What is political kayfabe?

In Secondary Education (11+) I remember arguing with people about the realness/artificiality of professional wrestlers (like WWE). The people who actively watched wrestling were incredibly invested in the storylines.

If you watch non-professional wrestling there’s no storyline.

Kayfabe is the manufacturing and mixture of a storyline into what could be considered real life.

Some examples of kayfabe in wrestling are:

• Romantic relationships
• Families
• Injuries

Referring to an event as kayfabe means that they are “worked”, and/or part of a wrestling storyline.

A wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be similar to an actor breaking character on camera. This normally happens during a real injury.

Past the 90's

Everyone recognises shows like The Only Way Is Essex, Made in Chelsea, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, these are good modern examples of kayfabe with a much wider audience than wrestling that spawned the concept.

Kayfabe in Politics

If we are to take selection more seriously within humans, we may fairly ask what rigorous system would be capable of tying together an altered reality of layered falsehoods in which absolutely nothing can be assumed to be as it appears. Such a system, in continuous development for more than a century, is known to exist and now supports an intricate multi-billion dollar business empire of pure hokum. It is known to wrestling’s insiders as “Kayfabe”.
- Eric Weinstein

Examples of political kayfabe

In the political theatre kayfabe could be better described as things everyone agrees happens, or is true, but isn’t actually true. In my opinion, these are some prime examples of kayfabe in the UK system:

1. The Monarchy is just a figurehead
2. Parliamentary Government controls the bureaucracy of government (HMRC, DWP, MI5/6, GCHQ, etc)
3. Governmental Services (Schools, Police, etc) are apolitical
4. The UK were the winners of WWII
5. Public opinion drives government policy/decisions
6. Free speech is a core value of Britain
7. We have an unwritten constitution
8. The British Navy is still a force to be reckoned with
9. The UK is an independent country from the USA
10. Polls measure and inform political leaders of the public opinion
11. The communists were defeated after the fall of the Soviet Union