Societies do not collapse only when the number of evildoers increases but rather collapse begins when societies and group loyalties close in on themselves and become an ideology, where loyalty and hatred turn into a standard and a virtue.

Within this environment, foolishness, thuggery, and immorality flourish, and group loyalty becomes a remedy that soothes the thirst for hatred and is exploited by deceivers.

So should we be surprised that narcissists rise and thugs take the lead, even that the glorification of the “thug” becomes an icon of mass hysteria for a fanatical crowd?

We understand defensive group loyalty, open and non racist group loyalty, as a necessity for building any human community. From football teams to armies, groups need solidarity and cohesion in order to build their experience and engage in competition.

But from the moment this group loyalty becomes a tool for intellectual closure, racism, and demonization of the different other, critical thinking becomes distorted, and superiority is internalized either biologically or theologically as a foundation for an assumed higher right, which then tries to produce a normative moral system that establishes fanaticism and violence.

At that point, the question is no longer: what is the truth? but rather: who said it? And opinions are no longer weighed by their evidence but by the identity of the person who expressed them. Whoever is “one of us” is excused, and whoever is not is destined for exclusion and suppression.

Step by step, truth withdraws, and group loyalty advances two steps.

In this bubble, closed groups produce their own language, their own heroes, their own enemies, their trivial history, and their foolish leaders. The submissive are rewarded, thought is fought, and questioning becomes evidence of suspicion in loyalty, even of conspiracy, betrayal, or hidden poison.

Politics is no longer the art of the possible, but a path toward wars and sacred salvation. Thus rise resentful souls, sharp tongues, and premature certainty. The thugs rise confidently on the shoulders of fools and the “simple minded”.

The leadership of thugs does not disturb its crowds with questions but instead drowns them in assumptions and certainties. They do not spoil the intoxication of the masses with uncomfortable questions, nor do they open windows for fresh air.

They want them to believe and chant, so that their foolishness increases in foolishness and their anger in anger.

In this way, foolishness becomes more appealing, not because it is deeper, but because it is simpler and more superficial. It reduces the world into two opposing camps, history into a wound, politics into a final battle, and human beings into identity cards.

Like the temporary relief of hashish or drugs, foolishness and “thuggery” become an addiction that gives the group a rare sense of comfort: there is no need for complex thinking, as long as the answers are already prepared, suspicions are settled, and enemies are clearly identified.

Like all forms of addiction, this system must constantly be fed in order to stay away from the burden of criticism and rational thinking. It does not reflect depth of conviction as much as it reflects an escape from complexity in a complicated age. That is why it becomes especially seductive in times of confusion.

It even reshapes the moral conscience itself, giving it a kind of ethical cover that resembles religious devotion. Killing and crime are then seen as firmness, exclusion as prevention, defamation as purification, and repression as defense of the good.

At that point, there is no longer any need for apology or repentance, because anything different or opposing truth is seen as contamination and as an enemy.

Nazism did not begin with extermination camps. It began with building a closed nationalist group that saw itself as pure, besieged, and authorized to take revenge on history.

A collective myth was constructed about a wounded nation, then an internal and external enemy was identified, and then fanaticism was dressed in the guise of national duty. The other became a threat rather than a partner, and this made all crimes permissible in the name of duty.

In Rwanda, the mechanism was repeated in another form. The genocide did not suddenly erupt from nothing. It was preceded by a continuous discourse that stripped entire peoples of their humanity, a discourse that dehumanized the other. Once humans are labeled as traitors and reduced to animal-like characteristics, brutality becomes justified.

In our present era, group fanaticism no longer merely produces fools and narcissists; it has become armed with a smartphone. Digital platforms have turned into an excellent factory for modern forms of tribalism. These platforms struggle to ignite tribal emotions, amplify them, reward them, and recycle them, immersing groups in echo chambers that produce foolishness, narcissism, and collective impulse. In this space, knowledge does not grow; instead, hollow confidence grows and emotional reactions harden.

Thus, the doors have been thrown wide open for foolish narcissists who lead fast-igniting digital crowds with short memory and an easy conscience. They chase, defame, and boycott, then move on to a new target. These groups do not even need political parties; they need only a clique operating in the shadows, spreading and expanding, transforming collective anger into “inquisitions.”

Foolishness and violence are not born from the ruler’s desire alone, but from the general climate’s susceptibility, and from the decay of elites—their fragmentation, isolation, and arrogance. In the name of firmness and identity, cleansing the public sphere of opponents becomes permissible, and the corruption of power and force is established.

Some elites attempt to treat the phenomenon of foolishness, group fanaticism, and political narcissism through satire. However, it is not acceptable to respond to the masses with contempt.

Ultimately, fanaticism cannot be confronted with disdain, because the problem is not the deficiency of certain individuals. It lies in a structure in which elites themselves are decaying and losing their values, allowing a flood of anger to emerge from beneath them. This anger is carried by the masses and amplified by foolishness and fanaticism, until extremism becomes a reference point and a rule.

Foolishness should not be treated with a counter-elitist form of fanaticism, nor should elite superiority be answered with opposing forms of group fanaticism. Such approaches only produce vicious cycles, and condescending moral preaching is also ineffective.

Foolishness and fanaticism can only be addressed by expanding and strengthening the public sphere in a climate where skeptical and critical thinking can grow, allowing people to differ without accusations of heresy or betrayal. Without this, belonging becomes dry and rigid.

Our world, and especially our region, does not suffer from a shortage of fools and fanaticisms, and therefore we do not suffer from a shortage of wars, destruction, and brutality.

And when His Holiness the Pope says, “Woe to those who exploit religions and the name of God to serve their military, economic, and political goals, and drag what is sacred into the most vile and unjust matters,” he is not targeting a specific leader as an individual. Rather, he is declaring a broader truth: that ultimately, truth prevails.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.