Dakara (@dakara)

▌Ideological Symbolism Replaces Merit ▸How DEI Lost an Election Social status and moral superiority now mark the defining aspects of the party. Intellectual merit as a value is replaced by ideological symbolism, where candidates are chosen by their optimum optical alignment to those social values. A vote is a declaration of membership to the moral code and a celebration of correct think. Votes are not cast for the well-articulated intellectual competence of a candidate, but rather for the social symbolic status that they represent. A vote for them is merely a means to feel good about yourself, to declare amongst others that you are the "good" person. You don't question if the "good" people will make good decisions, as how could they not? They are the "good" people, of course they are correct. This leads to the outcome where the Emperor has no clothes, but also the people have no eyes. The machine is corrupt, vapid, incompetent, and visibly so, but the populace is so blinded to reality as to not notice as they themselves only seek the vapid praise of others for their admiration of the decrepit throne. ▸The Inescapable Trap Now there remains only two options going forward. Renunciation of the ideology that has led to this untenable situation, or the continued failing pursuit of authoritarian rule in order to dominate the competent while wearing the crown of ineptitude. The former is substantially difficult to achieve as the ideology is its own behavioral trap in that its tenets are anchored in a vision in which all failures are the result of external forces. It emphasizes the search for outward blame over inward reflection. The latter is the default current path and will likely continue as long as there are institutions of influence and power that remain within their grasp. ▸How Does It End? Harmful ideologies don't end simply because they are wrong. They end when the destruction is complete, untenable, and the last glimmer of hope that it can continue has been burnt to ash. It is the point where the advocates have finally suffered substantially more than their enemies, but not at their enemies' hands, but their own, as the dying ideology self-destructs.