This is a follow-up to a discussion that I and @valued-customer had in my Militant Democracy posts. The original discussion may be found here:
The Gate is Down - What is the End Goal of Information War?
While the basics of our discussion went towards the burden of man to defend himself politically, his arguments brought up a system of defining man by the different ways we have of responding to political systems. This makes it easier to understand why people make political choices that others wouldn't agree were "reasonable".
I like classification systems as a way to get an overall view of things (even though they may not always be precise the deeper we get into details); get three of four fairly accurate classification systems and cross reference em, and we start moving towards a better understanding of complex ideas.
We can also use the word Taxonomy to refer to a classification system
The System
- H. domesticus, the go along to get along, easily herded crowd; in fact, most folks. The simple fact is that MOST people do not want to get involved in politics...usually up to the point it is too late to do anything about what just happened to them...
- H. machiavellus, the rent-seekers, corruptocrats, kakistocrats, manipulators. These are the people that infect every organization from big government to the local HOA. If they can't make money, then they get a kick over bossing people around
- H. vigilus, the rarity, the III%. The guy that actually believes in liberty, and will work towards liberty as a goal
Is there another subgenus for "do-gooders", that set of H. domesticus that props up every plot of the the corruptocrats as long as they get social capitol for doing so? But won't somebody think of the children? Get this retard a bogus boondoggle plan that doesn't put a dime in his pocket, but lets him pretend to be a moral paragon, and he ignores everything but his own "superiority".
- H. popmousassitus, perhaps? I'm not schooled in Latin, so I'm not sure if H. moralis parasitus would be correct.
- Updated @cupidzero suggests H. obliviosus as the do-gooder subset of H. domesticus. Oblivious to the fact they are useful idiots, virtue signaling tolerance and reason while exercising intolerance and emotional decision making: "I am for peace and freedom, do as my master says or else!"
Cross-referencing
One thing we can do is to cross reference this system of classification with other systems, and getting a better understanding of how people "think" politically.
- Rent-seekers, do-gooders, and "Bootleggers and Baptists"
Rent-seeking refers to processes that provide accumulation of profit from other people's capital and work. The term do-gooding has little to do with the actual performance of acts that create good results, but instead refers to processes with have the appearance of doing good and building personal social capital on that appearance.
Bruce Yandle introduced a concept known as Bootleggers and Baptists, which can be summarized in having the bootleggers support prohibition for rent-seeking motive ( higher prices and less competition in selling booze) while the Baptists had the do-gooding motive of fighting "devil rum".
Source: Human Governance and Critical Thinking, A Conclusion In Four Notes
- Cipolla's "Laws of Stupidity"
Part of the "Laws" were a matrix of how people acted; did they help or harm themselves, did they help or harm others.
Asshole Ratio- a democracy can support only so many assholes before turning into a tyranny
And defining assholes? Rich establishes a matrix:
A & B designate leader and non-leader types... elites and non-elites.
Positive & Negative Types... Positive (Pos) are people with innate leadership qualities that make people want to follow them. They seldom seek positions of authority- but are sought.
Negative (Neg) types are people drawn to power for what benefits it can accrue for them personally. They seek to lead rather than being sought (as the Pos are). They acquire power by any means necessary- whether subterfuge or force.
In a political sense, the ratio of leaders (A's) with character (Pos) vs those without (Neg) is what determines political outcomes. For a political culture to succeed (sustain longevity) a dynamic equilibrium must be maintained- this ratio is the Asshole Quotient
@richq11 corrects my summary, and stresses
A&B (Leadership and Non-Leadership types are the unimportant ones. It's the Pos-Negs that are important, the distinction is that Pos are driven by rational self-interest (outer directedness) vs Irrational self-interest (inner directedness/myopic selfishness). This is ultimately what determines the Assholes
- "Choosing Officers" Model
This model also uses a 2 factor axis; (Clever->Stupid) versus (Lazy->Industrious). The model has been credited to Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord
I divide my officers into four classes as follows: The clever, the industrious, the lazy, and the stupid. Each officer always possesses two of these qualities.
Those who are clever and industrious I appoint to the General Staff. Use can under certain circumstances be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy qualifies for the highest leadership posts. He has the requisite nerves and the mental clarity for difficult decisions. But whoever is stupid and industrious must be got rid of, for he is too dangerous.
- Iron Law of Bureaucracy
Created by the political genius Jerry Pournelle:
In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely
There are variations of this model, growth complex, bureaucratic politics, but they are basically the same theme.
Robert Conquest’s Three Laws of Politics:
Conquest, who studied the leftist genocide of the Russian populace, came up with these laws.
1-Everyone is conservative about what he knows best.
2-Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing.
3-The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.@everittdmickey suggests the "monkeysphere", AKA Dunbar's number
This is the idea that we can only relate to so many people on a personal and rational basis; this really fits into politics when you realize how often our voting impacts other people...people you neither know or share a common ground with...taking money from people you don't know is much easier than openly stealing from your neighbor in the name of "charity"UPDATE 3/11 The Gervais principle I had this feeling I was missing a very well thought out model; while this model is intended to work in the business world, I think you can see how well it applies in politics
"It is a fully realized theory of management that falsifies 83.8% of the business section of the bookstore. The theory begins with Hugh MacLeod’s well-known cartoon, Company Hierarchy (below), and its cornerstone is something I will call The Gervais Principle, which supersedes both the Peter Principle and its successor, The Dilbert Principle."
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/
Sociopaths, in their own best interests, knowingly promote over-performing losers into middle-management, groom under-performing losers into sociopaths, and leave the average bare-minimum-effort losers to fend for themselves.
