The Similarities

 

I reread some words by Eric Hoffer, that I have read 5 times before, and I am continually impressed and astounded at his wisdom and brilliance. He seems to have anticipated nearly everything I write, 50 to 70 years ago.

 

Here is what he wrote on Page 13 of the book, The Syndicated Newspaper Articles, 1968: “It is disconcerting that the practical men of action—businessmen, engineers, politicians, soldiers—should, on the whole, be less corrupted by power than philosophers, artists, poets, scholars and intellectuals in general. Seen thus, the moderateness and democracy of the Anglo Saxon nations in the past may be due to their tradition of keeping intellectuals away from power, and oof not paying attention to their political views.”

 

My response: Note that men of action, may or may not be intellectual, but their working and interacting with others in the world out there, makes them somehow more rational and moderate, than irrational and radicalized, which intellectuals are. Intellectuals are used to being part of the ruling elite in every advanced society. They see it as their hereditary privilege and right to dominate and direct the masses, whom they sincerely believe are inferior, and in need of a strong hand to direct them. Having come from a ruling class background, where the unjust, immoral addiction to rule the masses from above, is a dependency that intellectuals easily, eagerly succumb to.

 

The intellectuals are high up in social hierarchies and are very group-oriented, and these are two of the most corrupting traits for any human type or individual. When one also attributes to intellectuals, idealism, ideology, passion, irrationality and a willingness to hold a whip and cudgel over the masses for enforce uniformity and obedience, it is not hard to see that Hoffer identified in this single paragraph, most of the traits that have the worst effect on making socially vicious, already naturally tainted human souls. Intellectuals are usually quite unable to avoid tyrannizing others, and they are clever at rationalizing being haves and oppressors.

 

It is not an accident that the Anglo Saxons, a capitalist, moderate and democratic people, admired their intellectuals but did not allow them to run things. Here is how things were so run, but that way of running things here in America, until recently, was how we operated until wokeness, DEI/CRT, American Marxism and the Administrative State, run by experts, has taken over much of America.

 

Hoffer has brought up all the points that I make today.

 

Hoffer continues: “Intellectuals are likely to consider any achievement not fathered by words as illegitimate. Hence their disdain for things which have come to pass by chance. One of the reasons that America is as it is without appeal to the intellectual is that it does not manifest the realization of a grand design, and the solemn ritual of making the word become flesh. The masses eloped with history to America and have lived in common-law marriage with it, unhallowed by ritual and incantations of the intellectual.”

 

My response: I am not against a self-educated, very smart, very articulate individuator using words to describe what his original contribution is or what he hopes it will be. His view must not be the final word, and his research and adventure of discovery must be open-ended, flexible and he must be able to adjust for the many failures that he will incur.

 

Other individuators should be free to say and do what they will without idealistic straitjackets bracketing research and personal investigation. Let the invisible hand of the market and of chance encourage people to go invent as they will.

 

A grand design, is but a speculative conception, that has been reified into a worshiped, sacred abstraction or idol. It must be torn down and smashed, and it should be modified and discarded if unworkable or impractical.

 

Hoffer continues: “To the intellectual, America’s unforgivable sin is that it has revolutions without revolutionaries, and achieves the momentous in a matter-of-fact way. The real shock will come when Americans achieve socialism without socialists.”

 

My response: The greatest miracle, the most revolutionary explosion, the most incredible burst of human ingenuity, originality and artistic expression will be unleashed and produced spontaneously and by deliberate intention, effort and application on the part of individuators.

 

If they have a grand design, and they might, it would be theirs alone, and they would not force the entire society to conform it to both the spirit and letter of the law constituting their grand design.

 

This amazing middle-class constituted by millions of supercitizens would produce and unleash, peaceful revolution after peaceful revolution upon society, without a ripple being felt or expressed in anger, terror or upheaval, and much in the way of growing pains, and no violent counter-revolutionaries or totalitarian strongmen would arise to set things “right”

Supercitizens working and creating idealistic achievements would not be ideologues. Instead, they would carry on, individuating and individual-living moderate and calm geniuses, but not grandiose and passionate and theatrical.

 

Classlessness or socialism for the masses is to be achieved by these supercitizens, powerful, armed lawful anarchists of great personal power, wealth, and liberty, but not tempting to nab these enjoyments from neighbors similarly well situated.