This week’s readings focus on the creation of a political leader. Beginning with The Prince, Machiavelli lays out a blueprint for taking and maintaining power in political regimes. He notes hereditary states and mixed monarchies can be conquered by killing the old monarchies. He further argues, it is necessary to be violent towards self-governed republics because, “it will destroy you, if you don’t destroy it” (p. 19-20). A prince may rise to power by following the examples of previous rulers and by creating a spectacle of power. To win respect, a prince must create the image that he is both a “genuine friend and a genuine enemy” (p. 88). I believe this can be seen in Schechner’s concepts of make believe and make belief. Schechner explains, make believe involves a conscious application of the mask or con game; make belief is when that mask reinforces a strongly held belief that people are willing to act in support of (such as a religious or political belief). Where make believe and make belief overlap is in politics, wherein the politician wears their script as a mask, but asks the spectator to accept the mask as truth.
Kolbert (2017) explains, impressions of truth that fall in line with people’s beliefs are incredibly resistant; even after those impressions have been revealed as false or untrustworthy. They explain, confirmation bias is one entry point to understand why people have a hard time changing their minds/beliefs. Kolbert (2017) finds we hold onto beliefs (even when we could be wrong) because we don’t want to be betrayed by others or simply put, we don’t want to get screwed by those who believe differently than we do. It is for this reason that we must beware the folk hero who often fights the establishment in the name of the people (Blow, 2019). As spectators, we must be critical of those who have used the transcendence of make believe and make belief as a mask for their political advantage.