Tribalism, Literally

98% chimpanzee, 2% rational voter

Why did Trump win?

“Wealthy and powerful humans support such leaders in hopes of benefiting materially under a violent and even cruel leader.”

That’s Jane Goodall, but she’s not writing directly about humans. She’s writing about chimpanzees, and how they follow alpha leaders in violent coalitions to benefit themselves. Chimps can be aggressive, predatory, greedy, and cruel, even celebrating the death of former friends.

Goodall talks about this dark side of chimp and human nature, and what it teaches us, in the Washington Post. We share 98% of our DNA with chimps, so their behavior is in us. There are mitigating factors, like our ability to compromise, discuss, and negotiate. But there is a truly dark and violent beast inside some of us.

Spoiler alert: it’s a male thing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/05/chimpanzees-humans-dark-side-aggression-cruelty/