Ipse dixit10
28th Sep 2002, 17:50
The Demagogue
“…demagogues spread very emotional messages, ones that elicit negative emotions, particularly a mix of fear and anger: the threat to “us” from “them”, and the dread that “they” will take what “we” have. Their message polarizes people rather than uniting them in a common cause. Such leaders build their platform on a negative resonance-on the disturbing fight or flight survival emotions that stream through the brain when people feel threatened or enraged. Demagoguery casts its spell via destructive emotions, a range that squelches hope and optimism. Luckily, the demagogue is a rare type in business; politics seems the demagogue’s more natural ecological niche. Leadership built on negative resonance-for instance, cultivating fear or hatred of some “enemy” –amounts to a cheap trick, a quick and dirty way to mobilise a group toward a common goal. It may be a relatively easy way to get people to hate or fear something together; these emotions come readily, given the right threat. But from a biological perspective, these emotions were designed for short, intense bursts meant to prepare us to fight or run. If they last too long or a re continually primed, they exhaust us or slowly burn us out. Anger and fear, then, may get a leader through the crisis of the day, but are short-lived motivators.”
“…demagogues spread very emotional messages, ones that elicit negative emotions, particularly a mix of fear and anger: the threat to “us” from “them”, and the dread that “they” will take what “we” have. Their message polarizes people rather than uniting them in a common cause. Such leaders build their platform on a negative resonance-on the disturbing fight or flight survival emotions that stream through the brain when people feel threatened or enraged. Demagoguery casts its spell via destructive emotions, a range that squelches hope and optimism. Luckily, the demagogue is a rare type in business; politics seems the demagogue’s more natural ecological niche. Leadership built on negative resonance-for instance, cultivating fear or hatred of some “enemy” –amounts to a cheap trick, a quick and dirty way to mobilise a group toward a common goal. It may be a relatively easy way to get people to hate or fear something together; these emotions come readily, given the right threat. But from a biological perspective, these emotions were designed for short, intense bursts meant to prepare us to fight or run. If they last too long or a re continually primed, they exhaust us or slowly burn us out. Anger and fear, then, may get a leader through the crisis of the day, but are short-lived motivators.”