Jash Dholani ( @oldbooksguy )
Nine Reasons Why Aristocracy Beats Democracy
1. The Pyramid Problem. Will Durant said there are grand tasks “requiring generations” of coordination and democracy is utterly incapable of them. A democratically elected leader can never build a Pyramid.
2. The Freedom Paradox. Durant writes that while aristocracies do limit “political freedom,” democracies are no freer as they crush individuality with the “fanatic pressure of dull majorities.” Better a rule by minorities trained from the “outset” in the rigors of an aristocratic upbringing.
3. Pedigree v/s Pocketbooks: Durant writes that “rule by pedigree is the only alternative to rule by pocketbooks.” Rich oligarchs always subject nations to the “ideals of the stock exchange, the marketplace, and the factory” unless aristocrats stop them.
4. Elections are Lotteries: Aristocracies free leaders from the “lottery of elections.” French philosopher Renan predicted that elections will be the triumph of “mediocrity” as they’ll put “knaves and quacks upon the throne.”
5. The Case of England: “England’s leaders were trained for public place from their boyhood; first at home, then at Eton or Harrow, then at Oxford or Cambridge, and then by appointment to arduous minor offices. It was these men who lifted little England to the top of the world.”
6. Slow Is Fast: Will Durant writes that societies cannot change too quickly because “large bodies must move slowly.” But what about science progressing rapidly? The analogy breaks down when you understand that “society is not a laboratory, and men do not submit to vivisection.” Science thrives on trial and error; doing trial and error in political affairs racks up the body count in millions. Ask Chairman Mao.
7. Traditions as Memory. Will Durant: “The sanity of the individual lies in the continuity of his memory; the sanity of a group lies in the continuity of its traditions.” Progressives are strangely proud of their amnesia.
8. Aristocracy of the soul. Durant defines the “aristocracy of soul”: “A vigor and yet ease of carriage, a sureness of touch in judgment and taste, a readiness of wit, an unassuming dignity and an unfailing generosity.”
9. The Aristocratic Peace. Durant writes that equality is the breeding ground of violence: “Peace is between unequals; the pretense of equality brings a perennial tug of war.” Only by accepting the “natural inequality of men in intellect and will” can we realize the “hypocrisy of egalitarian institutions.” Aristocratic peace demands that we do not lie. The arc of history is long, but it bends towards the return of aristocracy…
