In an interesting essay on Unherd, historian Alwyn W. Turner discusses how social relations in the UK changed during the period associated with the government of Tony Blair and his “New Left.” Turner shows how many TV programmes appeared that made fun of the working class, their habits, lifestyles, ways of speaking etc. This is not the quite benign humour of making fun of ourselves, but hostile mockery designed to insult and humiliate.
Whether it was fully intentional or not, it succeeds in making people feel ashamed of their backgrounds and for defending their interests. Not just to the wider public, but to be ashamed of themselves. And if perhaps they are confident enough, they may find that their children (who are exposed to strong propaganda) despise them.
Savior Biden? Savior Macron? Saviour Merkel? This is completely absurd.
It is now popular to say that the upper classes control the upper classes by scaring them. Controlling by fear would look like the masses are madly afraid of something and the politician presents himself as a savior. Savior Biden? Savior Macron? Saviour Merkel? This is completely absurd. There is only one single politician who could play the role of saviour in the contemporary Western world. It is Viktor Orbán. And maybe maybe Salvini.
The basic motive for conformity is to feel bad about being different. It may be shame. It can be the fear of being excluded from a certain society. When people are afraid of Putin or climate change or a virus or vaccinations, it is primarily a fear of being different from the group they live in. In certain circumstances, this mob conformity can work in the right direction – for example, when members of the lower class collectively assert their interest. But it is often devastating.
