The tyranny of susceptible people

An obvious incapacity for abstract conceptions made him peculiarly susceptible to the magic of generalization, and one felt he would have been at the mercy of any Cause that spelled itself with a capital letter.

Edith Wharton - Crucial Instances (1901) 


Over 120 years later we don’t have to look far for an example of a Cause that spelled itself with a capital letter. Net Zero spells itself with capital letters and it is certainly infused with the magic of generalisation. Almost as if explicitly designed to attract the starry-eyed susceptible and therein lies the obvious and familiar problem – the susceptible.

To take this further, it is worth remembering that millions of people voted for Jeremy Corbyn to become UK Prime Minister - as if we could forget. Yet this is his political value - his general election votes shouted out a particularly loud and clear message about voter susceptibility.

The Corbyn vote was a reminder that political parties are brands promoted by generalisations with no more depth than toothpaste advertising. The parties sell themselves as the embodiment of certain generalisations and causes designed to snare the susceptible. 

Unfortunately, millions of voters are susceptible to the magic of political generalisation - even Corbyn’s ludicrous version. He is a lasting reminder of that fatal susceptibility.