# 53. Social manipulation ## 53.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 53.5.7. Fundamental attribution error This is a propensity for people to blame a bad situation on a personality rather than external circumstances. When something goes wrong we are inclined to seek out a person to blame rather than accept that it just happened because of a combination of circumstances in a particular situation. Politicians are often blamed for economic downturns, whereas in fact many economic declines are often merely cyclical. For example, commodity prices move through long cycle changes due to long-term global supply and demand changes. To blame a local politician for these economic events is obviously unfair. Nonetheless, it is common practice in Western politics to depose a regime which fails to deliver, whether or not it is within their control. Manipulative uses of this are fairly obvious. A political opposition will always release its "attack dogs" to find a scapegoat if there is a scandal, an economic problem or some form of organisational problem or natural catastrophe, much to the applause of the most supposedly rational public. The sound of logical arguments about long-cycle commodity price trends is drowned out in the calls for blood.