“. . . . the typical citizen drops down to a lower level of mental performance as soon as he enters the political field. He argues and analyzes in a way which he would readily recognize as infantile within the sphere of his real interests. . . . cherished ideas and judgments we bring to politics are stereotypes and simplifications with little room for adjustment as the facts change. . . . . the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance. We are not equipped to deal with so much subtlety, so much variety, so many permutations and combinations. Although we have to act in that environment, we have to reconstruct it on a simpler model before we can manage it.” -- Social scientists commenting on the human state of affairs in politics -- Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government, Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels, 2016, quoting Joseph Schumpeter's 1942 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
Yahoo reports on some recent poll data. A fair number of Americans seem to be confused about what constitutes a crime. Maybe this is what reconstructing politics on a simpler model looks like. Assuming this data is accurate, human political reconstruction can have significant partisanship, uncertainty, distrust and/or infantile analysis in it.
44% say djt committed crimes
53% approve of djt's conviction for his felonies
🤪
No wonder we're being run by nincompoops, blithering idiots, bigots, crackpots, grifters, liars, traitors and criminals. We can't even agree on what a crime is or what a conviction in court means.
Majority opinion: US presidents get unfair trials because
they get unreasonably harsh treatment
Germaine: US presidents get unfair trials because
they get unreasonably lenient treatment
Plurality (45%): djt got not harsh enough treatment
Germaine: djt got not harsh enough treatment
🤪
Q: Are we rational or what?