That experiment is old, I first read about it at least a dozen years ago. Of course it's not an experiment any more, now it's an excellent teaching tool.

I must admit I have hated successive Tory governments here in the UK, and continue to do so.

But I like the quote from the comic strip Pogo:

'We have met the enemy and he is us'

We have a strong tendency to repeat the mistakes of those before us, to blame others rather than ourselves, which reinforces our own sense of normality and self-justification. It is a lot easier to assign some other group as the enemy and offload on them than to deal with our own problems.

To inject a humorous angle on this I'll reference Richard Herring (Here's the bit, the first 1:15)


"I chose to live my life by the motto 'My enemy's enemy is my friend.' Unfortunately, as it turns out, my enemy is his own worst enemy. So I have to invite him to barbecues and stuff. It's quite annoying because I don't really like him.


"It's doubly annoying because he lives his life by the motto, 'Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer.' I'm just helping him out there; it's an annoyance."

Ha! Brilliant.