Leftists as Elitists 
Leftism IS elitism.... Conservatives think they can learn from the past. Leftists think no-one can tell them anything

The short essay that inspired this blog is here. More on why elites tend Left here.  
  corner   



HOME

ARCHIVES


BIO


People with elitist attitudes tend Left and so do most of those who are actually in elite positions

An interesting saying:
"Egotism is the brain's way of easing the pain of stupidity"

The foundation essay for this blog is here


MY OTHER SITES

DISSECTING LEFTISM

GREENIE WATCH

GUN WATCH

PC WATCH

EDUCATION WATCH

SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

MARX & ENGELS

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY

RECIPES

OF INTEREST

OF INTEREST (2)

Of Interest 3
Longer Academic Papers
Johnray links
Academic home page
Academic Backup Page
General Backup



Selected reading

MONOGRAPH ON LEFTISM

CONSERVATISM AS HERESY

Rightism defined
Leftist Churches
Leftist Racism
Fascism is Leftist
Hitler a socialist
What are Leftists
Psychology of Left
Status Quo?
Leftism is authoritarian
James on Leftism
Irbe on Leftism
Beltt on Leftism

Critiques
Lakoff
Van Hiel
Sidanius
Kruglanski



INTERESTING BLOGS
(My frequent reads are starred)

10 o'clock scholar
11 Day Empire
14000 Pennsylvania
50th Star
Aaron rants
Abercrombie Chick
About Politics
Acidman
Across Atlantic
Advisory Opinion
Admiral Quixote
Agitator*
Agitprop
Also Canadian
Always Right
AMCGLTD
American Mind
American Thinker
American Realpolitik
Anal Philosopher*
Anthropology & Econ
Arlene Peck
Armed Prophet
Baby Troll
Bad Eagle
Bastard Sword
Beacon
Bearpit
Beautiful Atrocities
Belmont Club*
Betsy's Page
Between Coasts
Bidinotto
Bill Keezer
Bill Quick
Bill White
Bits blog
Bittersweet
Blackfive
Bleeding Brain
Blissful Knowledge
Blogarama
BLOGGER NEWS
Blogs against Hillary
Blogwise
Blowhards
Blue Collar Pundit
Booker Rising
Brothers Judd*
Brian Chapin
Bruin Standard
Bureaucrash
Canadian Comment
Candle in dark
Catallarchy*
Cato Elder
Chez Joel
Chomsky demolished
Classical Values
Clayton Cramer*
Colby Cosh
Cold Fury
The Commons
Common-sense & Wonder*
Conjecturer
Conservative Eyes
Conservative Grapevine
Conservative Philosopher
Country Store
Crispus
Critical Mass
Cronaca*
Curmudgeon
Daly Thoughts
Damian Penny
Davidson's Law
Dancing Dogs
Danegerus
Declarer
Dean's World
Deinonychus antirrhopus
Democratism
Dental blog
Dhimmi Watch
Dick McDonald*
Dictators
Discriminations
Dodge Blog
Drink This
Eddy Rants
Electric Venom
England's Sword*
Enter Stage Right
Envirospin
Eros Colored Glasses
Eugene Undergound
Europundits
Evangelical Ecologist
Everything I Know
Ex Parte
Fabians' Hammer
Father John
Feb. 30
Free Patriot
Free Rain
Free Speech
Frizzen Sparks
Galvin Opinion
Gay and Right
Gay Patriot
Gays for Life
Gene Expression*
Ghost of Flea
GM's Corner
One Good Turn
Gold Dog
GOPUSA Alaska
Greeblie
Grooveswitch
Happy Carpenter
Hatemongers Quart.
Hello Bloggy
Heretical Ideas
R. Hide MP
Hitler's Leftism
Homeschool Blogger
Hoosier Review
Hootinan
Horsefeathers
House of Dumb
Hugh Hewitt
Human events
Hunting resources
IMAO
Improved Clinch
Innocents Abroad
Instapundit
Intellectual Conservative
Interested Participant
Invisible Hand
Ipse Dixit
Israelly cool
Jackson's Junction
Jennie T
Jim Ed
Jim Kalb
Johnny Knuckles
Junk Science
Justin C Feng
Just One Minute
Karl Jahn
Kim Du Toit
Knowledge is Power
La Shawn
Laudator
Laugh at liberals
Let it bleed Let's Try Freedom
Light of Reason
Little Green footballs
Logical Meme
Lost Tooth Soc
Lone Wacko
R. Mandel
Mangan
Mark Nicodemo
Maverick Philosopher
MedPundit
Miami Review
Michelle Malkin
Mind control
Misanthropyst
Moderate Voice
Moonbat Central
Moorewatch
More Sense than Money
Moved Truth
Mr Minority
Mrs Blessed
Museum of Left Lunacy
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
National Center
National Security
New Sisyphus
New Zeal. Pundit*
No Credentials
Norm Quantum Weatherby
Northeastern Intelligence Network
O'Connell
Occam's Razor
OC Register blog
Overlawyered
Pakman
Pajama Editors
Parable Man
ParaPundit*
Pejmanesque
Petrified Truth
Poli Pundit
Police State
Politically Incorrect
Political Theory Review
Pragmatic Libertarian
Prodos
Prof Bainbridge
Promethean
Publius Pundit
Qando
Random Observations
Rand Simberg
Random Jottings
Rather Biased
Rational Explications
Ravenwood
Raving Atheist
Reagan Baby
Red Line Rants
Red State
Redwood Dragon
Regions of Mind
Reject Liberalism
Reliapundit
Rhodey
Rhymes with Right
Right Dominion
Right Nation
Right Reason
Rightwing Troll
Right Thinking
Right Wing news
Roadkill
Rottweiler
Sayet Right
Scared Monkeys
SCSU Scholars*
Sean Lafreniere
Sharp Knife
Should Know
Silflay Hraka
Silent Running
Sine Qua Non
Smallest Minority
Spartac.us
Squander 2
Steiner Aid
Sterling Times
Steve Sailer
Stuart Buck
Tagorda
Talking Head
Tertius
Texas Conservative
Theology of body
Tim Worstall
Townhall C-log
Travelling Shoes
True Blue Gal
Truth Laid Bear
Useful Fools
Vdare blog
Verbum Ipsum
Via fortunata
Viking Pundit
Vodka Pundit
Voices in Head
Walking the Streets
Western Standard
Bill Whittle
What If
Whym Rhymer
Why read This
WICKED THOUGHTS*
Wild Monk
Winds of Change
Winston's Diary
Wizbang
Write Wing Warrior
You Big Mouth Zero Intelligence



