“People don’t believe lies because they’re fooled — they believe them because the truth asks too much of them.” --YNOT
Why do intelligent individuals, when gathered in groups, make decisions that seem utterly irrational?
And why does this pattern repeat through history with such precision that you can almost set your watch by it?
Right now, billions across the world are choosing deception over truth.
Not because they’re stupid. Not because they’re ignorant.
But because truth threatens something more sacred to them than reality itself — their sense of belonging.
Their identity.
Their story of who they are.
This isn’t a modern problem born of social media or fake news. It’s as old as civilization itself.
Over two thousand years ago, Plato watched his entire society commit intellectual suicide in real time.
He saw Socrates, the wisest man in Athens, voted to death not for murder or treason but for asking uncomfortable questions.
The city that invented philosophy killed its philosopher.
Think about that: the most advanced society of its time silenced its greatest thinker because he made them feel uneasy.
These weren’t ignorant peasants. They were educated citizens, politicians, scholars — the elite of their era.
And yet, when forced to choose between truth and comfort, between reality and illusion, they killed the truth-teller.
Plato realized something devastating:
Crowds don’t seek truth — they seek validation.
They don’t want reality — they want confirmation.
They don’t value wisdom — they value consensus.
And they will destroy anyone who threatens their shared delusion.
Now fast-forward to our time. Consider the rise of Zohran Mamdani in New York City — a self-described democratic socialist who ran on lowering cost of living, freezing rents, free buses, childcare, taxing the wealthy. (The Washington Post)
Why did such a promise gain traction? Because many people are weary of a system where they feel left behind. Because the promises of socialism or communism — fairness, equality, community, less exploitation — speak to something deeper than just policy. They speak to the longing for dignity, security, meaning.
So here’s the connection: when people choose platforms like Mamdani’s, when they embrace socialism or communism (or any ideology that promises radical change), they are not simply ignorant. They are making a choice — a psychological choice — because existing reality fails them, makes them feel powerless, excluded, or invisible. They believe that a new system will restore what the old one took away: purpose, belonging, fairness.
And here’s the liar’s paradox: when large groups gather under that promise, Plato’s insight kicks in again:
- They don’t value truth for truth’s sake; they value justice as they perceive it, even if the promised system turns out to be a lie.
- They don’t ask, “Is this workable?” or “What are the trade-offs?” — they say: “This speaks to me. This affirms me. This includes me.”
- And when the new system fails, they either double down (because admitting failure threatens identity) or they scapegoat someone else (because the lie must be protected to maintain the group).
That’s why socialism and communism have such recurring appeal: because they promise something other than the status quo — and status quo means comfort for some, but despair for others. When people feel the system is rigged, when belonging is conditional, when identity is under threat — they will pick a worldview that tells them: “You matter. You are valued. You will belong.”
Then comes the collision: You have a crowd that chooses the promise of equality, fairness, communal uplift — and you have the crushing reality of economics, human nature, bureaucracy, unintended consequences.
And when the dream runs up against reality, the crowd must decide: face the hard truth — or keep the comforting illusion.
And time after time, as Plato showed, they pick the illusion.
Not because they can’t reason. But because they value something more: belonging, identity, security, meaning.
So if you want to understand why societies pivot from capitalism to socialism (or from democracy to autocracy) — why intelligent people make irrational choices — you must understand the psychology of choice. It’s not just policy. It’s moral-emotional architecture. It’s the architecture of identity, shame, hope, fear, belonging.
And Plato’s enduring lesson: the moment the truth-seeker stands in the marketplace of the crowd, he’s not standing alone — he’s standing against belonging.
The crowd doesn’t just ignore the truth-teller. They attack him. Because his truth threatens their whole world-view.
The same dynamic is visible when a charismatic socialist promises “we’ll fix it all.” People rally. They believe. They cast votes. They embrace identity.
But the promise is rarely as simple as it seems — and when reality bites, they must either change their beliefs or double down.
Most double down, because giving up the belief means giving up the identity.
So here’s the challenge for each of us:
When you see a movement promising radical change, ask: What is it offering besides policy?
What belonging does it grant?
What identity does it affirm?
And what uncomfortable truths does it demand I give up?
Because you can vote, yes — but you also choose the psychological architecture of your decision.
You choose whether you’re seeking truth or seeking belonging.
And you choose whether you’ll accept comfort or accept responsibility.
And that choice doesn’t just affect your identity — it affects the society you build.
Because societies that systematically choose belonging over truth, identity over integrity, comfort over responsibility, don’t just stagnate — they decline.
In the end, the question isn’t just “Which political system will win?”
It’s: “Are we willing to choose honesty when it costs us our belonging?”
“Are we willing to question when it makes us unpopular?”
“Are we willing to build something real rather than borrow an illusion?”
Because the crowd duly wins the illusion — over and over.
And that, Plato warned long ago, is when civilizations start to unravel.
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