Gaslighting Government
Gaslighting Government is based on the concept of gaslighting in psychoanalysis, but refers to governments that use gaslighting methods in a broader sense.
Gaslighting is a sophisticated manipulation tactic which ..(is used) .. to create doubt in the minds of others.[1]
Description[edit]
Leading members of the government use their power and position to distract from their own mistakes in order to enrich themselves personally, or they pursue goals that create a considerable financial disadvantage for society or cause psychological harm to society in the long term. The actions are consciously or unconsciously directed against the well-being and/or integrity of one's own citizens. It is crucial, that the government applies one or more of the following manipulative methods:
- Propaganda
- Media control or superior control of media
- Minimising citizens' well-founded concerns and facts
Gaslighting governments cannot actually occur in real democracies and therefore presupposes a dysfunctional democracy or dictatorship, plutocracy or oligarchy. The dysfunction of a democracy can have different reasons. Typical signs of dysfunction are the following points:
- The partial failure of the rule of law, without a state of emergency (e.g. war) prevails
- Corruption at government level
- The security of citizens can no longer be guaranteed
- Government formation is limited or incomplete
- Government infiltration by politicians acting for other powers
- Infiltration of the executive or judiciary
- Early recognition of problems is very limited
- A nation is strongly divided (e. g. left / right)
Causes[edit]
Some of the causes that can lead to a gaslighting government are listed here:
- Political and personal evaluation errors (e.g. due to lack of training of politicians)
- Gross negligence (e.g. risking old-age pensions due to expenditure)
- Allow (or not prevent) naivety and manipulation from the outside
- Failure to interpret or misinterpret geopolitical and strategic information from intelligence sources
- Psychologically unfavourable personalities (See Personality disorder)
- Acting as a Manchurian candidate; a pretended politician who operates for other powers and/or conspires to carry out foreign missions
- Allow negative social engineering (e.g. by foreign NGOs that manipulate citizens' attitudes to their own/external advantage, resulting in psychological or economic damage in the longer term)
- Division of society through internal or external as well as discernible and unrecognizable influences, which can lead to a reduced ability of judgement
- Omission of education in the population that allows critical thinking
References[edit]
Weblinks[edit]
- Gaslighting in Governments - Professors David Domke (communications) and Christopher Sebastian Parker (political science) along with mental health professional R. Keith Myers enlighten the concept of Gaslighting Governments
- Washington Post article
- Guardian article
- Daily Kos article 2012
- CNN editorial
- WJLA explanation of how gas lighting works
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