“For civilization is not something inborn or imperishable; it must be acquired anew by every generation, and any serious interruption in its financing or its transmission may bring it to an end.” – Will Durant
“Whatever its faults, middle-class nationalism provided a common ground, common standards, a common frame of reference without which society dissolves into nothing more than contending factions … a war of all against all.”
— Christopher Lasch
The last book of the late Christopher Lasch has often been cited by aware observers of contemporary society. The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy (1995, WW. Norton, New York) was his posthumous warning about the implications for America of a political/managerial elite that had lost touch with its founding society, and the dark night that might result. So far, there has been little reason to question his warnings. While Lasch was writing about the United States, the malaise he feared is a growing infection in much of the Western World.
Providing a specific identity to that elite is difficult – Lasch thought of them more or less as people involved in public/political or managerial roles who thought of themselves as ‘progressives’. It might be better to think of them as people who acquire and exercise power while guided by post-modernist thought and ethics (bizarre as those may be). This does make it hard to slap the elite labels on individuals which, believe it or not, can be a good thing. Readily identified castes can make for very ugly political abuses. Let us just say that today’s elites can be identified by their deeds.
In the US, in Canada, and throughout Western Europe today, we are threatened by foes that many of these elites refuse to recognize as enemies. Our defences are hampered by their widespread belief that self-preservation is somehow immoral. The foundations of our societies are being gnawed away by institutions that purport to defend the very values they destroy. Best practices that have stood for centuries are set aside because they are no longer ‘fair’, ‘tolerant’ or – worse – ‘modern’. We are taught to be ashamed of our history; to tolerate the intolerant in the name of tolerance; and to see our civilization’s greatest accomplishments as meaningless.
As Lasch warned: An ethos that is willfully ignorant of its own past and too cowardly even to recognize its self-destructive impulses now dominates too many of our institutions. Many of our schools are fonts of ignorance, our courts manufacture injustice, and our legislatures often treasure indecision. The work of a destructive generation of post-modernist elites is remaking our society into something alien to us.
As a caveat, this is not some giant conspiracy hatched deliberately by a mysterious shadowy cabal. Such things simply do not exist. Rather, this destruction is an unconscious impulse, prompted by a generation to whom ‘progress’ is an end in itself without direction or purpose rather than a way of measuring attainment.
As Jonah Goldberg points out in his essay Liberal Fascism (Doubleday, New York, 2007), this impulse has a long history in the 20th Century – those who yearn for dramatic or sweeping change in a new society have been seen before: Mussolini and Hitler fed the same appetite, as did the Anarchist Durruti or Communist Che Guevera.
If there is a symbol for this age, it might be the tarot card of the fool – staring up in rapture at the skies and oblivious to the yawning gulf at his feet. But there is good news: Generation pass; societies change; and sometimes failure becomes so complete that even fools notice it.
Set against the current of these times are the usual suspects: Contrarians, most of whom are conservatives and libertarians, but also including some social radicals of what used to be thought of as the ‘Left’. These are those people who tend to listen to their instincts while today’s ‘progressives’ and elites suppress theirs.
Being conservative is not a defence of privilege; it is often the well-off who flock to the exciting new movements, while those who know their futures are less secure tend towards caution. Of course, as Goldberg points out, ‘social conservatives’ are often little better than progressives at resisting the impulse to state control.
However, assuming you are a conservative of contrarian or libertarian inclinations, what should you do? Fight a rear-guard action? Salvage what you can against the coming era when the reckoning comes due? Prepare for the shift when a new generation of thought emerges? Engage in resistance?
Whatever proves necessary in the long run, the behaviours that will protect the best of our liberal democratic traditions, and preserve the best legacies of centuries of Western thought are the same.
