The rise of vice-signalling: how hatred poisoned politics
#vice-signalling #virtue-signalling #political polarization #public discourse #identitarian politics #social media influence
📌 Key Takeaways
- The concept of 'virtue-signalling,' performing moral goodness for social credit, has been superseded by the more aggressive 'vice-signalling.'
- Political debate has shifted from constructive policy discussion to a performance of performative cruelty.
- This trend is used by politicians and public figures to demonstrate authenticity and tribal loyalty to their base.
- The deterioration of public discourse has been building over the last ten years, fueled by social media dynamics.
📖 Full Retelling
Political commentators and sociologists have identified a corrosive shift in Western democratic discourse over the last decade, marked by the rapid rise of 'vice-signalling' as a dominant strategy in public debate. This phenomenon, which has intensified across Europe and North America throughout 2024, involves the deliberate performance of cruelty, prejudice, or anti-social behavior to demonstrate loyalty to a specific political tribe. Unlike traditional political exchange, which focused on policy or collective improvement, this new era of communication prioritizes the open rejection of empathy to signal one's 'anti-woke' or populist credentials.
🏷️ Themes
Politics, Sociology, Communication
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Original Source
<p>Over the last 10 years, the terms of political debate have changed completely – and week by week they seem to get worse</p><p>The notion of virtue-signalling – the act of performing progressive stances that don’t cost you anything in order to burnish your own moral credentials – has been around since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/20/virtue-signalling-putdown-passed-sell-by-date">at least the 00s</a>. In<strong> </strong>a
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