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I see no men fit to be masters
Source: Shutterstock, Asset ID: 1925129480
Some Ricochet members are here to teach. Of this subgroup, some just want to share their view of the world and encourage debate. Others are determined to convince others of the virtue of their perspectives, and they are insulted if anyone disagrees with them. I am in neither group. As I’ve said repeatedly, I’m here to learn.
One of the many things I would like to learn is why leftists think the way they do. I’m conservative because I take a dim view of human nature. But I’m fascinated by the fact that many of my leftist friends are leftists because they also take a dim view of human nature. How did we start in the same place and arrive at such opposite conclusions? Perhaps CS Lewis can explain:
“Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.” – CS Lewis
So perhaps those of us on the right and those of us on the left share in our dim view of human nature. Perhaps some people are only fit to be slaves. But perhaps leftists have more faith in their leaders than conservatives do. Perhaps leftists believe in Plato’s philosopher-king model of leadership. I remember reading Plato’s Republic in college – I laughed out loud when I got to that part. I was convinced it was satire.
But perhaps, to leftists, it’s not. Perhaps they take a dim view of most of humanity, but they believe that a select few have sufficient wisdom and virtue to lead the rest of us poor fools.
Source Wikimedia Commons
But then Democrats elect Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. If Democrats believe that a sufficiently wise and virtuous philosopher-king can make the world a better place, then why do they choose leaders like that?
On the other hand, who would that leftist philosopher/leader be? Who is the Thomas Sowell of the left? Or the Dennis Prager? Or the Bill Buckley? Who would that be on the left? Paul Krugman? James Carville? Jon Stewart? Kamala Harris?
It seems to me that the left and the right share a dim view of human nature. But it appears that, as Mr. Lewis pointed out, leftists believe in the benefits of strong, wise, virtuous leaders.
So why does the left have no such leaders?
And why do they persist in believing this way? They’ve seen how leftism works with incompetent leaders like Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden. They’ve also seen how leftism works under more competent leadership, like Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Castro, et al. Yet they still believe in the benefits of strong, virtuous, wise leaders.
And then they nominate Kamala Harris. Or Joe Biden. Or whoever.
Source: theblacksphere.net, Kevin Jackson
I don’t understand. I thought I did. But apparently I don’t.
So I guess I’m mistaken. Maybe leftists don’t have more faith in their leaders than conservatives do. I thought that Mr. Lewis explained this very well. I thought that this explained the differences between leftists and conservatives.
Perhaps not.
But why, then, do conservatives and leftists agree on a dim view of human nature, yet take such different approaches to fixing it?
What do you think?
Published in General
To be fair: the Left didn’t nominate Kamala Harris. Joe Biden coronated her.
But your larger point is well taken. A leader who is wise and good and on the left? Have him ride a camel through the eye of a needle too, why dontcha?
The Left is perpetually unhappy. And they want everyone else to be unhappy too. Sad. It is also why this new Rico group is so aptly named! And they prey on people who are also unhappy and then seek to control, and anger, them through sustained poverty.
Both sides take dim views, but for different reasons. Republicans understand the human weaknesses of craving power and the need to set limits on those who want to have their way. The Dems think they can mold people into their ideal vision which is foolish and impossible. I think at least the Republicans are realistic; the Dems are ridiculous.
I have another good brother-in-law story. I was explaining to him how the birth rate started going down around 1960 when the pill and feminism came in. Then a whole list of things that came in so people quit having babies. And then I pointed out that LBJ’s Medicare was a known actuarial disaster to both parties by 1973. And then I said something, and I really believe this, it’s none of LBJ’s damn business how many babies you have. The government needs to stay the hell out of that, unless they can do it without force. (I actually think they could have a long time ago. Procreate FICA Slaves For The State Comrade!) Then the only thing he could say was well the government gets involved in all kinds of things. He didn’t have any kind of solution and I say it’s none of LBJ’s business how big your family is or isn’t. I mean that’s what this comes down to: they take FICA at gunpoint, but you don’t have to procreate FICA slaves at gunpoint.
Because they believe they can change human nature, they see any resistance to these ideas on being on the “wrong side of history”
I think the quote goes “If we are not fit to govern ourselves, then who among us is fit to govern others?” and it’s from Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address.
I would refine that a bit. We on the right have a dim view of human nature, and we include ourselves. Leftists have dim view of human nature, but they exclude themselves.
But it sounded too cynical.
I hope it’s not true. I really do.
But I suspect that Mr. Bonhoeffer might agree with you.
I don’t understand who or what leftists/regressives admire. It seems the only moral imperative for a socialist leader is to embrace socialist causes, however mercurial they may be. The responsibility and accountability for personal relationships and pledges and truthfulness is only attributable to people holding more conservative views of life. As for human nature, do conservatives and leftists really agree? I believe humans endeavor to be free. The ability to seek answers to previous unknowns and to seek light when in the dark, or not. Do leftists want that for their society? It appears to me that individualism is not a trait admired by the left.
