Writing Forum

Who are the traitors? Well, to my mind, it is the authoritarian of whatever stripe. In the United States we have elites from both sides who are pushing for freely admitting low-wage workers without regard to their desire to be a part of our Republic and follow our laws. Indeed, though the elite think themselves exempt and don't mind admitting others who don't know or knowingly flaunt our laws, the regular citizen is expected to toe the line... sorry, ranting... On the one side of the top side there is an element who want cheap immigrant labor to suppress the wages of we spoiled citizens and on the other they seek to admit a new client race and have another block of easily manipulated voters.

The Elite are the traitors which was the the actual heart of my question. Where does the idea of an honored elite come from? It just seems that England has had the experience of it and to a degree has had some good from it. It seems, especially in fiction, that there is nobility in the Nobility, not that all are, but that there is a sort of social responsibility that goes with the privilege.

Perhaps it is a matter of having an agrarian economy where work equals production of the food etc that is needed. In this a good manager can improve his situation by improving the lot of his workers. Somehow, perhaps, as the United States has moved from agrarian to industrial to post-industrial economy, the value of a worker who can make something is necessarily reduced to the place where the elite is contemptuous of those below and the only thing to manage is how to keep what they have and suppress the agrieved majority.

You mentioned the Victorian Era, and I do have some interest in that in particular as it is a favored setting for Steampunk fiction. I like the politeness and the orderliness of rank, at least in fiction. It may be that what is interesting is that in this era empire AND industrialization provided the opportunities that led to a middle class and didn't fit neatly into the Master/Serf paradigm. Not that this was unique as Trade served a similar purpose as towns became centers for an alternative production/trade powerbase that challenged, and to an extent, supplanted the old, land based, elite.

Solomon said "Their is nothing new under the Sun," and I suppose I believe that. It is just frustrating to me that, even when a superior system is developed, our "betters" work to keep us down while claiming to have our best interests at heart.

In the end, I've heard that we get the leadership we deserve, and this is the most depressing thought of all.

LSO