2023 FUTURE OBSERVATORY
2023 FUTURE OBSERVATORY
The weaknesses of the establishment position are compounded by severe symptoms of groupthink. Under attack from outside, such incestuous groups tend to withdraw even further from all contact with the outside world, rather than confront the challenge. The true facts are typically ignored, and the messengers are shot!
As described by Irving Janis - writing about the Bay of Pigs disaster, which the Kennedy Administration experienced - there are eight classic symptoms of groupthink, which are just as applicable to the current behaviour of the establishment under siege. The first four of these, the most important in the context of this database, are:
1. INVULNERABILITY - politicians,
in particular, still believe that their comfortable world will continue
unchanged (apart from the usual electoral swings), and base all their plans on
this - even though this means they cannot then address the most important -
revolutionary - issues now confronting them in the real world.
2. RATIONALE - they rationalise their view in terms of the problems being caused
by short-term fluctuations in electoral opinion, where the voters (making
mistakes, as the politicians see it) simply do not understand; though, of
course, the electorate do understand, very well.
3. MORALITY - the establishment stresses the moral supremacy of democracy
(albeit their own - rather limited - version of this) and the market(as a
religion - where it is blasphemy to question its workings - rather than as a
genuine means of management).
4. STEREOTYPES - everyone who thinks differently, even those - especially the
electorate - who should be on the same side in this confusing new war, become
the enemy; and, as such, are not allowed to contribute to any debate - so that
two debates have developed (one in the real world and one within the
establishment!)
This is increasingly how the Bush administration operates!
26 April 2003
Other pages you might like to consider are:
5155 LEGITIMATION, 5037 CORRUPT GOVERNMENT, 5069 THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES, 5086 EXPECTATIONS, 5128 WESTERN REACTIONS TO POLITICAL CHANGE, 5150 MANAGEMENT FOCUS, 5088 HYPOTHESES RELATING TO EXPECTATIONS, 5138 THE SCENARIOS, 5199 SHAPING THE FUTURE, 5086 EXPECTATIONS, 5122 ORGANIC STRUCTURES, 5198 RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND LIMITED INFORMATION, 5156 POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT
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