An hypothesis: There are idea bubbles, just like there are financial bubbles. In fact, arguably a financial bubble is just one application of idea bubble - for

An hypothesis: There are idea bubbles, just like there are financial bubbles. In fact, arguably a financial bubble is just one application of idea bubble - for example, 'real estate always goes up'; 'tulips are worth more than gold', 'crypto-currency doesn't need regulation', etc. That is, the evidence for idea bubbles seems obvious: they are widely known in finance, technology (hot trends, etc.), angry mobs, and elsewhere. I'm just classifying them as a way of thinking about them. More specifically, I hypothesize that there is a bubble right now in political thinking: It doesn't matter what evil, incompetent, or highly risky things we do, as long as our side 'wins' in the immediate term. We can safely ignore the longer term consequences. A successful businessperson who relies heavily on international trade told me recently: 'Trump is vile, but I voted for him and I'd vote for him again - because I'm a businessperson and business is good.' In that statement they believe there is a problem but choose to ignore its consequences, even the ones that will directly affect their business (e.g., trade problems). And that property seems to apply to all idea bubbles in all areas: Ignore the consequences. I can see how bubbles work up close: The mechanism seems to be that when everyone joins the bubble, 1) it's exciting and engaging, and 2) nobody is making us think about the consequences; the social pressure to exercise judgment band behave is gone, because nobody will judge you for it. The parents are gone - let's party! Pick up your pitchforks and torches! This is gonna be Awesome!!! Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick[0] [0] Attributed; I don't have time to find the source.