Stupidity in Politics

<p>Stupidity permeates our perception and practice of politics. We frequently accuse politicians bureaucrats journalists voters elites and the masses for their stupidities. In fact it is not only populist politicians sensational journalism and uneducated voters who are accused of stupidity. Similar accusations can be and in fact have been made concerning those who criticize them as well. It seems that stupidity is ubiquitous unable to be contained within or attributed to one specific political position personal trait or even ignorance and erroneous reasoning</p><p>Undertaking a theoretical investigation of stupidity this book challenges the assumption that stupidity can be avoided. Otobe argues that the very ubiquity of stupidity implies its unavoidability—that we cannot contain it in such domains as error ignorance or post-truth. What we witness is rather that one’s reasoning can be sound evidence-based and stupid. In revealing this unavoidability he contends that stupidity is an ineluctable problem not only of politics but also of thinking. We become stupid because we think: It is impossible to distinguish a priori stupid thought from upright righteous thought. Moreover the failure to address the unavoidability of stupidity leads political theory to the failure to acknowledge the productive moments that experiences of stupidity harbor within. Such productive moments constitute the potential of stupidity—that radical new ideas can emerge out of our seemingly banal and stupid thinking in our daily political activity.</p>