The following guest blog post is by Dr. Sally Goerner, Capital Institute's Science Advisor.

Why have millions of American voters selected Donald Trump, a narcissistic, neo-fascist salesman whose policies run from irrational to dangerous? There are, of course, many facets to this conundrum. Here, I explore its deeper psychological underpinnings in hopes that our leaders might better understand its causes and cures. In particular, I'm going to use the Triune Brain[1] understanding of human nature to explain why this neo-fascist upsurge is a classic consequence of the breakdown of the bonds of love, strength, and intelligence that hold a society together and why rebuilding these bonds is critical to our survival.

 

Brain research suggests the behavior patterns of love, strength and intelligence are hardwired into the human brain because they support three critical social functions: community, power, and learning, respectively. Love supports community, allowing diverse individuals to work together for common-cause, be it a family, a business, or a nation. Strength is central to authority, the social power used to coordinate communities and maintain order and defense in large groups. Intelligence enhances learning of course, but thinking is swayed by the two lower brains because they get information first, and pass it along with distinct emotional hues.

 

While all three brain functions operate in most every individual, one or the other of them often dominates in particular individuals and groups - a situation that can be seen in today's Right-Left divide. The Right emphasizes strength: rugged individualism, self-reliance, and traditional order. The Left emphasizes caring: partnership, community, and openness to non-traditional alternatives.

 

While such emphases help unify groups, love, strength, and intelligence actually only work well when they work together for the good of the whole. For example, intelligence without love is evil, and love without strength of character is impotent. Most importantly, in healthy societies, power and authority are positions of responsibility, which are only honorable and functional when they serve community.

 

The catch is that the golden three only work when they are connected, but the bonds holding them together tend to fray as social groups grow larger and power becomes more concentrated. So, where leaders in small, well-knit societies (e.g., Native Americans or early Scottish clans) tend to honor their responsibilities to serve community, the bigger a society becomes the more elites grow apart from their people, and the less feedback mechanisms such as shame, religion, and even law serve to check abuse.   (Con't.)