Dark age ahead

For over 99% of the history of humanity, we lived as low-density foragers or farmers in egalitarian communities of no more than a few dozen persons.

"Complex human societies are a relatively recent phenomenon. A society that is more complex has more sub-groups and social roles, more networks among groups and individuals, more horizontal and vertical controls, higher flow of information, greater centralization of information, more specialization, and greater interdependence of parts." (Tainter, J., The Collapse of Complex Societies, 1988).

But many aspects of human behavior remain rooted in our evolutionary past, including the tendency to be complexity-averse. Much of the our discontent with government stems from the fact that government adds complexity to our lives.

That discontent with government is never more prevalent that in times of economic crisis. Surely the reasoning goes, for all its intrusion in our lives, government ought to be able to protect us from violent swings in our financial fortunes. When it can't, disillusionment in government invariably follows.

And so, with the recent economic downturn comes the world-wide rise in ultra-right political parties and candidates, all riding to power on a simple promise to get big government out of our lives.

Is the shocking news that Rob Ford leads the polls even in the progressive bastion of downtown Toronto really so shocking, when left-leaning governments have been unceremoniously turfed out of office throughout the western world, to be replaced by governments of the right or ultra right. When Swedish is no longer socialist, what hope can there be for Toronto?