@gtwilson There’s always a bit of a tendency to it — big sports, for example — but I think the breaking out in other areas of life is partly because of fear and insecurity, maybe related to globalisation. Then, once you get a certain groundswell, you can get a sudden surge of people leaping on. That would be my guess, but I don’t know enough about the factors behind the rise of fascism in Europe in the 30s, or behind the disintegration of some of the Soviet block more recently, to know if there are common features.
I’m afraid I’ve been content to live my comfortable life, and not pay too much attention to troubles that seem remote in time or distance.
// @kdfrawg