America’s Next Aristocracy and thoughts on America's elite schools...

[rcbusmc24]

I found this article while browsing around some of the usual places I look for new interesting thoughts other than PF, (yes, shocking I know... there's more to the internet than PF?!!!) and this one piqued my interest. I willingly admit that I don't know enough about the functionings of higher education, I've been slowly working on a bachelor's degree since before I joined the Marine Corps, and my retirement date from that is actually tomorrow, so my success rate for academic completion is not particularly high. Nonetheless, I am interested in others thoughts on the fact that our elite universities produce our elite leaders in many respects and the process in which that is conducted.

I'm particularly interested in thoughts, refutations, confirmations and ideas from those of you who either attended, graduated from or instruct at some of these places along with our many professors from various institutions and their thoughts on this article or other thread drifts as they may wish to contribute. Of course as with all things PF, I expect and wholeheartedly welcome thread drift, with the caveat that this particular topic has the potential to become political and I would prefer to keep it out of the politics forum if at all possible in order to facilitate greater discussion...

To be perfectly blunt about the below article, I am still not sure how I feel about it overall. There are parts where I find myself nodding along in agreement, and parts where I bristle immediately at the ideas being expressed. I'm sure others will get that feeling as well. That's why I would like to get some others perspectives on it, even if it is just to tell me that the article is nothing more that the deluded ramblings of a disgruntled grad student, though, if it is that, he did at least manage to get it published...

As an aside I find many interesting articles on https://palladiummag.com/ and some of you might find it worthy of your time as well...

MATHIS BITTON OCTOBER 29, 2021

America’s Next Aristocracy

https://palladiummag.com/2021/10/29/...t-aristocracy/


The construction of functional hierarchies is a fundamental task of political theory. Like biological organisms, human systems need centralization to coordinate their activities in harmony. Faced with ever-increasing complexity, modern societies have built institutional pipelines to harness talent, tackle long-term challenges, and organize collective action at scale. Some regimes are more egalitarian than others, but all cultivate an elite that shapes and directs the polity—consciously or not.

As Peter Turchin observes, large-scale societies with dynamic hierarchies have outlasted and outcompeted more horizontal models since the beginning of the Holocene. Meanwhile, those who try to do away with hierarchy fail to produce anything but corruption and sclerosis. Lenin rightly argues that even revolutionary Marxists need a vanguard; for better or worse, the question of elite production is inescapable.


[EDIT - Please don't copy/paste full articles due to copyright issues]

[TGS]

Jesus christ, that's a word-soup by someone trying too hard if I ever saw it.

[Totem Polar]

Jesus christ, that's a word-soup by someone trying too hard if I ever saw it.

Do you even asabiyyah, bro?


Seriously though, I think I have the answer to the question about reform from within or replacement from without. No way things reform from within before the bubble bursts.

And, America doesn’t necessarily thirst for a new class of elites; a resurgence of dinosaurs who adhere to the founding principles that have remained and survived the test of time will do.

[rcbusmc24]

Jesus christ, that's a word-soup by someone trying too hard if I ever saw it.

20 years of reading Marine Corps publications and documents have made me immune to the effects of word soup sadly....

[Sensei]

Are America’s universities fast-tracks or prerequisites to power and influence in our society? You shouldn’t need a 10,000 word essay to answer that question.

Here is a hint - does anyone pay top dollar to get their kids into the military or clergy?

[Suvorov]

And, America doesn’t necessarily thirst for a new class of elites; a resurgence of dinosaurs who adhere to the founding principles that have remained and survived the test of time will do.

There is a HUGE difference between what a person thirsts for and what someone needs. I would argue that while America NEEDs a resurgence of the dinosaurs of 1776, the average American now thirsts for an elite that tells them what to do, but makes them feel good while doing it.

As for the article, I’m still trying to digest it all so I can formulate some intelligent responses. It’s the kind of political-philosophical BS I like to read and waste my time thinking about. It has actually gone in directions I wasn’t expecting it to go.

In 375 BC, Plato advocated that the best form of government would be an Aristocracy of the “Philosopher Kings.” This was in no doubt in response to the chaos and lack of justice seen in some of the early experiments of pure democracy. Wise and educated men (perhaps there would be room for women but in 375, who are we kidding) would come up with just laws that would be administered by a enforcement class to the masses of people who would all be happy because their kings were wise and just. I agree with the author that in the centuries that followed, the Aristocracy that developed (usually by being the best on the battlefield or with subterfuge and ruthlessness) attempted to rationalize their position by the creation and participation in institutes of higher learning. This was obviously far from perfect in results, and so in the late 18th century a bunch of “dinosaurs” came up with a “More Perfect Union.” In my mind, this Union is the best possible compromise of government and yet has been under attack from day one by those who think they have the “secret sauce” by virtue of their education, success in the boardroom, success on the battlefield, or ability to gyrate their body and appeal to man’s greed by promising free stuff. I suspect it’s a cycle as old as time.

But now we get the Confucian twist!

Will it be the Chinese (so called “post-communist”) who are finally and ironically able to bring about Plato’s dream and make it a reality? I suspect it possible, as long as nobody opposes it or questions it?

[Suvorov]

Are America’s universities fast-tracks or prerequisites to power and influence in our society? You shouldn’t need a 10,000 word essay to answer that question.

Here is a hint - does anyone pay top dollar to get their kids into the military or clergy?

Are you implying that the Clinton, Bush, and Obama kids didn’t get into their respective schools based solely on their merit and scholarly aptitude?

[TGS]

Do you even asabiyyah, bro?

In the words of a great firearms designer upon his entry to the Empire of Russia and being required to declare his religion:

"Mark me down as a Protestant, then. I am a Protestant among Protestants, and I protest this whole thing."

-Hiram Maxim

[OlongJohnson]

This is not just word soup, it's unmitigated confusion and bullshit. The closer it approaches anything like coherent thought, the farther it is from making any sense.

The first axis deals with our definitions of excellence. At face value, the distinction between meritocracy and aristocracy seems illusory. Indeed, meritocracy is a modern echo of aristocracy: both point to a system in which hierarchies elevate those who possess a select set of virtues. But the kind of excellence which modern meritocracy selects for is altogether different. Aristocracy, in the ancient sense, was tied to certain traits of character which demonstrated a great soul: wisdom, prudence, intellect, and courage. Meritocratic achievement is linked to results rather than soul, demonstrated through productivity and expertise. The definitions of excellence assumed by America’s ruling class evolved over the generations from ones defined aristocracy to ones derived from meritocracy. The panoply of virtues that underpins our elite-selection pipeline corresponds to the utilitarian virtues of a liberal, market-based society in which managerial types have long replaced the Renaissance men of the founding generation.

The second axis is easier to grasp. It deals with the distinction between desert-based and functionalist models. Desert-based systems legitimize hierarchies by claiming that those who rule deserve their position and privileges. By contrast, functionalist societies seek to build political systems in which the virtuous and competent rule because they serve the common good, regardless of who owns these achievements. Questions of moral desert have dominated America’s national conversation for more than twenty years. Do the test scores of Ivy Leaguers justify their influence? Do Elon Musk’s achievements explain his wealth? But this obsession with desert, however well-intentioned, obscures the need for more systematic thought on the creation of hierarchies that serve functional ends.

[Sensei]

Are you implying that the Clinton, Bush, and Obama kids didn’t get into their respective schools based solely on their merit and scholarly aptitude?

Add Trump to that list. He wouldn’t have gotten into Wharton without Daddy.

Again, is there any other American institution that commands a higher price tag for entry?