for the "new stupidity". Being stupid is the order of the day! For the conformists in the system of politics and the media, in a pinch also helps to play dumb. If reading, spelling, arithmetic and general knowledge are no longer taught to a sufficient extent in primary schools, so that at least a third of fourth-graders are basically even allowed to go to secondary school, this reflects the current situation. Germany's formerly excellent education system has long been ruined, tormented by socialist experiments over decades. However, the politically obvious solution to the dilemma of primary schools is to lower the level at grammar schools and universities even further. On closer inspection, Germany is developing more and more into an educational desert.
The fact that the average IQ of young people in many Western countries has been declining for several years also fits into the general dystopian development. And this after more than 100 years of continuous increase. Individual studies show a decrease in the average IQ of adolescents of up to 3.8 points, for example in Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States. However, the findings are not consistent. The consistently negative and recently even worse PISA results for German pupils underline the malaise of the educational landscape in this country. As long as correct gendering is more important than a sufficient understanding of language (reading, writing, grammar), the ship is heading in the wrong direction, namely the highly ideologized one, which wants to indoctrinate children and young people instead of bringing them closer to the beauty and correct use of language. Turning away from any performance principle is just as much a mistake as the introduction of comprehensive schools decades ago, which did not differentiate the level of performance, but pulled it down overall.
Germany and Europe are facing a neo-proletarian problem of millions
Behind closed doors, leading internet and digital experts say that due to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), not so many highly qualified specialists will be needed in the future. If education becomes more and more a privilege or a stroke of luck, neo-feudal times threaten. It amounts to a neo-proletarian army of millions of practically illiterate people. These are sprinkled by the media and digital industry every day and thus practically sedated. The fact that Germany's future as a leading economic nation is being gambled away – and has already been gambled away to a large extent – does not bother the leading political elites. On the contrary: Since the left-green leaders despise everything German, the development fits fully into the political program. In a few decades, Germany will be a multi-populist area full of crime, poverty and precariat. The same applies to Western Europe as a whole.
The middle class, which once guaranteed social stability, will become ever narrower and less insignificant. Critical voices will be drowned out in the stupidity and madness of the masses or banished and cancelled by the ruling cultural Marxist elites, unless a decisive social and political change with drastic rethinking of all policy areas from energy and climate policy, economic and social policy to migration and education policy takes place in the very next few years. The epidemic of public stupidity and governmental stupidity must come to an end. Stupidity simply must no longer be worth it! The rejection of open-mindedness, maturity and critical education is the centrally relevant threat to democracy!
Protection against stupidity: possible in an enlightened, courageous atmosphere!
There are a lot of competencies that protect against stupidity: education, knowledge, life experience, self-reflection, empathy, openness to new things, cognitive flexibility and much more. One of the most important defensive weapons against stupidity is the ability to consider the consequences of one's own actions. This competence, called the ability to anticipate in psychology, strengthens rational self-control and curbs overly impulsive or wrongly evaluated behaviour. Would Putin invade Ukraine again, would Habeck shut down the last nuclear power plants again, would Faeser ban Compact again? All too often, ideology and rigidity triumph over reason and prudence. When managers have consultants around them who do not have the courage to tell the truth and contradict them, the consequences of their own actions are often not sufficiently evaluated.
However, if enough of these protective factors are provided – especially in the use of modern digital media – there are chances to curb stupidity, at least in its inflationary spread. This requires an enlightened, courageous atmosphere. Fear and despondency promote the epidemic of stupidity.
De-dumbing down strategy as a task for the future
The clueless are so in love with their ignorance disguised as knowledge that they don't even have the idea of questioning their supposed knowledge. They are flooding the public media in a dangerous way, because they jubilantly welcome all this in their uncritical, conformist overall attitude. But is there protection against stupidity, or even prevention of stupidity? Certainly not in perfection. But what helps: acquire as much knowledge and experience as possible and reflect alone and with others, analyze your own mistakes and the mistakes of others (error-friendliness) and allow a lot of open mindedness. The fact that a far-reaching strategy of de-dumbing down will be needed in the future if this country ever wants to be able to return to its former glory days is still being studiously suppressed, but many of those who are demonized today will be lionized in the future.
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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.
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