Hubris, Mount Stupid & Totalitarianism
The predictable rise to the top of stupid decisions and leaders tying themselves in knots as collapse gains momentum
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” ― Laurence J. Peter, The Peter Principle
What’s in this Post?
What is Mount Stupid?
Ben Bernanke, as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that there is NO CHANCE of a real estate meltdown just six months before the worst financial destruction in the history of modern economics.1 That’s an example of hubris: someone who believes they have a finger on the pulse from their ivory tower.2
“Mount Stupid” is the term for those that know just enough about a subject to be dangerous to society. Without delving into the nuances of the subject, we and they believe they know everything… until we realize they know nothing.
But how does Mount Stupid come to be? Why do so many of our leaders succumb to its allure and scale its heights?
How Does Hubris Emerge?
During the early growth phase of new civilizations, it’s common to see the division of labour emerging.3 Economists claim that it is the key to efficiency and productivity: complex tasks are broken down into simpler tasks and workers focus exclusively on the rapid completion of the simple task over and over again. In time, this specialization is the economic principle which gives rise to a class-based civilization.
“The very different genius which appears to distinguish men of different professions… is not so much the cause, as the effect of the division of labour. The difference between… a philosopher and a common street porter, for example, seems to arise not so much from nature, as from habit, custom, and education.”— Wealth of Nations, V. 1, Ch 2; emphasis in original.)
In other words, elements of the class-based system (the education and political systems, for example) reinforce the gap between different classes in society. Taken one step further, poverty itself is a design feature of a class-based society. There is no poverty in a values-based society.4
The ever-widening gaps between classes as society matures lead inevitably to the 1% class. This is the elite group of people who have best figured out how the system works and are best able to use the system to their advantage.
The resulting concentration of wealth is the most often mentioned, but least worrying feature of the 1%. Hubris is a much more concerning feature.
As members of the 1% spend more time in each other’s company and as the gap widens between them and the rest of society, they become more and more convinced of their own infallibility. Since they have more access to advanced technology which is not accessible to the rest of society, they become convinced that the technology itself is the ultimate saviour from the inevitable challenges society starts experiencing. Just like Ben Bernanke believed he had his finger on the pulse of what was happening in the economy just before it crashed, the 1% believe they have all the solutions… until they don’t.
The WEF Filter Bubble
Follow any investigative journalist worth their salt and they will at one point or another have some or other commentary on Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum. The reason for the commentary—albeit mostly they don’t understand how the Mount Stupid principle plays out—is because the annual WEF gatherings are simply a reinforcement of the 1% groupthink. They become more and more convinced that their technocratic solutions are the way forward. They become convinced that the masses are the real reason for planetary boundaries being crossed and that their behaviour must be controlled.
If you want stark evidence of this, read the chilling UK government report entitled In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals.5 Behavior change is seen as the only solution throughout the report. Not once is our food production or energy sources brought into question. Instead—according to WEF groupthink—the masses must be controlled or we're all doomed. Sadly, your business will be a victim of these coming controls, unless you're aware of what's playing out under the guise of ESG.
It’s at this point that totalitarianism inevitably kicks in. We discussed this at length in last week’s post, so we won’t repeat any of the details here.
In essence, the 1% become frustrated that their obviously superior responses to societal challenges are not implemented quickly enough. From the top of Mount Stupid, they issue edicts and decrees which ultimately cause the collapse of society.
This pattern has played out over and over again throughout history. The Mount Stupid phenomenon is nothing surprising to students of history. What is surprising is that members of society don’t see this happening. Even worse, when we do see it happening, we merrily acquiesce. Again, this behaviour has played out time and time again through each inevitable rise and fall of civilizations.
“All of history, a great wheel, turning inexorably. Just as seasons come and go, just as the moon moves endlessly through her cycle, so does time. The same wars are fought, the same plagues descend, the same folk, good or evil, rise to power. Humanity is trapped on that wheel, doomed endlessly to repeat the mistakes we have already made. Unless someone comes to change it.”― Robin Hobb, Assassin's Quest
In a future post, we’ll explore what businesses in the 21st Century can do to interrupt the cycle this time. Do you believe it’s possible?
All the best,
Michael
What I’ve Been Reading/Watching This Week
I’ve just ordered this book and can’t wait to get my teeth into it, to inform how we help non-conformist sustainability professionals buck the trend of groupthink (announcement coming soon): https://toddkashdan.com/the-art-of-insubordination/
The fightback has begun: Vanguard quits climate alliance in blow to net zero project: FT (paywall)
After Brexit, could we see 'Nexit'?: https://unherd.com/thepost/britons-want-a-net-zero-referendum/
Rishi Sunak’s incoherent energy policy will poison Britain’s future
With one hand the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is banning exploration for natural gas onshore in the UK, and with the other, he is encouraging further development of physically inferior energy sources such as wind and solar. It seems that the government does not understand the importance of thermodynamic quality in the energy supply, and has misdiagnosed the causes of the present energy supply and cost crisis.
The Discourse on Voluntary Servitude is a 500+ year-old essay by Étienne de La Boétie, who was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet, and political theorist. It attempts to answer the question of why the masses comply with hubristic policy, even when it makes no sense. A timely read, and highly recommended: https://bit.ly/EBoetie
I’m just starting to explore the (complex) world of Chris Langan’s CTMU (pronounced “cat-mew” or Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe), thanks to Dr Robert Malone’s intro:
Thom Hartmann’s exploration of hubris is what prompted the topic of today’s post:
Hubris is excessive pride or self-confidence, which leads to short-sighted, irrational, or harmful behaviour since the person does not stop to examine their behaviour or consider the opinions of or effects on others when behaving. For a detailed examination of hubris, see https://bit.ly/HubrisExplained.
For videos showing examples of the division of labour, see https://bit.ly/D-o-L.
For the differences between Class-Based and Values-Based societies, see https://bit.ly/V-Based-Society.
The report forms part of our wider investigation into 15-minute cities and the coming climate lockdowns. See https://bit.ly/ClimateLockdowns for details.