Ruling groups maintain power via force, but long-run ideological support from the majority is essential:
“Once a State has been established, the problem of the ruling group or ‘caste’ is how to maintain their rule. While force is their modus operandi, their basic and long-run problem is ideological. For in order to continue in office, any government (not simply a ‘democratic’ government) must have the support of the majority of its subjects. This support, it must be noted, need not be active enthusiasm; it may well be passive resignation as if to an inevitable law of nature. But support in the sense of acceptance of some sort it must be; else the minority of State rulers would eventually be outweighed by the active resistance of the majority of the public. … Therefore, the chief task of the rulers is always to secure the active or resigned acceptance of the majority of the citizens.”
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Ideology is crafted and disseminated by intellectuals (e.g. journalists & scientists). Intellectuals need the State for a stable livelihood, as their work is not in high demand among the masses. The State offers intellectuals a secure income and prestige within the State apparatus:
“Promoting this ideology among the people is the vital social task of the ‘intellectuals.’ For the masses of men do not create their own ideas, or indeed think through these ideas independently; they follow passively the ideas adopted and disseminated by the body of intellectuals. The intellectuals are, therefore, the ‘opinion-molders’ in society. And since it is precisely a molding of opinion that the State most desperately needs, the basis for age-old alliance between the State and the intellectuals becomes clear. It is evident that the State needs the intellectuals; it is not so evident why intellectuals need the State. Put simply, we may state that the intellectual’s livelihood in the free market is never too secure; for the intellectual must depend on the values and choices of the masses of his fellow men, and it is precisely characteristic of the masses that they are generally uninterested in intellectual matters. The State, on the other hand, is willing to offer the intellectuals a secure and permanent berth in the State apparatus; and thus a secure income and the panoply of prestige. For the intellectuals will be handsomely rewarded for the important function they perform for the State rulers, of which group they now become a part.”
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The alliance between the State and intellectuals is exemplified by historians who support the State's view of the past, discourage the search for conspiracies, and promote the idea that past events are caused by impersonal forces, rather than to challenge the State's actions.
“A venerable institution, furthermore, is the official or ‘court’ historian, dedicated to purveying the rulers’ views of their own and their predecessors’ actions. … It is also important for the State to make its rule seem inevitable; even if its reign is disliked, it will then be met with passive resignation, as witness the familiar coupling of ‘death and taxes.’ One method is to induce historiographical determinism, as opposed to individual freedom of will. If the X Dynasty rules us, this is because the Inexorable Laws of History (or the Divine Will, or the Absolute, or the Material Productive Forces) have so decreed and nothing any puny individuals may do can change this inevitable decree. It is also important for the State to inculcate in its subjects an aversion to any ‘conspiracy theory of history;’ for a search for ‘conspiracies’ means a search for motives and an attribution of responsibility for historical misdeeds. If, however, any tyranny imposed by the State, or venality, or aggressive war, was caused not by the State rulers but by mysterious and arcane ‘social forces,’ or by the imperfect state of the world or, if in some way, everyone was responsible (‘We Are All Murderers,’ proclaims one slogan), then there is no point to the people becoming indignant or rising up against such misdeeds.”
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Fear of alternative systems and non-rule is instilled in subjects. The State identifies itself with the territory it governs, using patriotism to align the people's interests with those of the rulers. The State promotes a sense of inevitability and suppresses critical thinking.
“Another successful device was to instill fear of any alternative systems of rule or nonrule. … Since the land area of the globe has been parceled out among particular States, one of the basic doctrines of the State was to identify itself with the territory it governed. Since most men tend to love their homeland, the identification of that land and its people with the State was a means of making natural patriotism work to the State’s advantage. … It is also important for the State to make its rule seem inevitable; even if its reign is disliked, it will then be met with passive resignation… The greatest danger to the State is independent intellectual criticism; there is no better way to stifle that criticism than to attack any isolated voice, any raiser of new doubts, as a profane violator of the wisdom of his ancestors.”
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Guilt-inducing tactics are employed by the State to justify transferring resources from the private sector to the 'public sector'. The State presents its actions as morally and ethically superior to private pursuits by attacking private well-being and profit-making.