Herewith follows a partial list of behaviours that you should adopt, if you haven’t already:
Participate in civil society: The network of voluntary civic and social organizations that largely operate outside of the rubric of the state and major corporations constitute the civil society. Community groups, professional associations, clubs, and societies – these predate the arrival of the nation state and add value to our wider society. Today’s elites have little time for Boy Scouts or Girl Guides, university fraternities or militia regiments, Rotarians and Elks, Little League baseball or scratch hockey games at the arena. Large and influential professional associations and labor unions have already been bent to the uses of the progressive elites, but there remains much room for vexing elites at the local level.
Getting involved in the Civil Society adds value to lives and lets contrarians widen the resistance to the contemporary order. The influence of any individual can be greatly magnified here, so get out the cheque book and sacrifice some evenings and weekends.
Study history: For those who have never read Jack Granatstein’s Who Killed Canadian History? it still shouldn’t take much effort to identify the suspects and their motives. Post-Modernist thought has little tolerance for history, save where it can be perverted in a narrow context to meet some particular end. Read history, read more history, and still more history. Oh, and find good historical movies and add them to your collection.
To get started, you would do well to acquire Will and Ariel Durant’s 11 volume History of Civilization. It takes a while to plough through it, so browse instead.
Military history — so far — hasn’t been contaminated as much by what passes for modern thought, and so start filling up shelves with John Keegan, Geoffrey Parker, and Victor Davis Hanson.
For amusement, don’t neglect historical fiction. Acquire C.S. Forester’s Hornblower series, George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman books or Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of Brigadier Gerard or the White Company.
(The task of writing up a long list of recommended books would be a work in progress to follow in a later edition of this newsletter and input – addressed to institute@mackenzieinstitute.com– would be most welcome.)
Study science, economics and philosophy: An aware citizen should be generally conversant with on-going developments in a number of fields, and a number of episodes of induced hysteria in the last few years have relied on a low knowledge of science in the general public. Moreover, constant learning outside of areas of necessary professional knowledge is a good life-long habit that can also come in handy… for instance, this writer’s fascination with paleontology and archeology led to a healthy skepticism about many of the claims surrounding global warming.
People should know how to stay abreast of recent developments in the sciences and social sciences. In addition, a good historical library should be buttressed by works from economists like Ludwig von Mises, Thomas Sowell and Freidrich Hayek; archeologists like Brian Fagan, and of course should contain philosophers like Eric Hoffer and Arthur Koestler.
Never accept assigned collective ‘guilt’: ‘Historical grievances’ is a game that anyone can play and any number of semi-educated cretins never let an absence of context or background detail prevent them from trying. As a part of the unequal public politics of ‘victimhood’ it has become popular for various claims to surface against the Western World. This includes demanding apologies for assumed historical grievances like the European settlement of the Americas, the trans-Atlantic slave trade or the bloody storming of Jerusalem in 1099.
The full context of history always provides a much broader picture. It helps to remember, for instance, that Columbus brought syphilis back from the New World, that thousands of Westerners died bringing an end to the slave trade, and that the storming of Jerusalem was matched by a number of Islamic atrocities of greater magnitude. While not excusing any historic evils done by anyone at any time, there are many other deeds worthy of collective censure that have gone entirely un-rebuked. If asked to feel guilty because of the purported (or real) crimes of one’s ancestors, politely excuse yourself. If pressed on the issue, rudely excuse yourself.
Increase the Birthrate: The alarming drop in fertility rates in Western societies has been commented on, most notably by Mark Steyn in America Alone. Note that this trend more or less began as the Post-Modernist generation emerged, and generates arguments about the fragmentation of society, the innate selfishness of contemporary elites, and the widespread shunning of any sense of responsibility or duty. Fine, but one should remember that the future belongs to those who populate it.
Conservatives, by and large, tend to have more children than progressives do… and you should have more. Moreover, when raised competently, children usually pick up the values and best habits of their parents. Act accordingly.
Enlighten family, friends and neighbours: Use the zeal of a missionary to spread the word; but remember that the best practices of such work involve setting examples rather than mere preaching. Encourage the habit of reading and thinking for oneself, give stimulating books as gifts and quietly draw new recruits into your institutions and lifestyles. For children, instill the reading habit early and encourage critical thinking as much as you can.
