I have been calling this out for eons, and your essay is the first one I have seen on the subject.
We give our corrupt, and scheming leaders too much of a free pass by saying things like 'they're stupid' or 'incompetent.' Rubbish. They know exactly what they are doing.
Thank you Ivan. The reason we do willingly accept incompetence as ‘reason’ is because we don’t wish to and are unready to absorb the chilling alternative.
A very philosophical piece, Julie. I agree. In the arena of politics it is all scripted well in advance and they are playing a role. The media plays along with it but sometimes hyper critical out of nowhere with people like Michael Foot, Jeremy Corbyn or Donald Trump to the extent that they give away their panic that a non club member is getting too close to the game.
As an employer, I’ve never really seen true, full on incompetence. I’ve seen laziness, selfishness, anxiety, self-doubt etc that prevented people from being “good enough” - but it was always contextual, situational. No one is really that shit. Not all the time. Not in real life. Frank Drebin would never have gotten anywhere a police academy and Frank Spencer would have been dead in a horrific accident before his teens.
As you point out, we humans are actually pretty good at surviving and thriving. I’m sure there are situations where some people are promoted beyond their own expertise and comfort zones, but more often than you’d imagine, it suits the organisation to have those easily manipulated people in those positions (did you ever watch The Wire?) and this is definitely true of politics.
Given that everyone in the country broadly wants the same thing - opportunities to do well, vulnerable people to be taken care of and access to decent services, fortune is on the side of those we elect. We’re all behind those objectives and they’re very achievable. No-one is that fucking unlucky - or stupid.
I absolutely love this essay's topic.
I have been calling this out for eons, and your essay is the first one I have seen on the subject.
We give our corrupt, and scheming leaders too much of a free pass by saying things like 'they're stupid' or 'incompetent.' Rubbish. They know exactly what they are doing.
And it is not for the benefit of the 99%.
Thanks Julie.
Thank you Ivan. The reason we do willingly accept incompetence as ‘reason’ is because we don’t wish to and are unready to absorb the chilling alternative.
Absolutely brilliant article. Absolutely spot on.
Cheers Wendy.
A very philosophical piece, Julie. I agree. In the arena of politics it is all scripted well in advance and they are playing a role. The media plays along with it but sometimes hyper critical out of nowhere with people like Michael Foot, Jeremy Corbyn or Donald Trump to the extent that they give away their panic that a non club member is getting too close to the game.
As an employer, I’ve never really seen true, full on incompetence. I’ve seen laziness, selfishness, anxiety, self-doubt etc that prevented people from being “good enough” - but it was always contextual, situational. No one is really that shit. Not all the time. Not in real life. Frank Drebin would never have gotten anywhere a police academy and Frank Spencer would have been dead in a horrific accident before his teens.
As you point out, we humans are actually pretty good at surviving and thriving. I’m sure there are situations where some people are promoted beyond their own expertise and comfort zones, but more often than you’d imagine, it suits the organisation to have those easily manipulated people in those positions (did you ever watch The Wire?) and this is definitely true of politics.
Thanks Christian. ‘The Wire’ - not sure I did.
Given that everyone in the country broadly wants the same thing - opportunities to do well, vulnerable people to be taken care of and access to decent services, fortune is on the side of those we elect. We’re all behind those objectives and they’re very achievable. No-one is that fucking unlucky - or stupid.
😂😂love it