Thread by @RachelBitecofer

Fear Capitalism Strikes Back: A Thread

I'd like to tell you the R portion of the public will draw the line at the president's attorney putting a US Ambassador under illegal surveillance as part as their effort to remove her so they can conduct an illegal extortion & election

interference scheme, but sadly, I don't expect this will finally convince people that Trump has no respect for his oath or the Rule of Law. And a big part of the reason for this isn't simply polarization, or "batting for your team." Its also a byproduct of what I call Fear

Capitalism: which is the industry that promotes conspiracy theories, hate, conflict, and fear of "the other" in the name of making money. Fear Capitalists come in many forms, stretch across many mediums, and represent every ideology. They know that being a provocateur pays

never-mind the damage it does to individuals and to the body politic. Fear Capitalism lies at the heart of our polarized politics, it feeds on people's natural fears and disappointments and exploits them to turn profits, drive ratings, and win elections. One of the worse

byproducts of Fear Capitalism the effect it has had on the public's trust of government and institutions. Since the 1950s trust in all institutions has declined, but most precipitously for Congress and the Executive branches. Obviously, some of this decline was well-deserved.

America's entrance into &then handling of Vietnam, was corrupted & that corruption spanned three Administrations and two parties. Then Nixon polluted the presidency w his shameful, self-interested corrupt behaviors. But back then, Congress (our institutions)

could function & a corrupt executive removed, even if it took too long and required too much evidence. But as our media environment expanded, as talk radio & cable news emerged, and the potential for political conflict as a ratings driver was realized, the media environment

started the poison our politics, as did innovative campaign techniques that exploited research from psychology to manipulate voters. Once the internet emerged, & information dissemination was democratized (which, after all, is the main triumph of the digital revolution) the free

market of ideas also meant a free market for those who sought fame and fortune via peddling fear. Its the best "get rich fast" scheme there is. Just ask Glenn Beck. The problem with that business model is that is also the equivalent of releasing toxins into a town's water supply.

In this case, the poison is of the mind: over time making neighbor fear neighbor, breaking apart families, turning self-government, something all working societies MUST do to maintain themselves, into a blood sport. It also convinced a significant portion of the public that

members of the other tribe, "these others" were liars, cheats crooks, corrupt to the core. Sometimes real controversy would come along to underscore this message, but largely, Fear Capitalists are content to manufacture crises, manufacture rage. After two decades

of endless onslaught, is it any wonder the public can no longer distinguish the difference between a massive, institutional corruption and the manufactured ones the Fear Capitalists peddle to keep them hanging on their every word ($) or to keep them voting? Likely in response to

this research, I'm being targeted by one of these Fear Capitalist groups, who intends to use an inartfully worded joke I made about Trump being too stupid to compare to Hitler (lifted out of context from a convo about Trumpism as an ideology) and I'd assume my critiques of Trump

to come after me. I have no idea what their attack will look like, or if it will even come, but I can promise you this, it will not prevent me from pushing forward with this research, exposing this industry and most especially the specific people who are profiting off of

intentionally driving their audiences crazy. To me, the toxicity of the political dialogue, especially the ways in which it "others" people is the root cause of polarization and hyperpartisanship. James Madison notes in Federalist Paper 10, "Liberty is to faction what air is to

fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires." In other words, factions or "teams" among humans is an inevitable byproduct of freedom & freedom of expression and the internet/media are necessary components of a free and functioning society. But Fear Capitalism can still be

reigned in and it must be if we are to return to a place where we have two functioning, healthy political parties.

It starts by exposing its trade craft.

#CantStopWontStop