The wily: a dangerous social behavior

The wily: a dangerous social behavior
Posted on December 6th, 2008 by askain
By A. Ascanio /ASKAIN)

The Venezuelan psychologist Axel Capriles has finished his book on the cunning or wily Creole.

After explaining that in Venezuela the wily character is accepted because the person who is not clever is stupid, Capriles said that the mischievousness or Creole vivacity is not rational from the social point of view because it promotes the anarchic individualism. The wily is a negative social value.

It is the context and the institutional weakness partly responsible for that behavior. When institutions do not work or the laws are ambiguous, a person or clever hussy (or alive) uses not legal exit to solve his problem; this is a psychology of survival. Thus, the environment makes it easier the act of liveliness.

But when there is an institution that provides very clear what is right and wrong and which also monitors the behavior of citizens but treats them with respect, then the wily change it behavior. This happens in the “Metro de Caracas” because it is a model that achieves the change when the person using this means of transport.

A clearer example of how institutions can achieve change from one person to another; wily person to candid person, is what happened in the Mayor of Medellin (Colombia) during the administration of Sergio Fajardo. Coherent and comprehensive work to change citizen’s behavior and with an advertisement that created pride (”the most educated city”), shows again that the example and modeling of good and genuine leaders it helps a lot to change behavior.

For the contracted when a leader transforms himself into a wily to demonstrate his cunning and encourages, and uses this behavior to congeries emotionally with people and using the language of the same mischievous people, all this is only populism and demagoguery. Thus this behavior achieving the applause of the people who are only interested in protecting their interests (Example: the government program is called “Hello President”).