Education Blogs

Education Wonks
Eduwonk
Joanne Jacobs*
Marc Miyake*
No 2 Pencil
Prof Plum
Teacher's Viewpoint



Economics Blogs

Adam Smith
Arnold Kling
Chicago Boyz
Cafe Hayek
Econopundit
Environmental Economics
Jane Galt
S. Karlson
D. Luskin
Marginal Revolution
Mises Inst.
Robert Musil
Truck & Barter


Australian Blogs


ABC Watch
Australian Libertarians
Bizarre Science
Tim Blair
A E Brain
Brookes news
The Bunyip
Sasha Castel
Catallaxy
Rafe Champion
Che is Gay
Chrenkoff
Currency lad
Evil Pundit
Fight Fire
Kev Gillett
Gnu Hunter
M4 Monologues
M Jennings
Mike Jericho
Mangled Thoughts
Media Dragon
B Monaro
Oz Conservative
PID
Random Prose
Michael Ross
Slattery
Supermercado
Troppo
Gunboat
Usurer
Wog Blog
Vigilant Zem
P Watson
Western Heart*
The Yobbo
Bastards Inc
Paul & Carl
Speaking My Mind
It's A Matter of Opinion
Cyclone's Sketchblog
Niner Charlie
Greyice
Intemperate Thoughts
The Dog Blog
Welcome to the Asylum
Grinder-Com
Revenge of the Hamster
Chris Berg



England

Blithering Bunny
Briffa
Conservative Comment
Daily Ablution
England Project
EU Serf
Norm Geras
Hippercritical
IQ & PC
Laymans Logic
Liberty Cadre
Limbic Nutrition
Majority Rights*
Melanie Phillips
Oliver Kamm
Policeman
Political Correctness Truth
Mike Power
Dave Ray
Samizdata
Sean Gabb
Natalie Solent
Transportblog
Wayne Smallman
Rich Webster
Englishman's Castle



Scotland

Freedom & Whisky
Highland Warrior
A Place to Stand



Ireland

Conservative Dubliner
Tangled Web



Iceland

Ice & Fire
Great Auk



ISRAEL

Israel Pundit
IsraPundit (old)
IsraPundit (new)
Not A Fish
Steven Plaut
Rishon
Think Israel




The Portuguese connection

A Razao das Coisas
Avaliando o mundo
Blasfemias
Blogoesfera Internacional
Boticario de Provincia
De Direita
Direita
Impertinencias
Jaquinzinhos
Nadando contra a mare
Nortadas
O Intermitente
O Reacionario
O Blog do Alex
Portugal Liberal
Super Flumina
Ser Portugues
Tempestade Cerebral
Valete Fratres



