Criticisms of one misjudged thing often mirror the
properties of criticisms for other misjudged things. Think of the critique of socialism
as a mirror for the critique of identity politics, climate alarmism, cult membership, and groups of that nature. We are critical of
socialism, but a key part of that criticism involves a natural critiquing of
the motives, intentions and psychological biases that underpin this dubious
economics. It’s not like we are saying socialism is flawed because its
proponents are of a dodgy ethical and intellectual disposition – it’s that its
flaws are based on bad and myopic economics, but also that the bad and myopic
economics doesn’t come from nowhere – it is bound up in a whole host of complex
psychological, tribal and emotional factors that cannot be divorced from the
viewpoints.
The other thing that is clear about extreme left wingers is that what often masquerades as care for the poor is largely a product of intense dislike towards other people’s successes. That is a complex matter that probably deserves a blog of its own (although people like Orwell have made the point before) – but suffice to say here, the inner animus, bitterness, resentment and narcissism that boils up in extreme lefties complaining about the economy and damaging our society is a key driver in the formation of their opinions, and remains a psychological factor that cannot reasonably be divorced from the professed beliefs being espoused.
Similarly, to have a proper understanding of dodgy lookalike groups like the aforementioned, one needs to understand the mental manifold that drives the beliefs, and the cultural patterns that give rise to this kind of conditioning. Certain people who are ideally psychologically primed make good candidates for extremism and cultism. The main thing to keep at the forefront of your mind is that those involved in extreme religious or political fundamentalism are not really concerned about the information they are peddling. They write as though the content is everything - but really it isn't - they are just groups of people who have the kind of psychological disposition that is best fed by a 'my way or the wrong way' kind of mentality.
And, as ever, the old chicken and egg question looms large: does predisposition to ungrace cause a gravitation to fundamentalism, or does assent to fundamentalism cause consequent ungrace? And we can no doubt add many other variables to that structural model.