I think they love grievance – which is why ESG/DEI appealed to them.
Leftists might take a dim view of human nature, but they appear to believe that it’s largely the result of external forces, forces that can be changed – and thus human nature is changeable. We could be so perfect if not for racism/sexism/homophobia/Islamophobia/etc., etc.!
In fairness, there are a couple of politicians on the Left who appear to have at least some brains – Governor Shapiro in Pennsylvania and John Fetterman come to mind.
I put it this way in a Substack note recently: “There is an essential, narcissistic core to progressivism.” Obama was more blatant: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
That’s actually true. Bomb the Eccles building. Of course that’s the last thing the Left is going to do.
There is nothing better than a Big Ten word appropriately used. That is exactly what it’s like. It’s nuts.
I’ve said it before. You go left, they keep fishing around for new and crazy ways to use government force. If you go right, you end up with conservatives arguing with libertarians about what you can privatize.
What did “moderate” Democrats like Scoop Jackson and Daniel Patrick Monahan actually believe in? I have no idea.
I don’t think this is true. Most people want to be taken care of and not take risks.
Perhaps it’s because we might take a dim view of human nature, but we believe in human potential. That is, we can always strive to be better, and indeed we derive satisfaction from that struggle.
Leftists believe that people cannot improve themselves and cannot be trusted, and that therefore people must be controlled. And they derive satisfaction from being in control.
You might be correct, especially for leftists.
I’ve listened to Dennis Prager talk about this a lot and I think he’s right. I’m not that different but I made a lot of horrible decisions related to my dad’s narcissistic personality disorder, which I think would be pretty different from the generic case.
Leftists do not take a dim view of human nature, they think man is perfect-able, if only you would do what they say.
I don’t know how to characterize a view of human nature I think is conservative. Man is self-interested and as long as you’re aware, that need not be a negative. That’s just an example.
This seems to be true of most Europeans I know. But I thought we Americans were supposed to be proud of our rugged individualism. What happened? 😢
#1. Bomb the Eccles building
#2. Stop taking FICA at gunpoint and lying to everybody about it.
#3. Get rid of all government education. You don’t need government schools. Government schools are not a public good. Basically keep collecting the taxes but cut a check to the parents.
#4. Very few of us are better off when the government produces non-public goods. 80% of government is non-public goods. Stop doing that.
That is a good start that will never happen. lol
There is no point that I could see in arguing with leftists, but I had to work with one for two or three years. I noticed that he was always angry about something, and I asked why. He answered that we have the power to create a utopia but we waste our energies on other actions, actions of which he disapproved. I suppose that he thought human nature to be infinitely malleable making Utopia an achievable goal. I didn’t protest, just asked questions about the morality of some actions that he supported to bring society around to his vision. He said he had no belief in universal moral principles. That led me to ask what was the basis of his ethical system, and he said, “We have evolved . . . ” I don’t remember the rest because had I responded, it would have been a real argument. How does one deal with someone who discounts his own intellect and will and assumes we are all products of evolution?
@raygunner is exactly spot on. As a former Lefty I can attest to that. Ask any Lefty … they will admit that they believe there is a relatively small group of people – maybe a coupl’a hundred – who know what’s what … and they are part of that group. And tens of MILLIONS of them believe this same thing.
I’m reminded of a Bill Clinton story…
Someone who knew him early on talked about how convincing and sincere he always seemed. When he talked to you, you knew that he was telling you the absolute truth from his heart. And you’d watch him work a gathering and listen as he told 10 different people 10 different things … and feel sorry for them because they were clearly getting played. You knew Bill was lying … but he was lying to everybody else. The the fact that the other 10 people all believed the same thing you did didn’t bother you at all. You had seen into his eyes and into his soul and knew that Bill had told you the God’s honest truth.
As President Ronald Reagan said … the problem with democrats is that they know so much that just isn’t so.
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ronald_reagan_440732
I think that Leftists view themselves as a group as their having an important part in determining the Supra Government that they desire to have created. So it is hard for themselves to believe that they could ever serve as slaves to anyone. After all, theirs is a democratic movement, right?
The fact that to be on the left, the individual must adopt to being part of a total hive mind seems to escape them.
Just in my examining one issue, the Climate Crisis, I come away puzzled over how they believe that any activity causing the expenditure of even one millionth of a carbon unit is considered a major crime, yet they also overlook how Obama has a mansion on the very ocean shores so soon, they believe, to be flooded over by a rising ocean tide.
When Toto pulls the curtain back, they all shout Toto down, for being a very bad and racist kind of dog.
I’ve always gotten a kick out of “Rule Britannia.” It is always sung humorously at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall each year. Keeping in mind that they were on our side during the Cold War and that communism-socialism is another form of forced labor and slavery, these are the lyrics:
This was a very funny but actually pretty impressive rendition in 2012.
Bomb the Eccles building.
Bill Clinton has narcissistic personality disorder.