THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411080534
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY JEREMIAH CRONIN
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
IN DEFENSE OF ELITISM
WILLIAM A. HENRY III
Doubleday. 212 pp. $20.
TWO STEPS AHEAD OF THE THOUGHT POLICE
JOHN LEO
Simon & Schuster. 319 pp. $22.
More than 200 years ago, a group of men, heavily influenced by the ideals of the European enlightenment, established a system of government by the governed that has evolved into one of the most respected nations on Earth.
Unfortunately such statements are increasingly regarded as Eurocentric hogwash, in addition to being sexist, racist and insensitive to the feelings of people of diverse cultural backgrounds. How this change in opinion came about and the detrimental effects it is having on the culture of the United States are the subjects of two new works, In Defense of Elitism by the late William A. Henry III, and Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police by John Leo.
Interestingly, the books, though espousing like-minded opinions, are written by men who would most likely be in opposing political camps. When thinkers from both sides say similar things, it is time to sit up and pay attention.
In Defense of Elitism is a wonderful defense of what has made this country great - the idea that those concepts that work, those people who work to be successful, those cultures that learn and find a use for knowledge will grow and prosper. The current fashion of making all cultures, ideas and beliefs equal in value is referred to by Henry, who was a Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic for Time magazine, as ``The Vital Lie.'' It is the result of a power struggle in society between those who believe in ``equal opportunity,'' wherein all are judged on their abilities and merits, and those who believe in ``equal outcomes,'' wherein by merely occupying space in the republic one is guaranteed to receive equal benefits.
Henry, a self-described Democrat and card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union, does not deny the historical mistreatment of others. He does take exception, however, to the rewriting of history and social policy to fit some current ideology. It was a horrible thing that the Western Hemisphere did not encounter smallpox until the Europeans came, for example, but to call this epidemic a ``genocide'' committed by an oppressor is as ridiculous as applying the same erroneous label to the Mongols who introduced the ``Black Death'' to Europe.
Henry is particularly incensed by the derogatory use of the term ``elite'' by both the ``Right'' and the ``Left.'' By avoiding the word and the thought that goes with it, he argues, we have succeeded in dumbing down our classrooms in the name of self-esteem, ``de-credentialing'' talented minorities through the use of affirmative action and creating a style of journalism that panders to the least common denominator through the use of readership surveys.
While Henry presents his arguments in rational fashion, John Leo takes the anecdotal approach to lead us to the same outcomes, although not for the same stated reasons. Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police is a collection of columns that Leo wrote for U.S. News & World Report and other publications. Each of Leo's pieces presents some absurdity of modern life, often associated with ``political correctness.''
Where Leo differs from Henry is that he does not offer a clear rationale for why these things are happening. In a style typical to modern-day conservatives, he summarily denigrates the ``elite,'' i.e. the media elite, the academic elite, the intellectual class, etc. He seems to know at a gut level that something is wrong - he can point to a more rational approach to the particular thing that annoys him - but he does not provide a coherent model for why it is happening or how to fix it.
Henry, on the other hand, lays the groundwork for the idea of merit and for the need to recognize elite behavior and thought. I do not think, however, that Henry would consider elite the people about whom Leo complains. He would probably think they are miscredentialed posers using dubiously achieved positions for nonelitist purposes.
Both of these books provide ammunition for those of us who defend the results of the Enlightenment and who would like to see what has become known as Western rational thought continue to provide the good results that it has over the past few centuries. Critics of this approach hold up some of the errors that have appeared over the years and say that we should scrap the whole system as racist, sexist, etc. To this we must reply hogwash.
For all of its warts, the West, because of its traditions of rational discourse and democracy, has been one of the few cultures to undo those practices that don't work and cause harm. It was the West that declared the bankruptcy of slavery and eventually distanced itself from the practice at a time when it was still being practiced in Africa and Asia. It is Western medicine that has systematically studied and put an end to diseases that have ravaged mankind, including smallpox, and as recently announced, polio, in the Western Hemisphere.
A system of rational thought that has brought about such progress cannot be reduced to being on an intellectual par with myths, chants, smoke and the wearing of crystals. Those dead white males of European ancestry who founded our political system considered a populace informed by debate and discussion as critical to our system's survival. I agree with them. MEMO: Jeremiah Cronin is an environmental consultant who lives in Norfolk. ILLUSTRATION: Jacket design by WHITNEY G. COOKMAN
Jacket design by CARIN GOLDBERG
Jacket photo by INDEX PHOTOGRAPHY
by CNB