Another good observation of Joseph Conrad, from chapter 6 of
The Secret Agent , is
about a variety of Limousine Liberal. The old lady in the novel is a former beauty, an
aristocrat, a social leader, and the patroness of the utopian anarchist Michaelis:
She had come to believe almost his theory of the future, since it was not repugnant to
her prejudices. She disliked the new element of plutocracy in the social compound, and
industrialism as a method of human development appeared to her singularly repulsive in
its mechanical and unfeeling character. The humanitarian hopes of the mild Michaelis
tended not towards utter destruction, but merely towards the complete economic ruin of
the system. And she did not really see where was the moral harm of it. It would do away
with all the multitude of the "parvenus," whom she disliked and mistrusted, not because
they had arrived anywhere (she denied that), but because of their profound
unintelligence of the world, which was the primary cause of the crudity of their
perceptions and the aridity of their hearts. With the annihilation of all capital they
would vanish too; but universal ruin (providing it was universal, as it was revealed to
Michaelis) would leave the social values untouched. The disappearance of the last piece
of money could not affect people of position. She could not conceive how it could affect
her position, for instance.
We don't have much in the way of aristocrats in America, so this might seem to be
obsolete, but then I realized it is not. We do have old ladies who are former beauties
and social leaders, and who are richer in the currency of prestige than they are in
the currency of cash. People like me, for example-- the professoriat. (Not that I'm a
present or former beauty or social leader-- but my class tends to be.) If the
businessmen are destroyed, and wealth is levelled, who will be on top? The natural
aristocrats, of course-- the professors! Thus, we do not fear revolution.
Why hasn't anybody told me of Conrad's political insights before? Heart of Darkness is all we hear about.
[permalink, http://php.indiana.edu/~erasmuse/w/03.10.09b.htm ]
To return to Eric Rasmusen's weblog, click http://php.indiana.edu/~erasmuse/w/0.rasmusen.htm.