this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2025
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I'd argue people who lack critical thinking skills are more likely to be scared and/or angry than they are to be happy.
They're told that people like immigrants, the LGBT community, the poor etc are trying to take valuable resources away and force their culture/agenda. That these groups are dangerous, inferior, and deserve harsher treatment.
They're told that we need to give up personal liberties in the name of security. That sites requiring ID to confirm your age is a good thing to protect the children.
They're told that climate change is a hoax created by liberals to take away their right to use gas cars and funnel money into renewable energy.
I'm sure there are other talking points but I got tired just thinking about it.
It's all equally exhausting if you ask me.
I think if you lack critical thinking skills but have all your material needs met, have a non alienating job that is satisfying, and aren't constantly seeking answers for why your life sucks (that the media loves to provide in the form of lies), you're probably going to be pretty happy.
I guess my point is that it's not necessarily the lack of critical thinking alone. It's the combination of that with people's material circumstances.
Basically I'm just describing that I see it through a lense of dialectical materialism.
It's why I want racist or homophobic idiots to also have free universal healthcare, education, and a fulfilling job. Because I don't think you can solely "educate" away the conditions that lead people to look for answers to their poor conditions. Answers that Twitter Nazis and media outlets are happy to fill with xenophobia and bigotry.
White working class people definitely still have privileges and advantages. But you can't educate away their feelings of "well, my parents owned a house at 19 and lived off a single salary. I'm driving for Uber and have 3 roommates". And the bigotries are there to offer them reasons for why it's not their own failure and (most importantly) why it's not the failures of capitalism.