Conclusion
The more ways that you use to understand a situation, the more information that you can sort and sift, results in a better dissection of the problem.
Looking at our models, we can see some themes emerge...selfishness, self-interest, stupidity, industriousness, self-image.
You might notice that I did not even bring up various discussions of Left versus Right, not the many conflicting definitions people use to describe them. This article is already too long, isn't it? LOL
One of the first things we stress in critical thinking to to understand as much of the problem as possible, and as many interpretations as possible. The more tools to judge and analyze a situation, the better. Remember, politics always comes from personal motives!
References
The Gate is Down - What is the End Goal of Information War?
No Courtesy, No Compromise, No Quarter
Militant Democracy as a response to subverted or corrupt government? 1st edition
Militant Democracy as a response to subverted or corrupt government? Part Two
The Death Of Democracy III: The Asshole Quotient- Aspects Of Human Nature
Curated for #informationwar (by @stevescoins)
Relevance: Critical Thinking In Informationwar
Our Purpose
Yay! First comment =p
I'm deeply honored to have been able to contribute so substantively to your considerations of political taxonomy. Not only a mention, but my 'name in lights', right up in the title of the post!
I often reckon those characteristics are more important than the left/right paradigm, as history shows those in the left or right wobble back and forth, depending on who is in power at the moment, and is revealed to be the enemy of all that is good and decent.
The quality those in power always have is that they are representatives of the rentier class.
I also appreciated the references to the other classification methodologies, particularly Conquest's, as the course of Bolshevism poignantly reveals the worst potential of politics.
On another note, I have been working Saturdays of late, so miss contributing to the informationwar discord. I lurk it, and try to catch up when I can, though.
Thanks!
Edit: LOL I write too slow. It took me so long to write my comment that your curative endeavor beat me by nearly ten minutes =p
not this weekend, but I may switch up to Sunday meetings for a bit to see if there is more of a draw
I think the system was brilliant and needed to be shared; it was nice to put it alongside other concepts in looking at politics from the personal side
OH, and I thought there used to be a term "politics of the personal", from the early 90s, but all references I see now relating to the term seem to be related to 3rd wave feminist crap
Hola. muy buena propuesta. Los cuadrantes me pusieron a pensar. El liderazgo en la institución donde laboro depende de su condición es publica. Universidad Nacional Abierta, el liderazgo político se ha visto influenciado por el poder del sistema de gobierno. Muchos compañeros se han ido y los que estamos todavía laboramos ante un cuadrante de desmotivacion, incumplimiento y egoísmo por sobrevivir en un clima de incertidumbres. Es interesante repito tu planteamiento. Seguiré profundizando. Gracias
interesting comment...it adds a sense of what happens to a community whose leadership has been taken over by the negative characteristics discussed in the post
muchas gracias
Awesome post, will have to incorporate some of these concepts into my upcoming Towards Voluntaryism section on government. Especially the Iron Law of Bureaucracy describes our current situation in the west, with the caveat that the bureaucracy has also been largely captured by special interests.
As to the taxonomy of individuals, I would humbly submit H. obliviosus as the do-gooder subset of H. domesticus. Oblivious to the fact they are useful idiots, virtue signaling tolerance and reason while exercising intolerance and emotional decision making: "I am for peace and freedom, do as my master says or else!"
I very much like H. obliviosus. Past the reasons you give, it's a simpler term and fits within the ...wordflow?...of the other terms.
I'll update the post ;>
Have you read James Q. Wilson's Bureacracy: What Government Agencies Do And Why They Do It?
He does an excellent job of tracking the growth of our federal bureaus with special interests in mind ( as well as personal leadership qualities in some of the early leaders of these agencies).
Thanks. Will check out Wilson, the name is familiar but I haven't read the book.
I have long considered many of these bureaucracies as the equivalent of the Roman Praetorian Guard which was beholden only unto the Emperor. Over time, while the Roman armies were abroad, the Praetorian Guard assumed more and more power until it was the only armed force allowed within the city walls of Rome. With a monopoly on violence, direct access to the Emperor and the Senate, it inevitably became politicized. The PG participated in numerous coups, overthrowing and installing many Emperors until they were disbanded. I speculate that we have already seen the installation of presidents via bureaucratic manipulation, with the 2016 election just being the most obvious thusfar.
damn I forgot to add one more classification system to the blog; which I'll do now, but I thought you'd like it:
"It is a fully realized theory of management that falsifies 83.8% of the business section of the bookstore. The theory begins with Hugh MacLeod’s well-known cartoon, Company Hierarchy (below), and its cornerstone is something I will call The Gervais Principle, which supersedes both the Peter Principle and its successor, The Dilbert Principle."
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/
You forgot H. feralis, the human recidivist in the process of abandoning archaic cultural ties to empire, the inconsistencies of civilization and is returning to Nature. When the controllers shout, "Jump," he replies, "Fuck off."
I've done the etymological research of the term politics and have found that it stems from the root word polecat: An American musteline mammal that typically ejects an intensely malodorous fluid when startled.
I think I'd use H. feralis for the subhuman street criminal instead; perhaps H. rebellis would be better for the eternally unruled, which is a bit of a difference
a different origination for politics is "poly=many" + "tics = parasitical insects"...both explantions work ;>
A&B (Leadership and Non-Leadership types are the unimportant ones. It's the Pos-Negs that are important, the distinction is that Pos are driven by rational self-interest (outer directedness) vs Irrational self-interest (inner directedness/myopic selfishness). This is ultimately what determines the Assholes
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