Psycho-political analysis-1: Did Tayyip Erdoğan Use the Right Herd Intelligence in the Last Election?
What is an election? It is the act of taking the VOTER FLOCK to the polls on a set day. In fact, Le Bon has said that 'you cannot rule the masses, you can manipulate them'. The influence of leaders like Napoleon on the masses is, in a sense, the ability to manipulate. What is done during an election period is the act of directing a mass of voters towards a leader or a party. All propaganda techniques are used for this purpose.
The concept of herd was first used for animal groups. But with the modern age, herd behavior has also been defined in humans. Because people tend to behave differently when alone and differently in groups. In fact, over time, the concept of herding has become a concept that concerns not only the field of psychology, but also economics (such as consumption, fashion, stock market) and politics.
Interestingly, research on herd behavior in humans has brought two contrasting collective phenomena to the fore. The first is maladaptive herding and the second is the wisdom of crowds. In other words, crowds are not only associated with violence, destructive and fanatical behavior, but they can also come together to form swarm intelligence. The concept of swarm intelligence is used in this regard.
The V-shaped formation of migratory geese, starlings dancing in the sky, the movements of schools of fish, the synchronized flashing of fireflies, and even the synchronization of applause in a concert hall are the best examples of this swarm intelligence. Selous used the term 'collective mind' in this regard.
The greatest example of this herd intelligence in humans is LANGUAGE. Language is an unconsciously produced tool of the community that enables common communication. This astonishing organized production is the result of the unconscious genius of crowds. They are also proof that there is more to the masses than meets the eye.
Choosing a Leader is also an Example of the Genius of the Crowd
Living as a group can provide survival advantages for those in the group, and can also become a tool for solving problems that would be difficult to solve on their own. It is important to make the best decision as a community. In this decision-making process, the LEADER is important.
Like language, Leader Selection is an example of swarm intelligence. So what is an Election?
Answer... It is the act of taking the FLOCK OF VOTERS to the polls on a set day. After all, Le Bon also said that 'you cannot rule the masses, you can lead them'. The influence of leaders like Napoleon on the masses is, in a sense, the ability to manipulate. What is done during an election period is the act of directing a mass of voters towards a leader or a party. All propaganda techniques are used for this purpose.
Erdoğan Used Pyramidal Swarm Intelligence in the Election
From a neutral point of view, it would not be wrong to say the following about the Turkish Presidential Elections-2023: Tayyip Erdoğan used the right FLOCK INTELLIGENCE. That is, Pyramidal herd intelligence.
This collective intelligence is a hierarchy-based intelligence structure that effectively utilizes the power of the masses. This is how our civilization was built. In pyramidal collective intelligence, there is a leader at the top, a hierarchy from the leader downwards, and the contagion (or contagion) of emotions from the top downwards.
In this election, the NATIONAL ALLIANCE opposing Erdoğan used HOLOMIDAL FLOCK INTELLIGENCE. According to Levy, this type of collective intelligence is predicted to replace the pyramidal collective intelligence, which is in its infancy and is becoming incapable of handling tomorrow's high-stakes intellectual complexity. It has emerged in the internet, social media and digital age and is in its infancy. In this swarm intelligence, each individual functions in small groups, in constant interaction, taking others into account, allowing them to act in large numbers.
The sad truth is that Turkish society is not ready for this Holomidal collective intelligence. This is why the loss of the NATIONAL ALLIANCE was inevitable. And why?
Leaderless National Alliance
Please pay attention to the Millet Alliance. The MILLET ALLIANCE is a non-hierarchical, decentralized and leaderless community of atypical masses, mostly on social media, where emotions are transmitted horizontally. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the center (not at the top), flanked by Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mansur Yavaş, the other parties of the Table of Six, and even the HDP. Horizontal expansion is noticeable.
The mass of the Millet Alliance, on the other hand, is mostly composed of virtual ATYPICAL MASSES (i.e. individuals who are mentally connected using online networks, but not physically present) on the internet and social media. Although the masses accustomed to the net see this structuring as normal, this did not have an effect on the masses who voted for Erdoğan. Because Erdoğan's masses look at the pyramidal structure and the LEADER.
Because Trotter says 'man is a herd animal'. Freud, on the other hand, corrects this definition as "man is rather the animal of the human herd, the individual of the herd led by the leader". Le Bon, on the other hand, describes the mass as "a herd that does not give up its shepherd". According to Freud, the group is an obedient herd that can never live without its master. Tarde, on the other hand, divides societies into two nuclei, the family and the mass. Both the family and the mass are archetypal centers of indoctrination in society. Both need a leader. In sum, the leaderless appearance of the Millet Alliance failed to attract the masses accustomed to pyramidal collective intelligence.
Conclusion
To summarize, Erdoğan's mass is real and structured according to pyramidal herd intelligence. Erdoğan's mass is bloody (dynamic) and alive. There is NARSISTIC INTIMACY and collective consciousness between the leader and the masses. In a way, it would not be wrong to compare the People's Alliance to a Wolf Pack with an Alpha Wolf.
But the National Alliance has used the wrong pack intelligence. The ATYPICAL FLOCK organization of the National Alliance is the work of this post-modern age, the social media or digital age. It is an example of holomidal collective intelligence. Leaderless, decentralized, self-organizing and horizontally expanding.
The National Alliance is more like a school of termites or a school of fish than a school of primates.
If this school of fish is a school of whales, no problem, but if it is a school of carp... The wolf eats the carp.
And that is exactly what happened on the evening of May 14 and on the evening of May 28.
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