Intellectualism and the Glorious Vision

I am always on alert to any political party where there is the near certainty there is a political elite who dominate its power, precepts and principles.  These types of political movements almost always give strong words to the equality of the people, while the leaders themselves believe they should be part of the party’s elite, the good shepherds of the movement.  It is all the others who are the sheep.   Such people justify themselves in their self-appointed roles as uniquely able, uniquely caring, and uniquely qualified.   All of this serves to make them fully self-satisfied and fundamentally good – in their minds.  Make no mistake, when someone in political power feels fundamentally good,  be concerned.   Such parties, upon assuming power, invariable become corrupt, morally and materially.   After all, when doing so much good, skimming a little by way of perks is only just.  And, helping our like-minded friends with beneficence is merely the right thing to do.  Moreover, when doing so much good, cheating a little on elections is ok; it sustains the party and thus the country.

Many systems come to mind, most notably the communist party in the former USSR.  It may have been full of goodness comparatively with what preceded it, but turned quickly to the more persuasive power of the gun.  Even now the corruption persists, though the other fictions are vastly diminished.

It is not that easy to sustain this party.  It must gain and keep recruits, not just maintain the faithful (and elite) if it is to survive.  These feelings of being justified, self-satisfied, and fundamentally good all work only when there is a glue to bind.  One binder might be religion.  Another is the threat of violence – though this should be subtle out of concern for the “goodness” tenet. 

Still another most certainly is “intellectualism.”  We, so goes the claim, are more intellectual than the others; we can understand things they cannot; we have found the true path.  Because we are so smart what we think must be true.  This is a hook that draws many in, particularly the intellectually insecure, to be the willing sheep for these shepherds.  And it keeps them in.   The converse,  “What we believe and practice means we’re smarter than the others,” is the second mantra.  It neatly boxes the other party or parties out, simultaneously relegating them to lower rungs on the ladders of goodness and intelligence.  Neatly done.

Note: intellectualism is a state of mind, not emotion, faith, belief, logic, intuition, instinct, or other processes of the mind. This makes it somewhat weaker than the others.

Now how does such a party decline and fall?  Besides the use of deadly force which is not considered here, the best method seems to be to loosen the glue.  For the party of goodness founded on religion, this is challenging.  It would be important to demonstrate the religion is in some way invalid, and to demonstrate it in a convincing way.  Difficult to the max.   In some cases, the corruption may become so extreme that even the party faithful begin to doubt. This is the beginning of the end.  For the party with intellectualism-based glue, attacking the lack of goodness or morality will likely not work.  Attacking the intellectualism can.  It is necessary to campaign against every dumb thing it does.  Whether this is by attacking leaders, policies, corruption, or tactics, the key conclusion should be the non-intellectualism of the person, event, or action.   

The most able of governors and parties have constant self-doubt about the important decisions they must make, always challenging its own activities as to efficacy.   None claim to know a universal justice or higher knowledge; none claim righteous goodness.  Such parties don’t seem to have the compelling attribute of longevity.