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OnceaTeacher wrote

People are acclimated to the idea that others should be informed and make the decisions for them. Societal issues seem complex, or are presented as complex by the State and the Ruling Class, and beyond the ability of "regular people" to fathom. So, if someone shows up and proclaims their right/ability to make such decisions, people accept it. This is deeply ingrained; primates seem to naturally adopt a "pecking order" form of group organization, and it would require real resolve and consciousness to fight against slipping back into that; laziness usually wins out over effort, in the long run.

Assiduous propaganda has led people to assume that wealth = wisdom. Therefore if you aren't wealthy, you must lack the wisdom a ruler should have, and someone who is wealthy (or who claims to be wealthy) should be placed in a position of power. Of course, this is nonsense -- as the current POTUS demonstrates to anyone with a trace of observational neutrality. But, should you suggest it, you'd be astounds by the virulence with which you will be attacked and the huge number of people who will use the "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" line of reasoning. But, of course, the fact that if your only concern is getting wealthy, your intelligence and insight might be severely limited in other matters, never gets broached. And, the obvious corollary, that such a person is more likely to use power to enrich himself and his friends than anything else, never seems to occur to people, or is just so normalized we accept the shakedown.

Finally, fear has a lot to do with it. People fear that some "other" will deprive them of the things the have, of their ability to provide for themselves, of what limited freedoms they enjoy, that slavery to the known ruling class seems preferable to the "risks" posed by asserting their own ability to solve problems for themselves. And, indeed, there is a threat, but it mostly is that the ruling class will use its not inconsiderable power and influence to trash society, if they are ever deprived of power.

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