Also from 2021 (Thank you Rob Henderson) is Tyler Cowen examining whether the world is really as woke as it appears.
Left-wing views, at least on some issues, might have more of a “least common denominator” element than do many right-wing views. On average, the intellectual right is more likely to insist on biological differences between men and women, whereas the intellectual left is more likely to insist on equality of capabilities. No matter your view, the left approach is easier to incorporate into mission statements, company slogans, and corporate human-resource policies. Egalitarian slogans require less explanation, are less likely to get an institution into trouble with the law, and are more compatible with a desire to attract a broad range of workers and customers.
He also starts his conclusions with "It follows that, if Conquest’s Second Law is true, societies are more right-wing than they appear." Short read. Worth it.
7 comments:
And the institutions tend to be centralized--and environment friendlier to centralizing ideologies. And as you pointed out elsewhere, the admins and lawyers and HR types deal with words and not things or actions, and are more abstracted away from consequences and reality. A perfect storm of left-nudgings.
Another possible factor, from First Things #328 Dec 2022
Today, the best way to prevent one's workers from unionizing is to frame workplace discontent as a matter of "diversity."
Tyler Cowen: the left approach is easier to incorporate into mission statements
• Make American Great Again
• Law and order
• Better dead than red
• King and country
• Blood and soil
• Love it or leave it
• Build the Wall
• One people, one empire, one leader
It's important to realize that the world has been moving left, that is, towards a more egalitarian society, since the Renaissance. Hence, if you set your political center as what was known sometime in the past, such as your youth, you will likely see the modern world as having drifted to the left.
However, the point about institutions putting on a leftist face is often correct. They want to be seen as being "with it," even as they often cling to retrograde views.
• Make American Great Again
• Law and order
• Better dead than red
• King and country
• Blood and soil
• Love it or leave it
• Build the Wall
• One people, one empire, one leader
Remind me what companies/universities/nonprofits have those as mission statements again, Zach?
Reminder to readers: This is typical. Zachriel changes the subject to things he likes better. Also, this idea that whatever he finds good in history is in fact a move leftward, and therefore, leftward is always the way to move is also typical. A smart man, but not much insight into his own reasoning.
Assistant Village Idiot: Also, this idea that whatever he finds good in history is in fact a move leftward, and therefore, leftward is always the way to move is also typical.
The comment was descriptive, not prescriptive. Human society has moved towards the left, that is, becoming more egalitarian over history: first, in matters conscience with the breakdown of the Church; then in terms of class, with the weakening of the aristocracy; then politically, with the rise of democracies; then economically, with the rise of labor laws and social safety nets.
Nor have all moves leftward been "good." For instance, the lurge towards communism brought untold misery to millions.
Assistant Village Idiot: Remind me what companies/universities/nonprofits have those as mission statements
The article is about institutions, but your text concerns "the world," as do many of Cowen's points.
Over history, many of those slogans were incorporated into the cultures of businesses and institutions. If you mean businesses have moved towards diversity, well, society has moved towards diversity. You can hardly expect to run a modern multinational business without a diverse customer base and workforce. The center of gravity for business has moved, just as the center of gravity for social issues has moved.
The article didn't seem to provide any specifics of how the left is easier to incorporate into mission statements. We provided a few on the right for discussion.
Tyler Cowen: Numerous foundations that arose from the fortunes of right-leaning founders, such as Pew or Ford or Hewlett, have morphed into left-wing institutions.
If society itself has moved left, such as with more equal rights for minorities, then certainly many institutions will move towards the new center. However, Cowen is correct that rhetoric may conceal more a conservative culture.
Let's try returning to the fundamental:
Conquest’s Second Law of Politics: Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing.
We are saying it's a matter of perspective. If society trends left, institutions will drift left. The change isn't intrinsic to the institution, but they are pulled along by the currents of historical change. They are tacking to the shifting middle of the stream.
Cowen is saying that the rhetoric may not always represent the underlying culture, which is correct. Institutions will tend to espouse the current trend, but continue to harbor vestiges of the older culture. This is essential conservatism — institutions long established will be slow to change.
The teleos of "wherever you go, there you are."
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