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   issue #74  posted 10 / 31 /2023            
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Groupthink, Democracy, and

 the new House Speaker's Worldview

in the news: After three weeks without a US House Speaker, Republicans finally settled on little known Mike Johnson. As USA Today reported in an October 29 op-ed: "As soon as he won the gavel Wednesday, Johnson stood in front of the speaker’s chair and said: “I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority...A day later, he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.” Previously former President Donald Trump opposed making Tom Emmer the Speaker, saying "Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom  Emmer would be a tragic mistake."

commentary and analysis by Stephen P. Cook, Managing Director, project Worldview:   

Project Worldview provides a structure for formally characterizing worldviews (see note #1 below.) With the above quoted words, Mike Johnson directs us to consider his. Of the 104 worldview themes we use, he was essentially tying his worldview to the Religious Fundamentalism (theme #9A) theme.. Of course the actions of even those with the most narrow worldviews reveal that they value other worldview themes. Along with his above quoted words, Mike Johnson's past support of Donald Trump--he has been described as a leader of the movement to deny Trump's loss in the 2020 election, disregard the Constitution, and keep Trump in power-- suggests adding at least two additional themes to our characterization of his worldview: The Group Think Imperative (theme #15) and Authoritarian Follower (theme #20B). 

The former theme description includes the words "I suspend thinking / narrow consciousness and passively transfer control of myself to some real or imagined authority. I put my faith and trust in, feeling obligated and beholden to, this authority." Beyond using God to justify his support (see note #2), the authority that Johnson--like most of his Republican colleagues--trusts, is beholden to, and will blindly follow is Donald Trump. Note the Group Think theme description associates it with "cowardly politicians."

Long-time Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger--on a tour promoting his new book Renegade--Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country, initially bought into the Republican group-think with a first vote against impeachment of Donald Trump. The (now former) Congressman felt it was something he had to do as "self-preservation." He came to regret his "cowardice" and --summoning courage--cast a second vote to impeach. He went on to denounce Republican extremism and "the GOP’s subsequent descent into a dysfunctional and destructive force" 

While Kinzinger's book doesn't explicitly say so, it seems obvious that Democracy won't survive in a country if a majority of its citizens relinquish doing their own thinking and prefer--in what we've identified as choice #29--the Authoritarian Follower theme to Education for Democracy (theme #31.)   

In charging Tom Emmer with being a "globalist" what Trump is really objecting to is that Emmer's worldview is not sufficiently narrow enough that he will obediently follow him. Globalists  may commit the crime of thinking for themselves. Johnson on the other hand is safely in the Trump fold. He is one of the sheep that the good shepherd God has supposedly raised up can lead.  

 Notes

1) Project Worldview's list of notable people--typically important historical figures--whose worldviews have been formally characterized can be found here.  The worldview of one of the most famous scientists of the 19th century--Alexander von Humboldt--is the most recent addition to this. 

2) Does Mike Johnson think God was responsible for raising up Adolf Hitler in pre-World War II Germany?