The myth of ‘Incompetence’

Examining why it serves you not to let it go

Did you ever have a relationship that didn’t work out?

Ever put it down to ‘incompetence’?

No, thought not.

I’m pretty sure that if you hooked up with someone who flogged the family silver and squandered the cash, promised you the earth and didn’t deliver and thought it was fine for your parents to freeze their elderly arses off, chances are you wouldn’t be calling them  ‘incompetent’, would you?

They’d be an absolute twat - and rightly so.

So why are we so keen to label the abuse of political power in this way?

Most people are quick to pick holes in the so-called ‘conspiracy theory’ of ‘The Great Reset/New World Order’, but fail to cast the same critical eye on their own preferred theory of ‘incompetence’.

How about we examine THAT for a change and the function it fulfils.

Before we explore INcompetence, we must look at what it means to be COMPETENT. It doesn’t mean ‘amazing at something’. It just means to be able to do something well enough.

People are born creators, organisers, communicators and problem solvers.

To nurture is in our nature. A mother nurses her infant without a manual.

As children we trade without instruction. We swap cards and stickers, we barter time, negotiate.

Humans have overcome great obstacles to construct magnificent buildings, we choreograph intricate dances, extract and polish diamonds from the most dangerous mines.

Given autonomy and a nourishing environment, human beings also regulate themselves rather well - be it food we consume, clothes we wear or hours of sleep we get.

We learn to delay gratification - that if we save money we can buy something more substantial.

People are also wonderful collaborators. For centuries we have joined forces with others, working together to achieve more.

So…….given the multitude of talents and huge potential people innately possess, and bearing in mind humanity’s breathtaking accomplishments, why would we so blindly and readily accept that government failures are due to incompetence?

Is it sitting right with you?

Does it seem plausible that our leaders, the output of our most respected schools and universities- Eton, Harrow, Oxford, Cambridge etc are all incapable fools?

ALL of them? Really?

Given that these institutions offer learning resources most of us can only dream of, considering that they regularly produce world class business CEO’s and pioneers in their field, are we truly suggesting that they are unable to hone leadership skills that would assist politicians to maintain an economy and allow a society to flourish?

If simple student internships and exchanges can foster meaningful relationships with those in other countries through negotiation and respecting boundaries, why do we doubt that diplomacy can be done on a grander scale with international heads of state?

We have become a nation of Dot Cottons - convincing ourselves that ‘my Nick’ - or Boris, Matt, Rishi - is ‘a good boy really’.  If only they’d not had to deal with the terrible circumstances and conditions they found themselves in…..

This flawed reasoning not only overlooks their education, privilege and personal attributes but also massively excuses their actions.

No-one has time for the criminal who críes “but my parents were mean and I grew up in The Bronx”, so why do we have so much understanding and offer additional chances to the politician or party that does similar?

Well, here are a few possible explanations.

Firstly, because it gives us HOPE. Hope that said figure/party could turnaround, come good. Like Dot, we really want to see the best in human nature.

Secondly, upholding the myth of incompetence is sympathetic to the part WE played and rids us of any personal responsibility to the situation. Telling ourselves ‘they meant well’, by association also lets us off the hook by eliminating any guilt we may feel because we voted them in. It reassures us that we- like them - are good people really, because we had honourable intentions.

As well as exonerating ourselves of blame by way of delusional ignorance, the incompetence myth also caters to the part of the ego that gives permission to self sabotage on an individual level. Watching those in power make ‘mistakes’ tells our subconscious it’s fine for us to do the same, validating our licence to fuck up our own lives.

Given the reasoning I have outlined, it’s no wonder that the alternative view - that the  political situation is deliberately orchestrated - is as welcome as Stephen King at children’s storytime.

It not only poses a direct challenge to our widely held beliefs that politicians represent and work for us, but also confronts the ideas we hold about ourselves and ability to judge situations.

To investigate further is a painful but necessary deep dive - but those of us who have already done it, are here waiting for you on board with the SCUBA equipment and a warm fluffy towel. It’s a big boat and we’ve always room for more.

I ask you all to examine the theory of ‘incompetence’ a little more closely. To employ the same scrutiny you would apply to other aspects of your daily life.

You wouldn’t buy a washing machine without doing a little research, reading a few reviews, but here you guys are, carrying on the same hapless cycles.

Dot Cotton worked down the launderette, yeah?

She may not have seen through ‘her Nick’ but after decades of seeing the same old dirty laundry trotted out and being amongst the same old clapped out machines, she certainly learned a thing or two about how to recognise ‘spin’, or ‘rinse and repeat’.

It’s not too late.

If she could, so can you.

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