In Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions, Professor Todd Rose explains that to belong to a group, people "keep twisting [themselves] into pretzels, trying to conform to what we falsely believe everyone else expects of us." Seeking acceptance from the group, we conform in language, behavior, beliefs, and practices. As a result, we lose our individuality and aggregate into herds. Within our group we create an alternate reality to fit whichever collective mindset we attach ourselves to, and interpret the world through those lenses—our innate...

I no longer trust "we the people," because of the powers influencing them. Media and government schooling form their general ideas on reality and governance. Therefore, it's not a case of the voter choosing the politicians. Instead, the system is conditioning and conforming the voter to the authorities' desires. In democracies, the people are kept occupied working and paying taxes, too busy to acquire information outside the approved sources. You will find they know and care far more about the next iPhone than political philosophy. Of those who hold some interest, 95% just toe the party...

In The Dictator's Handbook, Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics, Professors Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith look at historical examples as well as modern ones and conclude successful politicians do not gain power by helping "we the people," but by knowing how to gain and maintain it. This is done primarily through supporting the correct coalition of backers. To maintain their power, they must use the funds government access provides and divvy them to supporters who brought them to power and will keep them there. Those with the longest and most "successful" careers are...

Political news hosts will rail against an opposing party member, declaring they must be replaced for passing legislation the pundit disagrees with. To which I always wonder: who will replace them? And who will replace the people who elected them and their financial backers? Who will be in their position in twenty years’ time? You can keep picking apples from an apple tree hoping for a pear, but it will not happen. If you keep returning to the same tree year after year, you can find variations in taste, color, and size, but you will get the essential fruit every time because it derives from...