Negative social mood sheds light on the growing trend toward authoritarianism
Aug. 11 marks the second time this summer the White House has deployed national guard troops to a city without the initial support of the local authorities. First, Los Angeles in June-July and now, Washington, DC.
From Reuters, Aug. 12:
Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys National Guard in capital
Trump’s move, which bypassed the city’s elected leaders, was emblematic of his second-term approach, which has seen him wield executive authority in ways with little precedent in modern U.S. history.
These “extraordinary moves” were named by our April 2010 Socionomist as likely byproducts of a sustained negative trend in mass social mood, which would facilitate a movement away from the political desire to please and towards what Oxford dictionary defines as authoritarianism: “lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others.”
From the Socionomist:
Authoritarianism begins with a negative social mood trend, which in turn spawns a desire among some to submit to authority and among others to coerce their fellows to submit. At the same time, still others, caught up in the same emotional climate, battle against authoritarianism.
The August 2012 Socionomist added to the growing list of negative mood manifestations (emphasis added):
When society grows more pessimistic, it also becomes more fearful and angry. Other social expressions—such as the trend toward darker movies, apocalyptic thinking, fear and uncertainty about the future, the rise of authoritarianism and militant anti-authoritarianism, the militarization of local police and the increase in multiple shootings—are all results, not causes, of the public mood.
The U.S. President on Aug. 11 named “New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland as potential places to expand his federal crackdown” (News Nation Aug. 12).
Understand the last 300 years of how negative social mood has fueled systematic shifts toward government oppression across the globe. Read the full August 2010 Socionomist cover story “Authoritarianism: The Wave Principle Governs Fear and the Social Desire to Submit” for just $15!