There has been some revived interest in Aldous Huxley’s 1952 book “The Devils of Loudun”, about some unpleasant events which took place in the small French town of Loudun in the 1600s. Huxley’s observations on partisanship are worth considering, relevant to today … just as they were to the French of the 1600s.
“Partisan loyalty is socially disastrous; but for the individuals it can be richly rewarding — more rewarding, in many ways, than even concupiscence or avarice. Whoremongers and money-grubbers find it very hard to feel proud of their activities. But partisanship is a complex passion with permits those who indulge in it to make the best of both worlds. Because they do these things for the sake of a group which is, by definition, good and even sacred, they can admire themselves and loathe their neighbors, they can seek power and money, can enjoy the pleasures of aggression and cruelty, not merely without feeling guilty, but with a glow of conscious virtue. Loyalty to the group transforms these pleasant vices into acts of heroism.”
From the context of Huxley’s writing, it seems that his negative observations on partisanship were not directed at those low attention voters who reliably vote the same way as their parents did. Rather, he was concerned with the much smaller group who devote themselves to a single issue – think the Global Warm-mongers or BLM – and imagine they are the vanguard who have recognized the most important truth in the world … a truth which has apparently escaped the attention of us hoi-polloi.
Unfortunately, those kinds of dedicated True Believers devote themselves to political action, and have an influence far in excess of their numbers.
Not because of the persuasive power of their positions. ONLY because of the endless amplification by their media fellow travelers. Where are the investigative journalists exposing this obvious fact when we need them? This corrupt and corrosive leverage would end quickly were it repeated a few dozen times.
It has been argued that what these single-issue extremists bring to the party is dedication. Most of us are reluctant to attend a school board meeting or a candidate forum - we have lives! For the dedicated partisan, those kinds of fora are their lives. To give them their due, they are prepared to devote much of their time & energy to political activities.
And thus in a “democratic” system where candidates are selected by the small proportion of citizens who vote in primary elections, those partisans are seriously over-represented in political offices. We end up with the anomalous situation that elected “Representatives” are clearly not representative of the majority in their communities.
There are other flavors of democracy where that would not be the case.
What a coincidence,i just read that book, at last—it’s been on my Kindle for ages. They call it a historical novel but it’s really more a work of philosophy, in my opinion. Very funny! I’m looking forward to the re-release of the movie this month. And yes I was struck by Huxley’s clear headed scorn —of people he doesnt agree with.
Are we reading the same book??? I just finished the section describing in painfully horrible detail the judicial torture and burning-at-the-stake of the priest – officially because he was a magician in league with the Devil; unofficially because he had been a bit of a lad who had offended some powerful people, like Cardinal Richlieu. Not many laughs there!
It is nevertheless a very interesting book – indeed philosophical as well as theological and medical and historical.
Fascinating observations on life in those days that I had never heard. I was particularly taken with Huxleys’ comment that many of the young women who ended up as nuns were there because their upper class families could not afford a sufficiently large dowery to attract the attention of an appropriate suitor, leaving the girls with no prospects of marriage. Small wonder that healthy young women who were in the convent because of economic factors rather than the love of God were susceptible to sexual fantasies about the handsome priest.
No, no, of course Grandier’s fate isn’t funny! But the earlier descriptions of him and his dalliances are, as are Huxley’s satirical comments about the prioress and various churchmen.
