The self-proclaimed elites have, over the last couple of decades, been proving they are not all that elite: “There is a perception that the multiple ladders of success which have existed in American society are increasingly being collapsed into a single ladder, with access tightly controlled via educational credentials.
“There is a perception that the multiple ladders of success which have existed in American society are increasingly being collapsed into a single ladder, with access tightly controlled via educational credentials. It is increasingly observed that these credentials actually have fairly low predictive power concerning an individual’s actual ability to perform important tasks and make wise judgments about institutional or national issues. The assumption that school-based knowledge generally trumps practical experience seems increasingly questionable as the sphere of activity for which this assertion is made has expanded, and is indeed increasingly viewed with suspicion or with outright disdain.”
-David Foster (“What, Precisely, is the Issue with “Elites”?“
In short, a Neo-Aristocracy that is both self-selected, self-appointed, and based on which Ivy League school issued their diplomas, believe they have the self-given knowledge and power to boss the rest of us around. And like the Middle Ages” royal Aristocracy, their view of everyone else is little better than serfs. Thus, they don’t care about how they affect OUR lives. “YOU DON’T NEED THAT!” is their mantra: you don’t need a gas car, you don’t need to have steak for dinner, you don’t need to fly in a plane, you don’t need lots of new clothes every year, you don’t need to live outside a “walkable city”, and you certainly don’t need always-on electricity any time you want.
But you shall know them by their actions – as THEY will have apportioned to themselves everything they would deny you.
Including Freedom.
(HT: Instapundit)