“Another tried and true method for bending subjects to the State’s will is inducing guilt. Any increase in private well-being can be attacked as ‘unconscionable greed,’ ‘materialism,’ or ‘excessive affluence,’ profit-making can be attacked as ‘exploitation’ and ‘usury,’ mutually beneficial exchanges denounced as ‘selfishness,’ and somehow with the conclusion always being drawn that more resources should be siphoned from the private to the ‘public sector.’”
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In more secular times, the State invokes science to justify its rule, portraying it as a rational and expert-driven system. Nevertheless, this is still a collectivist and deterministic approach that undermines individual freedom.
“In the present more secular age, the divine right of the State has been supplemented by the invocation of a new god, Science. State rule is now proclaimed as being ultrascientific, as constituting planning by experts. But while ‘reason’ is invoked more than in previous centuries, this is not the true reason of the individual and his exercise of free will; it is still collectivist and determinist, still implying holistic aggregates and coercive manipulation of passive subjects by their rulers.”
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The State continuously seeks to justify its existence ideologically, fighting what Mencken called the "fundamental antagonism between the government and the people it governs."
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I occasionally listen to a podcast called The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
The podcast discusses the latest advances in science but if you have read Rothbard’s books it’s very appropriate they’re mostly upholding the ruling class’ agendas.
Education is good if you look at it with via the lens of a true skeptical eye filtered by human freedom.
This is a good review for me. I think I’ll read it again.
Thanks!
Oh man, your Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe mention hits a bit of a sore spot: it used to be on my regular listening rotation for my long runs... until covid...
Thanks for the reminder though, I should probably give it another look now that the acute phase has passed: prob missing interesting guests and topics because of my bias...
They do cover some very cool subjects and have good guests occasionally.
They did get ridiculous during the COVID years. I stopped listening for several years because of that insanity and acute propaganda.
I wasn’t aware that you’re a runner. Awesome!
Are you an ultra runner or a normal? ;)
I’m an unlabelled runner lol :)) I run ~10k a day, it’s the only way I can stay sane with my crazy lifestyle: it’s a form of active meditation… sometimes just relaxing, sometimes with books/podcasts, sometimes sprinting bursts. I don’t do numbers and I don’t use any trackers (I’m paranoid, remember lol). I know rough distance from maps, I don’t track time, and I don’t train for any "goal": no official marathons for me. I can’t imagine voluntarily being in a crowd (that can be easily targeted!) + noisy and stinky (and paying for it on top of everything lol).
I like waterfront and/or wooded area trails, preferably no humans around and only the sounds of nature :) and I love your images on twitter <3
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Thanks for sharing. What a beautiful capture on the beach.
Trail running calms the static in my mind. Running truly is an “active meditation.” I honestly don’t know how I would function without it.
I don’t know how people run road marathons, either. They seem too serious and much too congested.
I try to run a few mountain races a year just to have a goal to reach, and I’m very selective. Races push me to get out there and explore more trails, run farther, and stay fit and sharp. Otherwise… yeah, why would you pay to run? :))
Kudos to you for being self-motivated and totally private! I have even more respect for you now.
I’m happy you like my pictures. I share them not for bragging purposes, but hopefully to inspire others to get out and see the real world. ;)
Beautiful picture and beautiful practice. It's very important to take time to be in nature regularly. You begin to rot inside without it. There's something fundamental to human nature that requires it in my opinion.
The thing many don't talk about is that often intellectuals already have a selection bias built-in. Those who get to that level have already established a significant amount of tolerance for monotony and compliance with the in-group. Also, many who would or could be intellectuals filter themselves out because they favor less bureaucratic systems or they find it limiting to live at the whims of the state.
The concept is talked about extensively in Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky (yes he's a commie and a pedophile, but he's right on this).
This is why it's so important to learn revisionist history that challenges these narratives (some revisionists having a more valuable perspective than others, of course). The Civil War, WWII, and the Civil Rights Act are the most important to learn revisions of. Even if you're not US based honestly. The US is the global hedgemon and exports the consequences of those abroad.
