A competence gap is a very polite way to put it. In Britain we live in
an
inverted meritocracy which rewards smug stupidity, elevates
bullshit, while punishing and marginalising our most talented people.
I thought this was going to be another cynical Economist hit piece
like the earlier "Europe not pulling its weight" [1] but was surprised
how on-the-money it is. Some well chosen quotes;
"A family with the wrong members in control" wrote George Orwell of
the English.
Or, a country that "institutionalises lying" ruled "by chancers and
cranks" sums it up nicely. We've had a profound leadership crisis in
Britain for several decades now, and it's not just party politics.
It's endemic to all institutions and industry. We positively celebrate
corruption because we mistake it for power.
We keep selecting incompetents to lead, in all areas, because we
confuse their psychopathic cunning with "leadership". I believe that
the recent visibility of "imposter syndrome" is tactical smoke to
distract from the fact that there really are an extraordinary number
of actual imposters in charge everywhere. Are they're getting
scared? Exposure is coming.
George Carlin put it best I think. He said the definition of real
terror is waking up in mid-life and realising that all those pricks
you went to school with are now running the country. But yes, it's our
fault. We built a system that selects for them. And we continue to
allow it to stand.
What worries me is that, if tomorrow our country came to its senses
and asked genuinely competent people to take the helm, it would
already be far, far too late.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=33992393