tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post8581064917827262447..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Bethany's ThoughtAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-27011459734402944982008-02-08T15:51:00.000-05:002008-02-08T15:51:00.000-05:00The gist here, I believe, is the fundamental psych...The gist here, I believe, is the fundamental psychological reaction to uncertainty/fear - the impulse being to either fight or flee, the first one assertive and daunting (thus an emphasis on freedom/self-actualization)and the second one guarded and secure (collectivism/safety in numbers). So that, as extensions to polar ends of the political spectrum (rugged individualists/Randians vs. socialists/Trotskyists), most people fall somewhere in the middle - swaying between its two major parties depending on how confident or afraid they feel about the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-84449457944186781252008-02-07T21:06:00.000-05:002008-02-07T21:06:00.000-05:00I also think that managerial-style preferences are...I also think that managerial-style preferences are deeply affected by one's perception of the population involved. For example, British commanders in WWI were convinced that the huge volunteer and conscript armies were incapable of intellegent and courageous individual actions, and hence required them to walk into enemy fire rather than moving from cover to cover. The purely Tayorist approach to factory management (which may now be more common in customer service than in actual manufacturing) makes similar assumptions.<BR/><BR/>And I think the leadership of today's Democratic Party is deeply suspicious of the average American citizen.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-70808181871534938262008-02-07T20:43:00.000-05:002008-02-07T20:43:00.000-05:00Maybe I'm just contrary but I figure that we can t...Maybe I'm just contrary but I figure that we can tolerate experimental Democrat leadership when things are going well, but need the steadier hand of traditionally Republican conservatism when things go south. (I readily admit those are pretty broad, almost facetious, generalizations.)<BR/><BR/>Are we still feeling the influence of FDR's personality cult in identifying Democrats with more ability to handle crisis? If you project your self back to 1908, wouldn't the party of Lincoln look like the place to turn when times are rough?Der Hahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05967487071137862252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-37457417541283181702008-02-07T20:23:00.000-05:002008-02-07T20:23:00.000-05:00I like that answer better than mine.I like that answer better than mine.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-88518766222872861752008-02-07T19:55:00.000-05:002008-02-07T19:55:00.000-05:00In his studies of decision-making, Prof Dietrich D...In his studies of decision-making, Prof Dietrich Doerner found that people under stress often tend to grab too much control. For example, in his <A HREF="http://photonplaza.blogspot.com/2003_12_28_photonplaza_archive.html#107275628844222087" REL="nofollow">simulation of forest-fire fighting</A>, many of the players tended to micromanage the activities of the individual brigades, rather than allowing them autonomy to make rapid localized decisions.<BR/><BR/>It is common for CEOs (especially new CEOs) confronted with a failing business to centralize too much of the decision-making into their own hands. (Although sometimes the mistake is in the opposite direction, once things get really bad the reaction is typically to centralize.)<BR/><BR/>All of which is consistent with the idea that a person convinced that we as a nation were in deep trouble might tend instinctively to favor the Democrats with their top-down model of problem solving.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.com