Being Herd: Understanding How the Left Views Society
Understanding the political philosophy of the Left requires us to acknowledge its historical context. To put it another way, we can’t come to terms with the postmodern clown world without knowing what makes that kind of world go around. So,...
The post Being Herd: Understanding How the Left Views Society appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.
Understanding the political philosophy of the Left requires us to acknowledge its historical context. To put it another way, we can’t come to terms with the postmodern clown world without knowing what makes that kind of world go around. So, let’s look at the history of class — I don’t mean “Stay classy, San Diego.” I mean “despotic elitism.”
Our Founding Fathers, astutely wary of the encroachment of English aristocracy, engaged in a perpetual discourse on social order. The Federalist v. Anti-Federalist debates, epitomized by figures like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, underscored this concern for preventing the resurgence of class divisions in the nascent United States. Even George Washington’s establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati elicited apprehension from men like John Adams, who feared the seeds of classism taking root. (READ MORE: If Trump Wins, the Far Left’s PTSD (Post-Trump Social Disruption) Is Coming)
The specter of class gained a foothold early on in Western democracies and traces back to the remnants of Greek democracy, notably propagated by Plato. Plato made significant contributions to pre-Christian philosophical thought, particularly in the realm of metaphysics as a natural law to distinguish between good and evil. Although Aristotle’s approach was more pragmatic, the philosophical foundations established by both thinkers significantly supported further structures in the erection of Western Civilization, such as English law. Plato, a pupil of Socrates and a proponent of famous city-state governance, proposed a three-tier class system: The guardians (elites), auxiliaries (assistants to the elites), and the working class (laborers).
Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994), one of our lesser-known geniuses and a man of Hebrew descent and Lutheran faith, was an eminent Austrian-British philosopher and public intellectual who studied Plato’s plan for revitalizing Athens and leading it toward a Utopian vision. Plato’s research encompassed an examination of both Sparta and Crete, identifying political structures that aligned with his concept of the sociology of the perfect state. In Popper’s influential work, The Open Society and its Enemies, he critically analyzes Plato’s political philosophy. In this quote from The Open Society, Popper speaks to the relationship of the Auxiliary (assistants to the elites, or what I call, the flunkies) to the Guardians (ruling class elites) and the role that the Auxiliary must assume:
The breeding and the education of the Auxiliary and thereby of the ruling class of Plato’s best state is, like their carrying of arms, a class symbol and therefore a class prerogative. And breeding and education are not empty symbols but, like arms, instruments of class rule, and necessary for ensuring the stability of this rule. They are treated by Plato…. as powerful political weapons, as means which are useful for herding the human cattle, and for unifying the ruling class.
What Popper reveals is that Plato was not merely one heck of a metaphysical philosopher, but he was the prototype for Communism if there ever was one. In Plato’s public administration plan for Utopia, we can see the playbook that inspired the dialectics of Hegel, the redistribution ideas of Marx, and the revolutionary doctrines of Lenin, as well as guides for European and North American leftists.
Let’s take a look at how this works. I bet it will answer all your questions including but not limited to, “So, what do they want by all of this attack on Judeo-Christian Western Civilization culture and tradition?” And, “Why are universities so stinking liberal?”
These and other perennial questions from the outdated, unwashed masses (that is, the “basket of deplorables,” the “bitter . . . guns and religion” crowd, the “clowns” — choose your pejorative term, but the elite are talking about you and me, i.e., those “irredeemable,” four-legged creatures who go “moo”) can be understood by changing your worldview lens. Let’s don the magical spectacles of Platonic communism to explore the Utopian vision of everyday governance and unveil the answers we seek. Amidst this vast landscape of ideas, let’s focus our gaze on the structural foundation itself. Beginning at the zenith, we encounter a hierarchical and class-driven system.
The Elites: Guardians of Power
The elites, the guardians, the ruling class: These are the proverbial “cool kids” of society. But let’s not forget, they’re also frequent purveyors of deception and coercion, a truth that patriots must always bear in mind. What matters most to these individuals is the acquisition and retention of absolute power, whether attained through elections or not — it’s all the same to them. In their worldview, the attainment of the new Athens, where the masses receive sustenance at the expense of their autonomy and dignity, rests solely in the hands of the elites. (READ MORE: The Left’s Never-Ending War to Disqualify Justices)
“Who are they?” Well, if you need to ask, you’re not among them. In this framework of life and society, meritocracy is out the window with the perceived dirty dishwater of family and private property. These individuals aren’t playing games. They’re playing for keeps, and they’re in it for the long haul. So, the ruling class must perpetuate itself (more on that as we get to the flunkies) or risk losing the levers of the machine. Considering that Utopia is envisioned as emanating from the enlightened elite who stand as sentinels at the gateway to this earthly paradise, every conceivable means must be employed to advance the state’s overarching agenda. This state, comprised of what could be dubbed the unholy trinity — namely, the elites, the flunkies, and the human cattle — leaves no stone unturned in its pursuit of power and control. Thus, tactical operations like the Russia hoax and the current weaponization of the judicial system are unpleasant but necessary means to stop an outsider (i.e., Trump) from stealing the reins of power and, therefore, compromising the “guardians’” rule. This leads us to the flunkies.
