During a U.S. government shutdown, Democrats—like their Republican counterparts—often engage in a series of strategic and rhetorical “games” designed to strengthen negotiation leverage and control political narratives. From the perspective of the Triadic Modes of Integration Theory (TMIT), these behaviors typically oscillate among the hybrid cognitive-psychological modes, blending Rational Integration Mode (RIM) reasoning (strategic realism), Dogmatic Authority Mode (DAM) moral framing, and Impulsive Disintegration Mode (IDM) emotional appeals to constituents.
-
Moral High-Ground Framing (DAM tendencies) – Democrats often position themselves as protectors of public welfare, emphasizing that the shutdown harms “ordinary Americans.” This appeals to internalized moral absolutes (in Freudian-Bernehian terms, the Superego/Parent) and seeks to guilt opponents into compliance through moral sanction and public empathy narratives [5]. This can manifest in statements like “government workers shouldn’t suffer because of political games,” which aligns with intrinsicist ethics that treat such protection as an unquestionable duty.
-
Strategic Pragmatism (M1 hybrid) – While moral appeals dominate outward communication, behind the scenes, Democrats frequently employ pragmatic negotiation tactics—offering selective compromises or temporary funding bills to appear rational and solution-oriented. This mirrors an M1 mode (a mix of DAM and RIM), where reason serves dogmatic political ends, adapting reality-testing without full objectivity [2]. For instance, they may pass “clean continuing resolutions” knowing the opposing side will reject them, thereby leveraging optics in their favor.
-
Emotional Mobilization and Public Spectacle (D1/IDM infusion) – Democrats may also dramatize the shutdown through emotionally charged performances—press conferences with unpaid workers, social media appeals, or symbolic acts like forgoing pay. Such tactics derive from the Child/id impulses in Berne and Freud’s schema, appealing to emotion and collective empathy rather than logical argumentation, reflecting a partial disintegration (D1) mode of subjective emotional reasoning moderated by rational planning [4].
-
Narrative Control through Blame Projection – Consistent with the Parent ego state's critical aspect, Democrats often externalize responsibility, portraying their stance as a rational defense of government continuity while labeling Republicans as extremists or hostage-takers. This aligns with DAM’s externalized authority model—moral condemnation reinforcing their narrative authority [1][3].
In sum, Democrats’ “games” in a government shutdown can be interpreted through TMIT as a mix of M1 pragmatic dogmatism (moralized negotiation under partial rationality) and D1 adaptive emotionalism (selective fragmentation of facts to stir empathy). While these tactics can yield short-term political gains, they may also reinforce misintegrations—where emotional narratives (IDM/D1) or moral absolutism (DAM/M1) take precedence over full rational integration (RIM).
No comments:
Post a Comment