The Social Wheel. Beyond Stupidity: “The Incapable Person is More Dangerous than the Stupid One”. A Tribute to Carlo Cipolla

This study will consider the types of social behavior formulated by Carlo Cipolla in his short treatise “The Fundamental Laws of Human Stupidity”, known and commented on throughout the world. After a rapid survey of the concept of intelligence I shall take up the problem of the lack of intelligence, presenting a taxonomy of the possible forms of social behavior that man, as an individual or group agent, can show when he interacts in social groups and organizations. Each form of behavior is qualified on the basis of two parameters: A. advantages or disadvantages to the actor, and: B. advantages or disadvantages for “others”. The combination of these parameters produces the four individual types: 1) Intelligent people, 2) Helpless/Naive people, 3) the Bandit and 4) the Stupid person. This study demonstrates how, by introducing a third parameter – C. the volition or lack thereof of the actor to cause advantages to others – we can add four other types to Cipolla’s original typology: 5) the Able or Capable person, 6) the Hero, 7) the Incapable person, and 8) the Egoist. The eight types can be represented in a circular model I have called the Social Wheel.