PrintJuly 16, 2010
Weekend Reading
The unspoken central political phenomenon of our time is the emergence of a ruling class which seeks to transform American society into a collectivist polity led by themselves. The best explication of this phenomenon I have seen, and one of the most fascinating political essays in a long time has been penned by Angelo M. Codevilla for The American Spectator. I cannot recommend this piece highly enough. Because it is quite long, it might make a good weekend read for those in the typical Friday rush.
The essay is complex and nuanced, but at its core is the assertion that a new elite class has emerged, a product of the liberal-dominated educational system, and that it has made an ever more powerful government its vehicle for dominating America and asserting power over the rest of us. One brief excerpt below gives only a slight flavor of this long and complex essay.
...while most of the voters who call themselves Democrats say that Democratic officials represent them well, only a fourth of the voters who identify themselves as Republicans tell pollsters that Republican officeholders represent them well. Hence officeholders, Democrats and Republicans, gladden the hearts of some one-third of the electorate -- most Democratic voters, plus a few Republicans. This means that Democratic politicians are the ruling class's prime legitimate representatives and that because Republican politicians are supported by only a fourth of their voters while the rest vote for them reluctantly, most are aspirants for a junior role in the ruling class. In short, the ruling class has a party, the Democrats. But some two-thirds of Americans -- a few Democratic voters, most Republican voters, and all independents -- lack a vehicle in electoral politics.
I strongly encourage readers to read this carefully, and mull over its implications for our future political direction.
