COMMENTARY: The dangers of “magical thinking’’

c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The quadrennial blend of a presidential election with the Olympic Games reinforces a certain “magical thinking,” as a friend calls it. I refer to a belief in the “grand gesture.” When times are tough, surely there is a single button to push, a single gamble to take, a single […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The quadrennial blend of a presidential election with the Olympic Games reinforces a certain “magical thinking,” as a friend calls it.

I refer to a belief in the “grand gesture.” When times are tough, surely there is a single button to push, a single gamble to take, a single leader to blame, a single offensive to mount, a single “Hail Mary” play to call.


Sometimes it works, and then comes the movie. Most of the time, the grand gesture fails. Human systems _ economies, enterprises, churches, families _ are too complex to be rescued by a single grand gesture. The “mano a mano” of a presidential election makes for good theater, but the fate of America lies in the hands of millions of people who do or don’t perform effectively on smaller stages.

Besides the obvious delusion of seeing either Obama or McCain as a savior, here are three examples of “magical thinking”:

First is belief in wealth. How does a church survive? Ask a few wealthy individuals to rescue the budget. How does a nation gain new vitality? Get more money into the hands of the wealthy. How does a company compete better? Pay more to top executives.

Other than flatter the wealthy and fatten their purses, this strategy never works. Yes, a single $50,000 pledge can compensate for the absence of many smaller pledges. But no amount of money will address dull worship, lifeless teaching, or frosty attitudes toward strangers. A church gets healthy by paying attention to the basics. Those basics depend on motivated and faithful people, not on a few large gifts.

Three decades of “trickle down” economics have accomplished nothing for the nation or its economy. If anything, concentration of wealth has been a disincentive to the millions whose efforts actually make a difference and has channeled creativity into instant-wealth schemes, not worthwhile inventions.

A second instance of “magical thinking” is “blame the leader.” If an enterprise struggles, lacerate the leader. If an enterprise succeeds, heap praise and wealth on the leader. Swing the pendulum wildly from blame to praise.

In reality, this blame-or-praise system is nonsense. It is teams and teamwork that make a difference, not a few leaders giving orders. That means teams of creative engineers, motivated sales people, responsive customer service agents, and effective assemblers, greeters, expediters and technical crews.


“Blame the leader” merely makes the entire system fearful and self-protective. Energy that should go into identifying problems goes instead into hiding problems.

A third instance of “magical thinking” is a belief that managing money equals leadership. This works well for those who manage money. Business schools are filled with aspiring investment bankers chasing the big bucks of “doing deals.” Meanwhile, American business is desperate for engineers, programmers and production managers, whose efforts might yield healthier enterprises and better products.

Instead of doing the easy work of managing expense budgets, leaders should be developing goods and services that address the actual needs of a changing marketplace.

Magical thinking is easy and delusional, and that is its appeal. Any enterprise _ from raising a child to being a church to making a product _ is hard work, everyday work, requiring sweat and sacrifice. It is work for many hands, not a well-paid few. It requires wisdom, diligence, nimbleness and a bold grasp of reality. Magical thinking merely amuses and distracts.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)

DSB/JM END EHRICH

A file photo of Ehrich is available via https://religionnews.com.

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