Tag: elites

Karl Popper, one of the intellectuals who gave rise to the anti-populist conception of democracy that has prevailed in the West since the Second World War.

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Part 5 of 9 (Chapter 1 here, Chapter 4 Part 1 here, Chapter 5 Part 1 here)

Whereas liberal elites had always harbored a cynical and technocratic rejection of the fundamental premises of popular government, after the Second World War “the highly educated [also began] to deplore working-class movements for their bigotry, their refusal of modernity,” and their apparent instinctual tendency towards nationalism and authoritarian leaders. They became openly and dogmatically hostile towards all forms of “collectivism” and solidaristic political movements because they identified popular social organization as fundamentally incompatible with liberalism’s hallowed individual rights and liberties. Post-war elites embraced anti-fascism and anti-populism as two necessary tenets of contemporary liberalism. (more…)

Walter Lippmann, whose anti-democratic skepticism changed the course of American politics in the twentieth century.

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Part 4 of 9 (Chapter 1 here, Chapter 3 here, Chapter 4 Part 2 here)

Politically, democracy means the sovereignty, not of the average man — who is a rather narrow, short-sighted, muddle-headed creature — but of a matured public opinion, a very different thing . . . In the forming of this opinion the sage has a million times the weight of the field hand. With modern facilities for mind influencing mind, democracy, at its best, substitutes the direction of the recognized moral and intellectual élite for the rule of the strong, the rich, or the privileged. — Edward Alsworth Ross, Changing America (1912) (more…)

4,909 words

Part 1 of 9 (Chapter 2 here)

There is no doubt: the digital space has incredible power for good. But . . . we’ve also seen the threat it can pose to our democratic values, systems, and our citizens. — Justin Trudeau

I think it [the Internet] is the single biggest threat to our democracy. — Barack Obama

(more…)

Herbert Marcuse and the New Left gave rise to Leftism as we know it today.

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It is always popular to try to trace the ideological lineage of one’s political opponents back to a particular philosopher. This is not without merit. Marcuse and other New Left Marxists spawned many of the ills that afflict us today, but Leftism can only be properly understood as a governing ideology. It has reigned supreme in Western societies since at least the 1960s, and its subsequent development has not been driven by theorists and their books, but in response to the practical challenges that it has faced as a state religion. It has no bible to which one can refer, but central principles which are held inviolate by its supporters and a mythology supporting them. (more…)

Alain de Benoist

10,344 words

Chapter 1 here

Translated by F. Roger Devlin

In September 2016, a poll revealed that for 85% of Frenchmen the presidential election of May 2017 would be “disappointing” no matter what the result. That figure says it all. The extraordinary distrust of ever larger layers of the population toward the “government parties” and the political class in general, to the benefit of movements of a new type called “populist,” is undoubtedly the most striking fact about the changing political landscape of at least the past two decades. (more…)

Young Czechs celebrating their nation’s accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004.

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The radical attitudes of some of the Central European state’s leaders and their demands to escalate the war with Russia — Hungary is a notable exception — is not the result of these states’ specific historical experiences. If we want to understand them, we need to understand how a layer of aspirants to membership in the global elite was formed there. (more…)

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Last weekend’s Ask Me Anything on Counter-Currents Radio with Greg Johnson is now available for download and online listening.

Topics discussed include:

00:01:24 What are your thoughts on Italy banning Russian ships from their ports?
00:01:50 What are your thoughts on animal testing? (more…)

4,816 words

What is it to live as a European,[1] in this new world which has replaced the one our parents knew? Everything is ugly. A wrecking-crew has moved among the institutions of the West and replaced them with the flimsiest of stage sets. A limitless flow of aliens crosses our borders. Our cities are filled with strangers. (more…)

Yesterday’s dhimmis of the Islamic Caliphate.

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If you think about things that are not very important to you, there is no significant difference between repair, upgrade, and replacement. But if you yourself are what’s at issue, there’s a huge difference depending on if they‘re enriching you (as enhancement is called in current politically correct parlance) or if they want to replace you with a more fun, useful, or obedient model. (more…)

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The French conservative journalist, pundit, and writer Éric Zemmour announced his candidacy for the presidency of France against current President Emmanuel Macron and National Rally’s Marine Le Pen in next year’s election, which will be held on April 10, in a video statement he released yesterday on YouTube. The following is a translation of his statement. (more…)

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The question of elites is one of the most important political issues of our time; perhaps the most important question of all. Whereas in the nineteenth century the main line of social conflict was between businessmen and their employees (the bourgeoisie versus the working class), today it is between the elite and the various lower classes. (more…)

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Author’s note: The following essay is the second part of a series of articles on developing an ideological framework for modern nationalism. The first essay, “The Promise and Reality of Globalization,” is available here. The first two essays discuss the deleterious socioeconomic effects of globalization. (more…)