Remember (in case any of you might actually need a reminder) that the ways of thinking and the legacy of Western classical liberalism can be universal. The progressives automatically assume anyone with a non-European background must belong in their camp; but this is simply not true. Despite the elite preoccupation with skin pigmentation, what is in the heart, soul and brain is more important.
Support Private Firearm Ownership: The most compelling argument there can be for letting citizens own firearms is the consistent hostility that liberal elites and aspiring authoritarians have towards this tradition. Never mind the real benefits of hunting, target shooting, and other sports; the final worth of firearms ownership among the citizens is as that ultimate and final defence against tyranny and the abuse of power. The slogan of Louis XIV’s artillery might have been Ultimo ratio regum (the final argument of kings), but small arms in the hands of enough citizens can be a telling argument too.
Of course, firearms ownership is a defence in potentia rather than in actuality. Still, for a conservative, a contrarian, or a libertarian; even if you don’t like firearms; today’s irrational impulse for gun control only means that you should make a point about buying firearms and regularly practicing with them.
Shun Popular Culture: Modern life has turned people into a society of spectators rather than living their own lives as they should. How else can one explain the growing power of the cult of celebrity, where we are breathlessly kept informed of the latest doings of some starlet; where pornography is so common, and professional sports have become such a large industry? Meanwhile, politics has been reduced to stage performance and a focus on sex scandals.
Gossip, smut, and sports are constants in human society; but have they ever before taken on the importance that they now have? As for the ‘dumbing down’ of our society, watch old uncut Bugs Bunny cartoons and count the cultural references; the producers assumed their viewers had a wide familiarity with everything from grand opera to old vaudeville tunes. Then watch the pap ladled out on the cartoon channel today to children as regular programming.
(As an aside, let me exempt the Simpsons from this criticism. The average episode contains numerous cultural references. South Park, while extremely crude, is often merciless to modern thinking as well.)
Keep the faith: It has been a disturbing aspect of recent history that those who would create a brave new society will often first target religion. The recent history of the Jewish, Christian and Buddhist faiths provide enough illustrations of this point. But then, these religions are fonts of individual ethical behaviour which normally remain outside of the reach of those who would today hammer together a new society. Moreover these faiths (and likewise Hinduism and Islam) often are among the strongest influences on individual identity. Religion has answers that the state cannot provide, and has questions that today’s elites dare not ask.
It is no coincidence that Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Robespierre, Mussolini, and a host of others have attempted to curb the power of religious faith at various times. Setting aside the great comfort of belief, there are many excellent reasons to regularly participate in the rituals and traditions of a chosen religion. Attend your church or temple and enjoy the irritation it causes to Lasch’s elite.
Widen your thinking: The old ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ labels were never that accurate to begin with and are becoming meaningless now. Trapping yourself into that framework means cutting yourself off from a host of potential allies. The new alignment will probably revolve around individualists vs. collectivists; people who think for themselves against those who don’t. There are people operating under conservative labels who more properly belong in the enemy camp, and people under the socialist banner who already are contrarians.
Don’t be confused by causes. You might get really irritated by Christopher Hitchen’s views on religion or conversely regard some pro-life activist as a tiresome zealot; but anybody who favors individual freedom against a dull suffocating state is a friend and ally. In times like these, anybody with firm principles and thought-out convictions is worth knowing and cultivating.
Network and Organize: Power, influence, and the capacity to resist the influence of the elites grow exponentially as you come together. Avoid joining over-arching super-groups as networked communities of smaller entities are far more efficient. Inform each other, train each other, and organize – the more this is done, the more you can isolate this cadre of progressives bent on purposeless change. At the least you can protect each other and preserve what you can; ultimately, you might even do much more than that.
Over the next couple of decades, the survival of Western civilization and its legacy rests with you. Don’t fail.
