I have been avoiding the US political circus for several reasons. It’s so inescapable and never ending it’s nice to pretend it doesn’t exist for a minute, but probably the biggest reason I’m avoiding it is I don’t know where to even begin.
Let’s start with endosocialism 101. There is so much more going on, but I wanted to establish this first. There are obviously moderate people everywhere, but as we all know, both political sides in the US (and the world) have been getting more extreme and more divided every year, while looking increasingly similar.
The right, especially under Trump, uses every endogroup strategy to entrench a devoted following. The right incorporates the endo-ideals at every level of US transcendental endo-idealism. It represents the wealthy, corporations, the biggest religion in the US (Christianity), WASP identity, however that is interpreted in 2024, and men. It also now represents those without post-secondary education, a majority in the US and, unusually, also an ideal state.
On the right, there are industrialist, waged, wealthy, non-academic, white, Christian, nationalist, heterosexual men as the endo-ideals, reflected by any who support them.
The right has a cohesive endo-ideal. All of those categories support each other and have for centuries. Further, many people who do not fit every category will still support that endo-ideal. Fitting even one of these categories may inspire a person to move to the side that defends their endo-ideal status in that one category. And sometimes, people who do not fit any of these categories will support them. Sometimes, a person will choose to remain as a full negative image rather than support another negative image in power.
Until recently, the left posed as the welcoming, reasonable, non-totalitarian alternative to the right. This was a good strategy because the only way to beat entrenched power is with either greater power or an exosocial alternative.
From The Creation of Me, Them and Us:
“When an endogroup meets exosocial people, the endogroup has everything to lose. A wall with a public park or wild habitat outside will encourage those trapped behind the wall to escape. A wall with enemies without will encourage those inside to stay inside and fortify the walls. The best defence of the endogroup is to push in any way possible for the exosocial people to form a group and build walls and borders. This is why the enemies of the European Union do everything in their power to encourage the strengthening of Fortress Europe, to push for walls, hard borders, controls, persecution and differentiation. The stronger the European Union becomes, the more vulnerable it is to the growth of nationalist movements within and enemies without. Its true strength is in its weakness, in the permeability and flexibility of its outer membrane and the strength of the personal membranes of the people within.”
So, the left did try briefly to at least appear to be the exosocial alternative to the identitarian right. But as I wrote in Binding Chaos a very long time ago, representative democracy is not designed for collaboration or discussion of ideas. In the US two-party system, it is a fight to expand two opposing endogroups.
Continue reading with the Binding Chaos community!
I’m working on collating notes and organizing what is already written for Free Will and Seductive Coercion and Shaping Reality this month. I really wish they were both out as well, there is a lot that is topical in them both.
I hope you all enjoy your February!
Heather Marsh 