The Flunkies: Enforcers of Elite Will
This class is a subset of the elites. The flunky class exists only for the elites. Their relationship with the human cattle class is, at best, tangential. Remember Popper’s analysis of this group: “. . . breeding and education are not empty symbols but, like arms, instruments of class rule, and necessary for ensuring the stability of this rule.”
The flunky’s role is twofold: To bolster the elite’s ranks and shape the next generation of elites while dulling the minds of the masses and ensuring their continued dependence. Their mandate encompasses all measures necessary to fortify and perpetuate the elite’s grip on power.
Enter the realm of entertainment for the human cattle. Music, a potent tool, is wielded to enchant them into embracing the requisite dogma that upholds the elite’s supremacy. Plato’s era saw musicians flattered by the recognition of music’s political sway — a fact not lost on today’s orchestrators of power. Another effective strategy involves infiltrating professional guilds, particularly in the trades, to further solidify control. Mass media, too, becomes a conduit for shaping uncritical groupthink among the populace. When fortune favors, natural calamities or the specter of war are exploited to instill fear and reaffirm who holds the reins of authority and why it’s for the greater good. What were once bastions of stability — universities, churches, public education, and even seemingly innocuous groups like the Boy Scouts or athletic organizations — are repurposed as instruments of class domination. (READ MORE: Leftist Colleges Tend to Produce Leftist Scientific Studies)
In the elitists’ worldview, the cattle class remains befuddled or sedated while the breeding of the next elite cadre proceeds unabated. Of course, the elites don’t really believe that men can have babies or that girls should have to shower with boys pretending to be women. Nor do they support failed government schools. Their own private choices reveal the truth. For the elites truth and falsehood, like right and wrong, are merely pawns in their grand revolutionary chess game — designed to deliver their twisted version of “Your Best Life Now.” When Plato urged the Athenians to practice abortion — unknown in Athens at the time but observed in Sparta — he recognized the value of eugenics for controlling the herd. Check out any of your average ruling class-supported totalitarian initiatives in history and you will find this highly valued feature. Abortion, as it turns out, is a useful resource for the elite class. As a budding elite, you would want to use the flunkies in this operation and even convince the cattle to cull their own herd. Here the warped compassion of the elite reveals itself: “It is for their own good.”
And that brings us to those who must ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods and services to support the flunkies and the elite Utopia.
The Human Cattle: Subjects of Control
Plato called this large, dependent mass of humanity “the working class” (a phrase that makes my skin crawl even when it’s used out of sheer habit with no ill intent). By “working class,” we glimpse the twisted brilliance of the Utopian vision: The elites keep their hands clean, never lowering themselves to common labor. Instead, they delegate to the flunky class — the maniacal middle management of Utopia. The commoners, the necessary human bots, are left to handle the mundane but crucial tasks of the Utopia. The cattle class, vital to the system, is kept on the brink of survival by the state’s machinations, all while being squeezed for every drop of devotion and labor.
The advent of smartphones and social media was a blessing in disguise. The elites, in their infinite wisdom, initially feared the cattle might grow independent with the internet at their fingertips. But, surprise, surprise, the opposite happened. Those little machines transfixed the herd, lulling them into a useful, drooling complacency. The elites are both ruthless and “compassionate.” They proudly embrace a snobbish “noblesse oblige” that permits them to approve certain toys for the “working class,” provided these gadgets are closely monitored and used to perpetuate the master class Utopia.
When one grasps this worldview, the lingering questions suddenly find their answers: Why they loathe opposition figures like Trump (a usurper threatening to disrupt the Elite vision), why they despise practicing Christians and Jews, and why they delight in dismantling American heritage and mocking American traditions. Recognizing this ancient scheme at play is the first step in devising plans to either escape its clutches or overturn it altogether.
The truth is, the Utopian vision is not novel. It is, in fact, the de facto setting in human history. From Babel to Beijing history is marred by the effects of a fallen race and despotism, though it feels alien, seems to be an ever-present strand in the human genome. America is an exceptional nation (not as Obama smirched it, with the tired notion that all societies believe they’re exceptional) because America is an exception to the history of nations. British historian Paul Johnson reminded us that the United States has an observable founding. One can read the historical documents about the Pilgrims, the settlers in Jamestown, and the immigrants who followed them. You can read source documents if you wonder about their faith, intent, or desire to be a “city on a hill” (John Winthrop quoting Matthew 5:14). When Reagan (and before him, JKF) famously used the phrase “city on a hill,” he articulated the demonstrated exceptional nature of our founding.
America was founded and built by those who rejected class systems in favor of freedom and hard work. Undoubtedly, America became the outworking of Reformational teaching that every man can access Scripture, pray to God, be heard, and — as John Calvin taught in Geneva — be assured of God’s bestowal of dignity in all forms of work. To wit, the president of the United States, while deserving respect, holds no inherent or societal superiority over a homemaker or a ditch digger. All are valued. All are needed. All have equal voices. Western Civilization wasn’t just built on Greek democracies; it was rebuilt on the Christian teachings of St. Paul: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” And America ran with it. We were established without a ruling class or a working class. We were — we are — all just Americans. All have equal opportunity to work, learn, build, and strive for the fullest expression of liberty one can achieve.
Yet, we must remain vigilant. There are always those who see herds where God sees individuals, seeking to replace the Almighty with their own rule. To be an American is to deny their authority and defy their pretensions through the joyful exercise of faith at work in liberty.
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