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25 Aug 2008 12:59 pm
Goldberg v. Goldberg
He hasn't always despised "bon mots from Balzac." From a 2002 Jonah Goldberg article titled "In Defense Of Elitism: We Need It":
In America, "elitist," "snobbish," and "aristocratic" have become largely synonymous. That's a shame. "Elite" derives from the Latin for "elect," though not necessarily in the democratic "electoral" sense. It means those who — through efforts and talent — self-select themselves as qualified to lead, and teach, by example.
Wait, there's more:
We talk of elite athletes, elite scientists,
elite craftsmen, or elite soldiers, and everyone understands that these
people are simply better, more expert at what they do than the rest of
us. It is only when we get closer to those realms where experts have
decided to bend every fact and twist every standard — in an effort to
mend the bruised egos of backward nations and boutique domestic victim
groups — that "elite" becomes pejorative. This is a tragedy, because
conservatism will become meaningless if, in an effort to displace the
current elite from its perch, we embrace the notion that nobody has a
right to that perch.
But he's a Democrat.
(Hat tip: John).
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