"Oligarchy in America"

I think this piece has much truth in it.

I encourage all to read it, and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

"A republic, Plato noted, decays from within, not from invasion. Build the American Athens and, sooner or later, you will find yourself living in the American Rome."

"Oligarchy in America - Crossing the Rubicon of Class"

By Dominic Green

11 comments:

Grim said...

An analysis without solutions, I notice. An admiration of the problem, as it were, but not a way forward.

Elise said...

Agreed but perhaps there isn't a way forward.

douglas said...

I think we're largely still coming to grips with what space we are operating in now- it's clearly not the same as pre-Obama, but people still largely evaluate through the lenses of what they know, and have a hard time transitioning to new paradigms. A good analysis of the terrain of the landscape we are entering seems to me very useful, and this seems that, in my opinion.

E Hines said...

Agreed but perhaps there isn't a way forward.

There's always a way forward. That we haven't figured one out--yet--doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

And: Rome, the successor to Athens, was in most of the important ways, better than that Athens. A Canticle for Leibowitz isn't far wrong.

Eric Hines

Elise said...

There's always a way forward. That we haven't figured one out--yet--doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

I don't believe that. There's (almost) always a way to change what is but that's not necessarily a way forward. If I remember correctly, at the end of Canticle, the Church was leaving the planet. We aren't yet able to do that and there is nowhere here on Earth left for what David Gelernter calls "a new Mayflower" to sail for.

I would like to believe that Kurt Schlichter's Conservative Insurgency is possible but it seems increasingly unlikely. Not just because the Oligarchy can exert considerable force to stop it but also because I don't think enough people are interested in change - or even know what there is to change to. Life is comfortable for most people and I don't know the they see a compelling enough reason to risk their jobs or financial security, much less anything more. There is clearly a huge downside and not clearly a sufficient upside.

It will be interesting to see what the Democrats/Left do to consolidate power over the next couple of years and to see what happens in the 2022 elections.

Grim said...

There's definitely a way forward in the sense that one day will follow another, and things will change as time passes.

But you're right, Elise, in that imagination is an important part of the process. Col. Kurt imagined one way forward, and people who read his book can consider it. But there may be other ways. That's a good reason to read the Laws, or Aristotle's Politics, or similar documents at this time. It's a good moment to be thinking about what we might do instead of what we are doing.

E Hines said...

I would like to believe that Kurt Schlichter's Conservative Insurgency is possible but it seems increasingly unlikely.

Only if we give up. Or quit trying, which is the same thing. But if we do, we'll only get what we've earned, which is always the case.

Eric Hines

Elise said...

Grim, when I said I found Col. Schlichter's vision increasingly unlikely, I wasn't referring so much to the specifics of his renewed country as to the idea that there it is possible to remake the culture and thus the politics and thus the government. I know that an awful lot of people voted for Donald Trump which at least indicates a desire for some type of change but I remain pessimistic for 3 reasons:
1) Inertia and accretion. The Federal government is like a ship whose hull is more barnacles than wood. Getting it cleaned up would be a mammoth task and, to continue the analogy, would require pulling the whole thing out of service.
2) Everyone feeds from the Federal trough. People may want change but I'm not sure they want the kind of change that means they, personally, no longer get Federal largesse.
3) For a long time I've thought that splitting the country was the solution. I'm not convinced that any of the States are different: they are barnacled and everyone feeds there also, just on a smaller scale and without the ability to borrow (no small thing admittedly).

On the other hand, Col. Schlichter's book chronicles the period from 2009-2041 which is a fairly long time. Perhaps it is possible to effect some type of radical change over such a time period without breaking the whole enterprise. It's certainly possible that the Democrats/progressives will overreach and provoke a backlash. It's also possible that the country will simply run out of money which will require some changes. And it's possible there will be another great religious revival which will change the culture, perhaps in a way I would find desirable.

And, yes, it is good for people like you to be considering what we might do if the opportunity to remake things occurs.

Elise said...

Only if we give up. Or quit trying, which is the same thing. But if we do, we'll only get what we've earned, which is always the case.

I agree that even if something looks impossible, that isn't a reason to give up if it's the right something. I don't agree that we always get what we earned; sometimes, especially in a democracy (republic) we get what our fellow voters have earned. Again, it doesn't mean we give up.

Elise said...

I’m not comfortable leaving my comment about everyone feeding at the Federal trough as it is - that's too harsh.

Feeding at the trough is about wanting to get, which is only one side of the coin. The other side is about fearing to lose. Government at all levels seems increasingly willing to (eager to, happy to) take away the livelihood and property of its citizens. Asset forfeiture; misuse of eminent domain; destroying businesses for failing to support gay marriage; the closures of disfavored businesses (small) during the pandemic while favored businesses (large, patronized by politicians) are allowed to stay open; the cancellation of the pipeline; the voiding of leases to frack; etc. I’d throw the loss of track and field scholarships for high school girls in there, too. Even people who are willing to forgo government largesse have to think twice when facing the possibility of government-induced economic hardship or even disaster - especially people who have others depending on them.

Grim said...

Yeah. "Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." You've got to be willing to give up everything to be free to do anything.