Too Many Bozos On This Bus

Desperate times require desperate measures. The privilege of the old stock citizens, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, is being threatened in the USA, the UK, and in Canada. It's just a question of demographics. 

Low birth rates combined with the arrival of many immigrants from around the world, in other words, people of color, give rise to demographic projections that the old stock will soon be outnumbered. As a result, long standing privilege could be threatened

In all three countries, there exits an unholy alliance between the ultra rich and the plebes from the old stock. On the one hand, the ultra rich do not want to be funding the social programs that are extended widely to the population at large. On the other, the old stock wants to maintain their perceived superior position in the status hierarchy so they give their votes to the political parties that want to conserve how the society is structured.

Trying to point out to the old stock that well-funded social programs like health care, child care, and post-secondary education, to mention just a few, would also be beneficial to them is, for the most part, a waste of time.

Tribal identities take precedent over rational thinking. Therefore, twenty-first century politics in these three countries has morphed into a weird form of infotainment where buffoons can become the leaders of the ruling parties and their supporters don't seem to mind.

How else can you explain (other than the rigged electoral systems) the presence of Donald Trump as the President of the United States, Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Doug Ford (brother of Rob Ford) as the Premier of Ontario, the largest and most populated province in Canada.

All three are clown-like in their behavior, and this personality trait appears to be an integral component of the new electoral strategy for right wing political parties. The more outlandish the leaders, the better.

We know from cognitive research that stimulating the reptilian brains of humans is the best way to get them to behave in a certain manner. With regard to politics, tribal identities and fear can be easily manipulated so that the higher cognitive functions like reason never come in to play.

For instance, research has shown that when conservatives were exposed to evidence demonstrating that a partisan belief was false - such as a report demonstrating that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction or that lowering taxes doesn't increase government revenue - they became more convinced than ever that those beliefs were actually true.

In other words, leaders who tell lies and behave erratically not only invite criticism, they benefit from it by solidifying support among their supporters since their brains will go into overdrive to protect their tribal identification with their party and its leader. 

Off-the-wall statements like: build a wall to keep out Mexicans and get them to pay for it, leaving the European Union will be beneficial to the Brits, or promising people from Ontario a buck a beer might seem so ridiculous to risk losing votes, but such tactics actually motivates supporters to go out and vote in general elections that have low participation rates. 

Essentially, the idea of winning over undecided voters on the basis of a well-thought out electoral platform that includes measurable objectives and lays out realizable plans to achieve them are a thing of the past. Instead, governments are now formed on the basis of galvanizing core supporters with clearly communicated boundaries of us and them and fomenting fear about what the others would do to us if they ever gained power.

As well, the buffoonery of the leaders divert attention away the real political agenda that is being advanced for the benefit of the ultra rich. Any outlandish statement a leader makes is quickly picked up by social media and is given sufficient political spin so by the time it appears in an individual's news feed, it has been sufficiently altered to confirm the recipient's political beliefs. So much for reasoned political debate. 

Given the systemic distortions that the electoral systems in all three countries bring about, any advantage that can be gained in mobilizing the core supporters is then amplified when the popular vote is then translated into electoral college votes in the US, or number of seats in Parliament in Canada and the UK. Importantly, it isn't necessary to garner the greatest number of votes. In fact, all that it takes is to win a sufficient number of electoral districts and the voting system will take care of the rest.

So, don't expect any significant change within the Anglo-American Empire as long as the old stock voters provide the ultra rich the means to maintain their political power. Eventually, demographic change may tilt the playing field in the other direction, but I wouldn't count on it. Moreover, those who presently control the political agenda will not leave quietly. They will go out with a bang not a whimper.