From: jimruttshow8596
The concept of a “political formula” is described as a crucial element of a society’s overarching mythos [00:59:57]. This idea, explored by the Italian School of political science, notably Gaetano Mosca, explains how people are made to believe that their government and its power are good and right [01:11:46].
Defining the Political Formula
The political formula is the part of the mythos that convinces individuals the government is legitimate and its authority is justified [01:11:46]. For example, an Egyptian peasant might believe in the pharaoh because he is considered the son of the sun, and his displeasure could cause the sun to vanish [01:17:40]. Modern political formulas often empower the individual, making them feel important, impactful, and that they “matter” by supporting the government [01:28:13].
The Illusion of Competence: “Presentism” and the “Stupidity Quotient”
Societies often suffer from “temporal chauvinism” or “presentism,” which is the assumption that their current world is entirely real and deserving of immense respect [02:24:24]. This prevents them from recognizing decline, much like scholars of the late Roman Empire who did not perceive their empire’s downfall [02:34:14].
A useful lens to counter this presentism is the “Stupidity Quotient” (SQ) [01:16:16]. The SQ applies the mindset of a child to evaluate societal decisions, revealing a fundamental lack of common sense in actions taken by powerful institutions [01:09:09].
Case Study: COVID-19 Response
The US government’s response to COVID-19 serves as a prime example of institutional incompetence when viewed through the SQ lens [09:55:07].
- Initial Travel Restrictions: A six-year-old would intuitively understand that stopping airplanes from infected regions is a logical first step, yet the US government hesitated due to concerns about disrupting travel and trade [01:56:07]. This policy was influenced by the hospitality industry’s aid to the World Health Organization [04:36:04].
- Vaccine Approval Process: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) faced a severe conflict of interest [03:51:01]. While an objective risk-benefit analysis would favor rapid vaccine deployment (saving 300,000 lives vs. 400 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome from a flawed 1976 vaccine), the FDA’s primary concern was protecting its own prestige, making it prioritize avoiding mistakes over saving lives [03:51:01].
- Lockdown Strategy: The “Hammer and the Dance” strategy, effective in countries like China with robust testing and quarantine facilities, was misapplied in the US [04:47:04]. The US lacks the basic “state capacity” for such measures, for instance, not even knowing its exact population or having efficient digital infrastructure [05:11:00]. The decision-makers optimized for bolstering institutional reputations and strengths rather than effective decision-making [02:09:07].
Institutional Incentives and Conflict of Interest
Bureaucracies, unlike corporations or armies, lack accountability for results [02:49:07]. Loyalty shifts from achieving nominal goals to supporting one’s bureaucratic “mafia” and the institution itself [02:51:00]. Individuals succeed by manipulating procedural outcomes, rather than by introducing the best ideas [03:32:00]. This leads to “self-licking ice cream cones,” where an institution’s primary purpose becomes its own perpetuation and funding, rather than its stated mission [02:47:00].
A historical parallel is the Hippocratic Oath, which, though presented as a noble ethical guideline, can be interpreted as a “memetic strategy” [04:29:07]. In Hippocrates’ time, a doctor’s survival depended on avoiding perceived mistakes, making “do no harm” a personal survival strategy rather than solely a patient-centric one [04:16:07]. This highlights how an apparent noble mythos can conceal a deep conflict of interest [04:22:00].
From Monarchy to Oligarchy: The Transformation of American Governance
Historically, the American government was capable of massive undertakings, like the Manhattan Project during World War II [05:17:08]. This project was run like a startup, with a clear top-down pyramid structure and effective two-in-a-box leadership (Oppenheimer and General Groves) [05:51:00]. Researchers were directed to work on specific tasks, a rarity in today’s academic environment [05:32:00].
In contrast, if a project like the Manhattan Project were attempted today, it would likely be bogged down by a grant proposal system, where professors repackage existing research to fit funding criteria, leading to significant delays [05:56:00]. The Department of Energy, the successor to the Manhattan Project organization, is now notoriously incompetent, reflecting a systemic deterioration [01:06:01].
This shift points to a fundamental change in societal governance. While the US constitution remained nominally the same, the actual form of government transitioned from a “de facto monarchy” under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to a “fundamentally oligarchical” system today [01:04:41]. FDR wielded near-absolute power, creating and destroying agencies as needed, even if it meant working around established institutions [01:02:02]. His first inaugural address in 1933 expressed a demand for “broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign enemy” [01:08:41]. This centralized, accountable leadership contrasts sharply with today’s dispersed power where no one is fired for institutional failures [01:04:00]. This highlights how the inherent “anarchy” within the US state, as described by James C. Scott in Seeing Like a State, limits its ability to perceive and control its population or address crises effectively [05:11:00].