Other Europe


Ambrosia Ephemeris
Daily Bork
Davids Medienkritik
Dissident Frog
HispaLibertas
No Pasaran
Le Guerre Civili



CHINA

China Hand
Fabian's Hammer
Gweilo Diaries
Hailey Xie



AFRICA

Ethiopian Pundit



BIGGIES
Ananova
Beeb
Best of Web
Business Review Weekly
Business Week
Courier Mail
Dilby News
Dinkum Oz
Economist
Free Republic
Fin Review
Fortune
Forbes
Front Page
National Review
Slate
Sydney Morning Harold
Telegraph (London)
Thunderer (London)


Site Feed



Who Links Here

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
 

Saturday, March 08, 2003

 
LIBERALS ARE ELITISTS IN DENIAL


By "Hovhannes"


I was moved to write this essay when I read the recent article on Leftists by Dr. John Ray in Front Page Magazine (See also here). I have always believed strongly in the psychological points about Leftism made there but I believe that Dr. Ray missed an important point when determining what is the key thing in making someone a liberal.

I agree with the elements of narcissism, false idealism, and disdain for inequality in the portrait given by Dr. Ray, but feel that the most important element is the absolute rejection by Leftists of superiority. I submit that Leftists of today should be defined less by their belief that inequality should never exist, but instead on the basis of a belief that “superiority” should never exist. All modern leftist beliefs flow inexorably from this view, including the most reprehensible opinion of them all: moral equivalence.

A believer in individual liberty might say differences between people drive them to achieve. Without the drive to achieve personally, society cannot move forward collectively. A believer in "leftism" would say that individual differences and the drive to achieve lead only to hegemony and all the other fancy post-modern terminology the modern left enjoy confusing people with.

Despite its prominent socialist elements, Nazism will always be considered right-wing, not because Nazis believed in racism, but because they believed in superiority. To be sure, Nazis believed in superiority based on race, which is an abhorent and untenable belief, but leftism does not distinguish between types.

Dr. Ray is correct in saying that leftist leaders hypocritically use their followers' beliefs against them. They play on their followers' beliefs in the rejection of superiority to argue that no one should be superior, but that everyone should be equal, then slip in the knife, proclaiming something akin to George Orwell's famous words, that some people are more equal than others.

In my discussions with leftists, most express clear distrust of other people, and believe "commoners" must be protected from their own inferiority. A believer in Liberty of course believes everyone has something to contribute, even if everyone is not Albert Einstein, and "commoners" left alone will do just fine for themselves.

To the believer in Liberty, if one does not achieve success, it is only their fault. There are certainly instances of inferiority which do not let people participate fully in life, but people who require social protection are the exception, not the rule. Different non-leftists will differ where that line is drawn.

In the mind of the believer in liberty, if one is not trustworthy, their time will come soon enough when the rest of society punishes them. In other words, a free society is its own cure for mutual distrust.

Here is the central lie of today's leftism. The highest leftist tenet is that people are inherently unequal. The next is that equality must be enforced in order to sustain a proper society. The lie comes when one considers the way equality must be enforced. The only way to enforce equality is to have a superior, elite class of people as leaders, to determine what equality is, and to ensure it sustains itself.

The lie reveals itself when one asks a leftist what they truly believe of the "common" people, whom they distrust and disdain, but believe they love. They hold the same condescending love toward the lower classes as an owner for their dog. Their attitude toward the group of humanity they consider less intelligent than themselves, is repulsive.

Believers in Liberty acknowledge there are people of differing intelligence, and perhaps even look down upon the lower classes themselves, but still believe society will take care of itself and its members' success in the long run.

Thus, leftists are actually distrustful elitists, with enough compassion to believe the world should be equal, enough narcissism to believe they are the moral and intellectual superiors who should care for their inferiors, and enough cynicism to believe what they're doing is beneficial to the lower classes, thus enlisting the lower classes to support their social agenda out of the lower classes' desire to succeed. The unfortunate part of the leftist attitude is that the people whom they target as lower class are only too willing to play along, hoping ironically that whatever advantages they gain from this class warfare will accrue to their personal benefit.

In sum, a leftist proclaims that superiority should never exist, but in brilliant Orwellian fashion, once they are sure everyone else believes superiority is forbidden, take the mantle of leadership upon themselves, a one-eyed man among the blind, and use the lower classes' belief in self-gain ironically against them. Once everyone else believes in equality, the narcissistic leftist believes their own natural superiority will rise above the sea of commonality to lead their homogeneous flock toward grazing.







This page is powered by Blogger.