The Power of Negative Blogging

The New York Times writer Barbara Ehrenreich has finally caught on to my philosophy that negative thinking (labeled here as “realism”) would have avoided the financial mess we’re in. I, obviously, agree. From New York Times:

The Power of Negative Thinking By Barbara Ehrenreich

Nice title by the way. J

GREED — and its crafty sibling, speculation — are the designated culprits for the financial crisis. But another, much admired, habit of mind should get its share of the blame: the delusional optimism of mainstream, all-American, positive thinking.

As promoted by Oprah Winfrey, scores of megachurch pastors and an endless flow of self-help best sellers, the idea is to firmly believe that you will get what you want, not only because it will make you feel better to do so, but because “visualizing” something — ardently and with concentration — actually makes it happen. You will be able to pay that adjustable-rate mortgage or, at the other end of the transaction, turn thousands of bad mortgages into giga-profits if only you believe that you can.

Positive thinking is endemic to American culture — from weight loss programs to cancer support groups — and in the last two decades it has put down deep roots in the corporate world as well. Everyone knows that you won’t get a job paying more than $15 an hour unless you’re a “positive person,” and no one becomes a chief executive by issuing warnings of possible disaster.

The tomes in airport bookstores’ business sections warn against “negativity” and advise the reader to be at all times upbeat, optimistic, brimming with confidence. It’s a message companies relentlessly reinforced — treating their white-collar employees to manic motivational speakers and revival-like motivational events, while sending the top guys off to exotic locales to get pumped by the likes of Tony Robbins and other success gurus. Those who failed to get with the program would be subjected to personal “coaching” or shown the door.

The once-sober finance industry was not immune. On their Web sites, motivational speakers proudly list companies like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch among their clients. What’s more, for those at the very top of the corporate hierarchy, all this positive thinking must not have seemed delusional at all. With the rise in executive compensation, bosses could have almost anything they wanted, just by expressing the desire. No one was psychologically prepared for hard times when they hit, because, according to the tenets of positive thinking, even to think of trouble is to bring it on.

I’ve never believed in “if you think bad things will happen they will”. If that were true, planes would fall out of the sky at an alarming rate because there are scores of people on every flight afraid to fly. Each bump causing them to think the airplane is crashing.

Americans did not start out as deluded optimists. The original ethos, at least of white Protestant settlers and their descendants, was a grim Calvinism that offered wealth only through hard work and savings, and even then made no promises at all. You might work hard and still fail; you certainly wouldn’t get anywhere by adjusting your attitude or dreamily “visualizing” success.

Calvinists thought “negatively,” as we would say today, carrying a weight of guilt and foreboding that sometimes broke their spirits. It was in response to this harsh attitude that positive thinking arose — among mystics, lay healers and transcendentalists — in the 19th century, with its crowd-pleasing message that God, or the universe, is really on your side, that you can actually have whatever you want, if the wanting is focused enough.

I call this Bullshistic Medicine. Pseudoscience regurgitated by people who tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Of course, like in politics, labels are put on people and then the extreme of that label becomes the norm i.e liberals and conservatives. You can’t be somewhat negative or situationally negative; you must be a fatalistic doomsday machine. I hear this more than you can imagine. “How can you have a positive attitude and think negatively?” How can you be a compassionate conservative? Or a Regan Democrat? Because the world isn’t black/white or yes/no absolutes!

When it comes to how we think, “negative” is not the only alternative to “positive.” As the case histories of depressives show, consistent pessimism can be just as baseless and deluded as its opposite. The alternative to both is realism — seeing the risks, having the courage to bear bad news and being prepared for famine as well as plenty. We ought to give it a try.

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author, most recently, of “This Land Is Their Land: Reports From a Divided Nation.”

We certainly let the lack of negative thinking bite us in the butt.

Didn’t anyone think “Hey. Maybe we shouldn’t give mortgages to people who can’t afford them!”? I’ve heard people say “Citizens have the right to own a home!” No they don’t. Not if they can’t afford them. You have a right to shelter, to rent an apartment but not OWN a house if you don’t have the money.

Didn’t anyone say:”I don’t think we should give loans to people who are obvious credit risks.” No, because the credit industry is corrupt and wants you in debt. Collection companies hope you default so they can make money trying to get you to pay.

Didn’t anyone just say this is crazy?

If they did, no one paid any attention.