Oscar
Moderator
Look at Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s. He had thousands of highly educated university students, lawyers, and urban professionals treating him like a literal savior. They completely ignored his autocratic crackdowns and massive contradictions just because he gave them a sense of defiance against the establishment. I have Yale educated people in the family who still have Benazir's and Bhutto's pictures on their wall next to their dead parents.
So when establishment cultists ask why so many PTI supporters are those that live abroad or educated I point to Modi. He has millions of highly educated IT professionals, doctors, and wealthy diaspora members living in the West who treat him like a flawless deity. They completely ignore his massive economic blunders or the destruction of democratic norms, and they immediately label any critic as a traitor or anti national.
People do not join these movements because they have carefully weighed every policy detail. They join because the leader gives them emotional relief. He turns their fear, humiliation, anger, or uncertainty into a simple story where they are the righteous camp, their enemies are the source of all corruption, and he alone can restore dignity.
In some ways the educated can be even more vulnerable because they are better at rationalizing contradictions. Once someone becomes emotionally invested in a leader, their mind starts protecting that attachment. They ignore facts that threaten the bond, reinterpret failures as someone else’s sabotage, and treat criticism as proof that the leader must be dangerous to the bad people. The leader stops being a politician and becomes a vessel for identity, pride, revenge, and hope.
A big part of it is also social belonging. People do not just believe alone. They believe together. Once they are inside a political tribe that constantly rewards loyalty and punishes doubt, the belief becomes self reinforcing. Every slogan gets echoed back, every criticism gets dismissed as propaganda, and every contradiction gets smoothed over by the group. At that point, people are no longer defending just a leader. They are defending their community, their self image, and their sense of meaning.
That is why arguments with these people often go nowhere. You think you are discussing policy or history, but they experience the conversation as a threat to identity. And when identity is threatened, the brain usually does not become more rational. It becomes more defensive. That is how intelligent, educated, articulate people can still behave in deeply cult like ways.
So when establishment cultists ask why so many PTI supporters are those that live abroad or educated I point to Modi. He has millions of highly educated IT professionals, doctors, and wealthy diaspora members living in the West who treat him like a flawless deity. They completely ignore his massive economic blunders or the destruction of democratic norms, and they immediately label any critic as a traitor or anti national.
People do not join these movements because they have carefully weighed every policy detail. They join because the leader gives them emotional relief. He turns their fear, humiliation, anger, or uncertainty into a simple story where they are the righteous camp, their enemies are the source of all corruption, and he alone can restore dignity.
In some ways the educated can be even more vulnerable because they are better at rationalizing contradictions. Once someone becomes emotionally invested in a leader, their mind starts protecting that attachment. They ignore facts that threaten the bond, reinterpret failures as someone else’s sabotage, and treat criticism as proof that the leader must be dangerous to the bad people. The leader stops being a politician and becomes a vessel for identity, pride, revenge, and hope.
A big part of it is also social belonging. People do not just believe alone. They believe together. Once they are inside a political tribe that constantly rewards loyalty and punishes doubt, the belief becomes self reinforcing. Every slogan gets echoed back, every criticism gets dismissed as propaganda, and every contradiction gets smoothed over by the group. At that point, people are no longer defending just a leader. They are defending their community, their self image, and their sense of meaning.
That is why arguments with these people often go nowhere. You think you are discussing policy or history, but they experience the conversation as a threat to identity. And when identity is threatened, the brain usually does not become more rational. It becomes more defensive. That is how intelligent, educated, articulate people can still behave in deeply cult like ways.
