Opting Out of Democracy to Narcissistic Authoritarianism (Brussels Morning)

In a scene reminiscent of the 1930s, all over the world, both the ultra rich and the masses have been opting out of democracy in droves.

Rent-seeking billionaires have transformed themselves into Russian-style oligarchs embedded in insidious patronage networks around authoritarian figures such as Putin, Orban, and Trump.

These oligarchs provide the dictatorship with much needed funds, legitimacy, and clout as it concentrates economic resources in the hands of the few and dismantles institutions such as free press, the judiciary, and the rule of law.

The great unwashed have very little in common with these tycoons. Indeed, the interests of these two groups are diametrically opposed.

But both constituencies have one thing in common: a burning hatred of the educated, the establishment, and of democracy, erudition, and science.

These are all perceived as elitist and contemptuous of the common folks, their concerns and their values.

The revolt of the masses (Jose Ortega y Gasset) is a periodic cyclical event. The hoi polloi rise, pillage, then subside, recede into the background as a silent minority and allow the more skilled and trained to rebuild.

But this time is different. The dumb masses are empowered by both democracy turned ochlocracy and by technologies that amplify and disseminate their grievances, delusions, inanities, and aggression.

Their voices cannot by silenced. Even the aforementioned oligarchs and tyrants are typically nouveaux riches and as nescient, paranoid, and rapacious as the mob that spawned them.

This time there is no reversing the tide, confronting the self-destructive trend, and re-bottling the menacing genies. This time the game for humanity is truly over.

Read both texts in Brussels Morning: