Tribalism shows that humans beings are very alike.

"Jair Bolsonaro, (Brazil's president-elect), is a far-right, gun-loving, media-baiting hyper-nationalist," wrote Prof K Basu, which prompted him to ask, "Why is democracy faltering?" "One consequence of recent technological progress has been a decline in the relative share of wages in gross domestic product (GDP)," which has increased inequality with few people gaining vast fortunes while the majority have seen a decline in the living standards. Technology is good for consumers as it makes goods cheaper, "But for technology to make a real and sustained contribution to development, it must not only provide better and cheaper products; it must also lead to higher paying jobs," wrote Prof D Rodrik. Manufacturing created a lot of wealth in poor countries because manufacturing know-how is easy to transfer, products can be exported and it did not need a great deal of skills. Technology is not easily transferred and needs a lot of skills. "The wealth of proprietary data on consumer preferences and behaviour is producing such massive returns to scale that a few giants are monopolizing markets," wrote Prof Basu. "The benefits of winning an election have become so large that political parties will stoop to new lows to clinch a victory." People vote in their self-interest, "Yet if decide they will vote in their self-interest within the restraints of a moral code, immoral campaign practices would suddenly impose a cost, rather than confer an advantage." Like other human beings, candidates are not pure or impure but a mixture of some policies you like and others you don't. "The frustration of large segments of the population has created fertile ground for tribalism, which politicians like Trump and Bolsonaro have eagerly exploited." Was it tribalism when 95% of African-Americans voted for Obama in 2008, only because he is half black, even though he was virtually unknown at the time? Human beings are social animals but that does not mean that we are friendly towards all humans, but only to those within our circle. It makes survival sense because your children have a better chance of being protected by your inner circle. Angela Merkel's policy of open borders for migrants from the Middle East has enraged Germans and led to the rise of Alternative for Germany. Human beings from one part of the world are completely different to those from other parts. This is because of culture, which is a mixture of language, dress, food, the arts, customs and religion. Even when people migrate to other countries for economic reasons they tend to seek out people like themselves, resulting in formation of ghettos. Prof Basu may not like Trump or Bolsonaro but they identify with the people. That is democracy.