The ghost of Cleon--demagoguery and cultural identification as tools of the GOP

[jpgray]

Democrats are often at a loss with regard to the fervor of the GOP base. Why should such unswerving loyalty exist? What is it based on? We look at the professed reasons for such, from both GOP leaders and voters, and see an overwhelming focus on cultural identity: religion; "family values;" a general celebration of the ordinary joe and of "common sense" over intellectualism. These ideals are attributed to GOP politicians, and such are celebrated for it--even when their supposed support for those ideals is clearly at odds with their actual actions, biographies and policies.

And so we cry "hypocrisy!" We feel their hypocrisy should be perfectly self-evident (and completely offensive) to those who truly believe in such cultural values, and that it must be our chiefest hope in undermining the rock-solid support of the GOP base for its leaders. Yet we are constantly dismayed and disappointed when, after pointing out this hypocrisy in its most egregious forms, it in fact has little to no effect on the GOP's support. We discover instead that the sense of being "attacked" in a logical way often serves only to strengthen the base's cultural bond with the GOP, despite how obvious and seemingly damaging the evidence of hypocrisy is on a rational basis.

2400 years ago Thucydides ably presented an archetypal demagogue in the person of Cleon, who argued:

...unlearned loyalty is more serviceable than quick-witted insubordination...

...ordinary men usually manage public affairs better than their more gifted fellows...

..those who mistrust their own cleverness are content to be less learned than the laws, and less able to pick holes in the speech of a good speaker; and being fair judges rather than rival athletes <in rhetoric>, generally conduct affairs successfully...

These we ought to imitate, instead of being led on by cleverness and intellectual rivalry to advise our people against our real opinions.

Any of that seem familiar, given the GOP's current streak of anti-intellectualism and love of authoritarianism? The truth is that the GOP base identifies with its leaders on a basis that is exempt from logic and rationality. They set up moral values (god, country, family values) as being something above, apart from and superior to logic or reasoning. Those who are confused or threatened by the complexities of reasoned debate are exalted in this way, being told that they possess a truer wisdom than even the cleverest rational person simply by subscribing to a few simple values.

Palin is a thrust in this direction. Her support is based almost wholly on identification with cultural symbols such as god and family--on a celebration of ordinary people's "unlearned loyalty" to these ideals. It is not at all based on logic or reason, but is seen as above and beyond both. Her supporters are therefore exalted, and are treated as far superior to those who recognize the rational complexities and nuances of the issues at hand. Instead of being told they are ignorant, they are told they are superior. Instead of being told that they are incapable of informed debate, they are told they are above debating. Because of this, for them talent in argument becomes suspicious instead of persuasive, and brilliant rational deconstructions of Palin's hypocrisy generate -more- respect and fervor for her among the base, not less.

This is not to say that pointing out hypocrisy is useless in her case, but one shouldn't expect such to have any impact but a positive one among the GOP base.

[jpgray]

1. One more trip to the bottom

:)