30+ year Seminole County resident here.

I concur with the above.

Great example and synopsis. Much appreciated!

I think you may have disapproved your own point.

To rephrase your second list:

1. People are unhappy with the lives they have built themselves and the world we have collectively built together.

2. A conman shows up and tells them it’s not their own fault, it’s others, and the leaders that were chosen.

3. They believe the conman, because he blames others they don’t like, and make them feel good about themselves.

4. They make up shit to help square that with reality, and wall themselves off from other people or sources that could shatter that.

I don’t think that shows them to be smart. Don’t think it would make them not stupid either.

I agree with the well-written other commenter who argues it makes them irrational, and with another comment that argues they are following emotions rather than logic.

But for sure I’m sick of being told to placate and empathize with the irrational deplorables yet again.

Never see an argument that the irrational or uninformed should try to empathize with the rational at any point.

It does.

(You can say the same about existing socialist democratic policies, too.)

It’s just indoctrination.

People believe what they are taught, and relatively few questions anything seriously.

The majority of people continue to believe the religion they were raised in.

The majority of people believe in the economic system they were raised in.

The majority of the world’s countries use mixes of capitalist & socialist policies (ie free-market economies with social safety net programs).

So most people support capitalist free-market systems, and would say they are pro-capitalism.

They also don’t want you to cut their retirement government program levels.

And though most won’t claim to support socialism, they love firefighters or libraries or roads, and they can’t tell there’s no difference. Because they aren’t taught to question.

And most don’t want to replace their existing systems with completely different systems. They just want them to provide better tesults and be less costly.

Religion is most effective at converting those more inclined to believe propaganda & appeals to authority.

So these dichotomies are even worse & more prevalent for the religious.

Those people breed children of mostly similar sentiment. If raised capitalist, those religious children won’t question the obvious conflict. Their authorities tell them it’s ok.

Their authorities may even modify the religion to fit the mold (ie Prosperity Gospel).

The religious authorities who suggest questioning existing systems receive pushback from followers and the system itself when they encourage critical thinking regarding the conflicts of capitalism and religion.

Examples include Martin Luther King Jr & the current Pope, both of whom were not well received with their criticisms of capitalism.

So again, it is just indoctrination with a sprinkling of ignorance.

…yet.