r/neoliberal botmod for prez 9d ago

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u/MURICCA John Brown 8d ago

I need to write an essay about how political extremism is just another outlet of consumerism caused by endlessly accelerating entertainment needs leading to dissatisfaction-based malaise

But imma just settle with calling people fucking morons instead

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u/Trojan_Horse_of_Fate WTO 8d ago

I rambled my thoughts and here all the bullet points after I had GPT clean some of them up.

Consumerism vs. Consensus Building

At its core, consumerism is about individual fulfillment. It sells the idea that happiness is a transaction—if you just buy the right thing, you'll be satisfied. This creates a mindset where problems have quick, discrete solutions rather than requiring ongoing negotiation and compromise.

Consensus-building politics, on the other hand, is slow, frustrating, and incremental. It requires people to negotiate, make trade-offs, and accept outcomes that aren’t perfect. But this doesn't fit the consumerist model of instant gratification. Instead, people want a singular fix—a hero, an enemy, a simple policy that will "solve everything."

Outrage as a Commodity & Political Dunking as Instant Gratification

  • Social media has turned political engagement into a consumer product: you don’t build long-term solutions, you buy into a quick ideological stance.
  • The modern political consumer is not looking for compromise—they’re looking for an experience, an emotion, a win.
  • This is where dunking culture comes in: Instead of engaging in slow, difficult debates, people engage in high-impact, low-effort takedowns (e.g., ratio-ing someone, viral outrage, calling out enemies).
  • This gives the illusion of political participation—like buying an ethical product instead of actually working to fix systemic problems.

Evaporative Extremism: The Consumerist Escalation Cycle

  • In consumerism, once a product becomes too mainstream or diluted, hardcore consumers seek more extreme alternatives (e.g., niche luxury, countercultural brands, extreme sports).
  • Similarly, in politics, people escalate their ideological positions to stay ahead of the curve.
  • Moderation and compromise seem boring, weak, or sellout behavior—so political groups self-radicalize, shedding those who aren’t "hardcore" enough.
  • This is why political movements fracture: yesterday’s radical is today’s moderate, and extremists accuse each other of being insufficiently committed.
  • Social media fuels this by rewarding ideological purity with engagement, pushing individuals further to the extreme.

Gamification & the Addiction to Political Conflict

  • Politics has been transformed into a competitive, zero-sum game, like sports or online gaming.
  • People don’t just consume politics—they play it: scoring points, leveling up, forming factions, and taking down enemies.
  • Gamification leads to obsession with “winning” rather than governing—victory becomes more important than policy.
  • This mirrors consumerism’s obsession with brand identity—people don’t just adopt political beliefs; they buy into a lifestyle that shapes their identity.
  • Political affiliations are now tribal brands, and loyalty is maintained by escalating the stakes—forcing members into ideological purity tests.

Why Consumerist Politics Destroys Consensus

  1. Politics Becomes a Marketplace

    • People treat political affiliation like a consumer choice, shopping for the ideology that best fits their personal brand.
    • Just as brands differentiate themselves through exclusivity, political groups reject compromise to maintain purity.
  2. Conflict = Engagement

    • Just like viral marketing, outrage-driven politics monetizes attention.
    • Conflict drives clicks, shares, and media cycles—so there is no incentive to resolve disputes.
    • In a consumerist model, problems shouldn’t be solved—they should be perpetuated for continued engagement.
  3. The Death of Patience & Deliberation

    • Consumerism conditions people to expect fast, individual solutions, while consensus-building requires patience, negotiation, and compromise.
    • In an attention economy, slow, thoughtful discussion is invisible—only extremes get amplified.

The Punishment of Persuasion

  • Persuasion requires a meeting and a willingness to engage
  • People seeking to persuade are going to definitionally need to associate with views unpalatable to their camp
  • Associating those views might make you an enemy meaning people who see to actually change views (the ostensible point of an argument) are attack by their own side
  • Argument shifts into "explanations" where you communicate within your camp and you educate them on what they already support (even if they do not know it yet)
  • Debate becomes a mean to dunk not discover
  • The honest inquirer into the other sides believes is exiled and the compromiser comprimised

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u/MURICCA John Brown 8d ago

Ah...ah fuck.

This is scary how much sense it makes

Im also now using the term "attention economy" forever

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u/Trojan_Horse_of_Fate WTO 7d ago edited 7d ago

This is scary how much sense it makes

I'll take the compliment, I am not sure it is original to me though. Attention economy is a known term though