Theory explains Trump's power: Stupidity is more dangerous than evil

Whatever one’s opinion on President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement that carried him to office, it’s impossible to deny that they have transformed the United States. The simple description of what’s driving that change, says senior defense analyst Brynn Tannehill, is “fascism.” But as she elaborates, three psychological concepts are underpinning that autocratic impulse: social dominance orientation, the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity.

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who opposed Hitler and the Nazis and spoke out against the killing of disabled people and the persecution of Jews,” writes Tannehill in Dame. “Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity posits that stupidity is more dangerous than evil, because it can be easily manipulated and exploited by evil forces. He argued that while evil is identifiable and can be resisted, stupidity is a force that actively resists reason and critical thinking, making it a powerful tool for those who seek to do harm.”

According to this concept, stupidity isn’t merely a lack of intellect, but “a willful refusal to engage with reason and truth.” It suggests “that stupid people are easily led and controlled, making them ideal tools for those with malicious intent…Unfortunately, stupidity and ignorance were both the cause and the outcome of the 2024 election,” Tannehill explains, as Trump was buoyed into office by non-college-educated voters who actively disregarded information from outside MAGA circles.

At the same time, MAGA adherents exhibit high Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), “a personality trait that reflects an individual’s preference for hierarchical social structures and the dominance of some social groups over others. Individuals with high SDO tend to endorse group-based hierarchies and inequality, while those with low SDO favor more egalitarian social structures… SDO is linked to more conservative beliefs and support for hierarchy-enhancing policies. Individuals with high SDO tend to exhibit more prejudice against stigmatized or disadvantaged social groups.”

Says Tannehill, high-SDO voters represent the base of the GOP, particularly MAGA. “They believe they have a right to rule over others based on characteristics such as their race (white), sex (male), religion (Christian), gender identity (cisgender), wealth (rich), or proximity to the tech sector.”

Finally, writes Tannehill, “the Dunning-Kruger effect is a phenomenon where people who don’t know much about a specific topic tend to overestimate their knowledge or skill in that area. Conversely, experts in that area may underestimate their competence, as they understand the true complexity of the topic or skill in question.”

As Tannehill argues, “Trump has filled the government with unqualified ignoramuses, surrounding himself with people who vastly overestimate their abilities because they believe their ideologies or wealth make them better than the experts. Pete Hegseth was never more than a major in the National Guard, but assumes he is fit because he was a Christian warrior. Linda McMahon was a professional wrestling executive who now leads the Department of Education. The entire governmental health care apparatus is full of people who ‘did their own research,’ drink raw milk, and reject the germ theory of disease and vaccines.”

Because of all of this, says Tannehill, “the United States is now a giant Dunning-Kruger pyramid. From top to bottom the system is now self-reinforcing. The majority of disinformation being put out by the government isn’t particularly plausible to people who are well informed and capable of research and critical thinking. To others, on the other hand, this firehose of falsehood makes them think the truth is seemingly unknowable. As a result, many uninformed voters are becoming even less informed as they no longer seek the truth.”

Based on this, Tannehill draws some urgent conclusions.

“With great stupidity comes great evil, and the consequences have already shown themselves to be dire,” she writes. “The U.S. is diving deeper and deeper into a constitutional, political, economic, and military crisis, and it’s too much for most people to absorb. Understanding the root of these problems is critical to responding to them and the current regime, and hopefully, to finding a path toward future repair.”