A rare observation.

[maradydd]

Not often does an observation made about a zeitgeist at the time of its occurrence turn out to be true, but this one certainly has:The heirs of the French, English, and American revolutions had partly believed in their own phrases about the rights of man, freedom of speech, equality before the law, and the like, and have even allowed their conduct

Comments

And it is.

[neoliminal]

I have oft pondered the strange attraction the intelligentsia has for the ideal of equality. My conjecture is that, in general, humans naturally wish to be part of a whole and hence to have peers

Re: And it is.

[darthzeth]

I'm confused about how this relates to the quote. Are you saying that ORwell is part of intelligentsia?

Re: And it is.

[neoliminal]

Every new political theory, by whatever name it called itself, led back to hierarchy and regimentation.

He was right. For all it's talk of equality and democracy the movements spawned by the French Revolution have slowly returned to a control of the minority and I feel this is always probable.

Re: And it is.

[darthzeth]

I guess the confusing part is what it has to do with intelligentsia...

[kenshi]

It's a pity that Orwell (who I admire enormously) never saw the connection between those two things (unlike Thomas Carlyle).

[ndgmtlcd]

I think that he would have rewritten this differently if he could have gone on and lived through Harold Wilson's and Edward Heath's terms in office.