The list of errors, negligence, lies, dances of figures and contradictions of governments in relation to COVID-19 and other issues could be enough to write a book.
However, they have not assumed their responsibilities. They have avoided blame. Modern politicians are now very skilled at managing the press and adept at reframing issues in their favor.
slippery slope
Dishonesty is like a slippery slope, where small ethical transgressions pave the way for larger future transgressions. If a politician lies and can save himself from responsibility, in the future he will lie more, and more... until it's almost grotesque.
Just like researchers point out British researchers from University College London, the repetition and escalation of lies desensitize the brain's amygdala, and the repetition of this behavior, to which most politicians are so accustomed, encourages even more deception in the future.
The team has also considered the possibility that the activity of the amygdala represents the moral conflict resulting from contrasting the desire to appear honest, on the one hand, to the temptation to lie to obtain maximum personal benefit, for another.
Another difference between a common lie and a political lie is that it not only seeks to scam the electorate, but also generate adhesions or consensus or separations or dissent.
In fact, many politicians can be classified as psychopaths, at least as this study carried out with American presidents suggests. The study was carried out in 2010 by Scott Lilieneld, the forensic psychologist Steven Rubenzer and professor of psychology at the Foundation for the Study of Personality in History, in Houston, Texas, Thomas Faschingbauer. Back in 2000, Rubenzer and Faschingbauer had sent the NEO Personality Inventory to the biographers of every U.S. president in history.
The results suggested that a number of US presidents displayed psychopathic traits. As explained Kevin Dutton in his book The wisdom of psychopaths Regarding the test that had been sent to the biographers of the presidents:
It included questions such as: “You have to take advantage of others before others take advantage of you,” and “I never feel guilty about hurting people.” In total, there were 240 such questions. And a trick. It was not the biographers who were being analyzed, but their subjects. Biographers, based on their knowledge, had to respond on behalf of their subjects.
Furthermore, political rhetoric has been diluted and simplified precisely due to greater democratic participation. As abounds in it Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in the Age of Distraction, of Derek Thompson:
The greater simplicity of political rhetoric is actually a sign that political speeches aim to reach a broader audience, so they are emulating other populist forms of mass entertainment, such as music.
But politicians are not only responsible for significant mistakes made within their departments, but also for behaviors that are considered contrary to your ministerial code of conduct. Again, the conventions hold that ministers must resign if their actions are considered dishonest, intended to mislead parliament or the public, or bring the government into disrepute.
We are far from reaching those standards, and it seems that we are going to be increasingly so. Until it becomes grotesque.
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The news
Politicians commit negligence and lie but manage to avoid responsibility because they can
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.