Every despot has promised his followers a utopia if only his/her ideas were enacted. The worst evils in the world gained power by promising things they had no power, or desire to deliver. It has been that way since the beginning of time. It is a common trope, and legal argument, that politicians promises are not worth anything, and are expected not to be kept. But people still fall for them.
- The serpent promised Eve that she would not die, and she would be like God if she ate of the fruit.
- She died, and so have her offspring.
- The Communist led by Vladimir Lenin promised, “Land to the Peasants, Peace to the Nations, Bread to the Starving!”
- The poor were made slaves of the party leaders or killed. Food supplies were so short for generations that standing in lines for basic goods was an expected part of life.
- The Nazis promised the Germans that they would rebuild the economy and make Germany proud again.
- The Nazis rebuilt the economy, then destroyed it and much of Europe in war. Millions of people were killed, maimed, and/or mentally destroyed by the war.
- Fidel Castro promised Cuba that he would “decree the re-establishment of all rights and freedoms, including the absolute freedom of the press, of all individual rights.”
- Cuban people are among the people with the fewest rights in the world today.
- Mao Zedong promised China freedom of debate, thought, and conscious.
- Today China has a firewall that keeps out unacceptable ideas, and censors that remove content from the internal Internet.
- Hugo Chavez promised Venezuela that if he was elected the government would provide Universal Healthcare.
- The poor people in Venezuela are starving, and the Communist have chased smart people out of the country.
Recent examples with a much smaller downside.
- President George H.W. Bush promised "Read my lips: no new taxes.".
- He raised "fees and levies" instead, which broke the spirit of the promise.
- Former Vice-President Joe Biden promised BLM that he would work closely with them to bring about the type of equity they demand.
So why do people get caught up in the promise of utopia that so many politicians, movements, and cults promote? Is it that we are all natural born suckers? Or that some people want