Our New Philosopher Kings and Queens

Do we live in pre-revolutionary times?

You say you want a revolution? Hopefully, you have outgrown the adolescent fantasy of a socialist revolution that will overthrow capitalism and will produce even more starving millions.

No, not that revolution. How about a reprise of the French revolution, where the oppressed people rise up and overthrow a new American aristocracy, comprised of tech billionaires and their ex-wives. Like the ancien regime of pre-revolutionary France this group lives high, insists on having its way, and hands out crumbs to everyone else. 

Joel Kotkin astutely remarks that their antics, to say nothing of their efforts to direct public policy toward more woke goals is producing a reaction.

The situation is unstable, Kotkin might have said. People are beginning to see through the ruse. The new aristocrats may have limitless money, but they do not have limitless reputational capital. 

Note well. With a couple of conspicuous exceptions most of those who are funding these leftist projects did not earn what they have. They are either heirs to gargantuan fortunes or ex-wives of tech entrepreneurs. 

Obviously, they have no real interest in supporting merit as against equity.

Kotkin calls them cognitive elites. Their minds have been colonized by the new ideologies and they are happily purveying them. They have become our philosopher kings. They cannot compete in the marketplace and are vulnerable to the academic thinkers who are selling oppression narratives. Only, they have decided that they will counterbalance the work of the oppressors.

You see, strangely enough, the new philosopher kings believe that they speak for the downtrodden masses, even those who have been oppressed by their ex-husbands,

Given that they are not very bright, they do not want to hear any discouraging word about their so-called thought:

Virtually every ideology that’s undermining the West has its patrons in these ruling cognitive elites. This includes everything from the purveyors of critical race theory and Black Lives Matter to transgender activists and, perhaps most egregiously, campaigners for the climate jihad. 

They are like government officials. Since they are not motivated by the corrupting profit motive, they believe that they are more qualified to tell people how to live their lives:

In each case, these elite activists reject the market traditions of liberal capitalism and instead promote a form of social control, often with themselves in charge. The fact that these ideologies are destructive, and could ultimately undermine the status of these very elites, seems to matter little to them. That they also infuriate the middle and working classes doesn’t seem to register, either.

Kotkin explains that the most important philosopher kings include the ex-wives and heirs of people who accumulated obscene fortunes:

Not only do we have to deal with the beliefs of the oligarchs, but also those of their forsaken wives and their offspring. Jeff Bezos’ former spouse, MacKenzie Scott, worth an estimated $60 billion, has already given $133million to a group pushing for a ‘progressive’ takeover of education. Melinda Gates, the former wife of the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, worth at least $13 billion, is also backing woke causes.

Of course, these philosopher kings are enemies of meritocracy. Surely, MacKenzie Scott and Melinda Gates did not become obscenely rich by competing in the marketplace. Thus, they favor identity groups and the extortionate policies that want to reward people for reasons that have nothing to do with merit, and everything to do with other criteria, like race and/or gender.

The current cadre of elites seem uniquely hostile to meritocracy and individual rights – values that once stood at the heart of liberal, capitalist societies. Rather than promote upward mobility for the plebs, they want to divide them into ‘identity’ groups based on race, sexuality and gender. Black Lives Matter, the enforcers of critical race theory, for years enjoyed lavish support from top tech companies, including Microsoft, Cisco and TikTok. It also became a poster child for a host of nonprofits, like the Tides Foundation, which in turn gets much of its money from oligarchs and their descendants, including George Soros and the MacArthur, Hewlett, Ford, Packard and Rockefeller foundations.

And, of course, they are true believers in the apocalyptic prophecies about the end of the world. And they have wanted to institute a Green New Deal, the better to shut down energy production. And, of course, to save the tadpoles.

To a remarkable extent, the current ruling oligarchy in tech and on Wall Street have embraced the ideology of Net Zero, even though this threatens to undermine Western industrial power and raise the cost of living for the masses. Elite opinion, in general, is far more engaged on climate issues than the general population. In one recent poll, those living with graduate degrees in big dense cities and making over $150,000 a year are far more likely to favour such things as rationing meat and gas than the vast majority of Americans.

They worship the planet, as a pagan goddess.

The ultra-rich have been particularly drawn to draconian climate positions. Leading billionaires like Tom Steyer have collectively sent hundreds of millions to leading environmental groups. The Rockefellers, heirs to the Standard Oil fortune, have become some of the fiercest advocates of radical climate policies. They even favour punishing corporations that make money from fossil fuels like their own forebears once did.

Fortunes made in the energy business are being squandered to shut down energy production and necessarily to immiserate the rest of the population.

Indeed, green lobbyists outspend so-called Big Oil by more than four to one. The recent drives to ban new natural gas stoves and liquefied natural gas (LNG) come directly from these billionaire-funded campaign groups.

Those same elites who demand climate austerity for the many are widely known to enjoy the use of private jets, build $500 million yachts and own numerous, often enormous mansions. The fact that the most recent climate confab, COP28, had a session on ‘responsible yachting’ tells people all they need to know about the hypocrisy of the super-rich.

You are doubtless aware that European farmers have been in open rebellion against policies that will put them out of business:

The damage being done by the oligarchs’ green agenda is now fuelling a rebellion from the beleaguered European, British and American middle and working classes. Many are becoming increasingly sceptical of elite environmentalism, just as they have been consistently hostile to woke ideas on law enforcement, transgender issues and racial quotas.

The public is catching on, but the philosopher kings have barely noticed. Kotkin explains:

So far, the elites seem barely aware of this discontent. This may stem from the fact that the oligarchs and their minions live in a very different reality from most people. They are shielded from the consequences of the policies they promote, whether from the job losses brought about by eco-austerity, or the rising crime and disorder resulting from efforts to ‘defund the police’ and the refusal to penalise street crime. They live in closeted, gentrified urban neighbourhoods, elite leafy suburbs or country retreats.

Kotkin compares these self-appointed philosopher kings to the French aristocrats before the 1789 revolution.

Like French aristocrats before the revolution, the oligarchs talk largely among themselves. They seem unaware that they may be financing fashionable causes that may threaten ‘their own rights and even their existence’, as Alexis de Tocqueville said of the Ancien Régime. In pre-revolutionary times, French aristocrats and top clerics preached Christian charity and celebrated the rights of man while indulging in gluttony, sexual adventurism and lavish spending, as well as exercising their historic privileges. Just like the revolutionaries of 1789, many in today’s third estate are disgusted by the hauteur and hypocrisy of the upper classes.

Of course, social programs, handouts and the rest, are the modern form of charity. The pseudo-aristocratic philosopher kings believe that they have the right feelings toward the less fortunate, and are more than happy to hand out occasional goodies.

Ultimately, this rebellion, launched from the left or right, or both simultaneously, represents a direct threat to our insane ruling class. Even those elites who are worried about the financial distress facing the masses have only the most patronising solutions to offer. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former head of Uber Travis Kalanick and AI guru Sam Altman have all spoken in favour of an expanded welfare state and direct cash payments for the proles, under the guise of a ‘universal basic income’.

For all their faults, the elites of industrial-era Britain and America at least provided opportunities for the middle and especially the working class. They helped create powerful economies that, ultimately, and with some political cajoling, produced unprecedented mass affluence. In contrast, today’s oligarchs and their ‘expert class’ allies offer nothing more than subsidies and handouts – or what Karl Marx referred to as ‘the proletarian alms-bag’.

These philosopher kings believe that the public loves them. In truth, the public despises them. After all, they have dedicated their lives to depriving others of the opportunities that they are profiting from.

Is Kotkin becoming a Republican?

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