Sounds like a sunk cost to me. In for a penny, in for a pound. Who is transgressing against me again?
There's also something very Abrahamic about that. "Nobody is perfect". "Remove the plank from your eye before removing the splinter from his".
If I remember correctly nationalism was actually originally an aggregator of regionalism which was the prevailing status quo before. That's why I am directionally nationalist (Global gov is even more progressive than nations), but in reality I'm a localist.
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This is actually only a fallacy if you subscribe to the blank slate fallacy. I still agree with the sentiment, but because of how actually difficult and complex the ecosystem of human action is and how hard it is to measure with many variables. I also fundamentally disagree with the formalized top down scientific management of society.
Sounds like exploiting an Abrahamic epistemology. Especially relevant for the follow on examples he provided.
They didn't do the trick to get the treat. The master's approval was the treat. The donut was just a bonus.
Also, that's how these people think about that kind of stuff in general.
"I agree with the institutions and status quo and if you think that's wrong than provide me 12 dissertations, 12 peer reviewed studies, and a multi-decade body of evidence. Also, if those things contain bad people or perspectives I don't like I'll ignore the evidence."
Great Book! I enjoyed it. It's length was greatly appreciated too.
I remember a discussion a while back (on econ twitter or possibly Econtalk podcast) where a student asked how one could become an economist focused on the Austrian school, given that top U.S. universities don’t teach it and there are effectively no research advisors for it in the mainstream. The practical advice was to go through the traditional economics track, earn the PhD, secure tenure, and only then(!!!) shift to the research you actually care about. The implicit warning, though, was how difficult it is not to grow complacent and lose your original spark over that long journey of navigating the system’s monotony, incentives, and required conformity. It seems to filter for exactly the tolerance and compliance you describe... Those who make it through are the ones who can endure the institutional expectations long enough to gain the credentials and platform, and by then many have internalized enough of the prevailing worldview that the “switch” either never fully happens or ends up heavily diluted. Those less willing to play the game simply self-select out earlier, which leaves the intellectual class even more skewed toward the status quo...
the amount of brainwashing and busywork in school is almost 100%. no creativity. just obedience and do what you are told by this deadline. if anyone had a spark it is dead by graduation. not even in college. or you get labeled a problem and diagnosed with some executive function thing or autism or adhd. my case. kids still have the spark and the imagination and they work hard to kill it. college already gets mostly braindead. the filter starts way before the phd.
When I read the state talk of you folx I sometimes remember CGP Grey's Rules for Rulers video, based on The Dictator's Handbook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs original ↗
It's about how political authority is preserved of sorts.
Between the first two quotes here:
"Therefore, the King alone cannot rule; he must have a sizable group of followers who enjoy the prerequisites of rule, for example, the members of the State apparatus, such as the full-time bureaucracy or the established nobility."
I might say the video above and book AFAIK explore these interdynamics, rulers survive by keeping these "key groups" compensated in different forms. Book's title may sound like it's only about dictatorships, but it covers democracies as well.
I like the video, haven't read the book. Some of you might find video/book interesting.
From chapter HOW THE STATE TRANSCENDS ITS LIMITS
"it is also and ever true that the judiciary is part and parcel of the government apparatus and appointed by the executive and legislative branches. Black admits that this means that the State has set itself up as a judge in its own cause, thus violating a basic juridical principle for aiming at just decisions"
Coincidentally I was listening Darknet Diaries E179 today about two pentesters getting wrongly arrested and their fight w/ the state. The whole story is kind of like this failure mode of state unable to fairly deciding when it fucks up.
Thought ppl liking this book might enjoy:
https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/179/
TL;DR (one of my fav memes):
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Bought over a hundred copies of Anatomy of the State. Gift it to friends, family, and anyone in closed circles who shows any sign of consciousness. First thing I hand to a new acquaintance who seems awake.
This age needs the memes and tiktok videos to catch the young. Not sure that is a good thing -- people who cannot just read -- but you do good work with your memes.
Thank you! Appreciate the kind words! 🧡
Funny you mentioned it, but I received my physical copy (the one in the first picture) as a gift too :)))