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January 4, 2011

The Wisdom Paradox

Typical, Well-Below-Average, Idiot Voter




GNN - We came upon something we'd like to share with all our readers. Sadly, we can't share all of it with you because it's current copyrighted material. It won't be freely available on the Internet for 90 days or so, and it comes from the print-issue, Fall 2010, Claremont Review of Books.

CRB contributor, Harvey Mansfield, reviews Kenneth Minogue's new book The Servile Mind: How Democracy Erodes the Moral Life. Minogue authored the conservative classic The Liberal Mind (1963); his current book addresses the problem of liberal politics as the way the elites fashion a new morality of their own kind, with a politics that approves and coerces our thoughts and sentiments to "a sort of mild, regulated and peaceful servitude" .


Minogue proposes that the elite's intent is in the "wisdom paradox" of their idea of democracy, which works in this way: Democracy rests upon the principle that "the people" are wise enough for self-government even though, statistically, half the population is below average intelligence, (some, like Keith Olberman, is on the "extreme left" tail of the bell curve - Ed.)

The paradox lies in the way government elected by half-incompetents ignores its own suspect competence, while also believing that a substantial portion of its electoral base is below average and incompetent in voting or dealing with the problems of life. Mired in prejudices, bigotry, self-indulgence, indolence, dishonesty and fecklessness. the voter's electoral wisdom vanishes, and his incompetence is to be relieved by the wise government that the idiot elected. Obviously, both positions can't be true, but Liberalism proves that it's possible to hold each of them, as true, at the same time.

True or not, the self-identified "wise" government elected by the sub-par will take as its first task the equalization of competence across the population, favoring the perceived incompetents and limiting the power of the competent and extra-competent to narrow disparity of results. Since government will necessarily end up doing more for people than they can conceivably do for themselves, the servile mind is the result and the goal.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

As long as we accept "bread and circuses" rather than demand liberty, this is what we will get.

sig94 said...

In their wisdom, the framers of the Constitution (1790) limited suffrage to adult males who owed property. Look what has happened since.

sig94 said...

Rhod - in that photo Oberdoof looks like he has Bell's Palsy. That what my mouth did 2 weeks ago.

Wetzy said...

Take my freedom and keep me safe.

Anonymous said...

"The paradox lies in the way government elected by half-incompetents ignores its own suspect competence"

First "liberals", then "progressives". "Half-incompetents" will be next.

Rhod said...

Sig, Olberdoof has Balls Palsy.