two personalities
* There is joy in knowing that we are provided for, that our needs are met. When provided for, we are left in a state of intense fulfillment and a rich sense of enjoyment in our lives. Plunging into such a state leaves all matters of duty, responsibility and obligation out of our cocoon. Outside of this bubble, others are clamoring to fill the control vacuum we have left behind.
* We strive to impose our will on situations and manipulate conditions to our will. In doing so, we carve our own path through life, meticulously building our lives into the image we originally set out for ourselves. Leaving things to chance is avoided at all costs. Careful planning is the mantra, behind which controlled execution leads to progress towards our stated goals.
These descriptions, though they sound starkly opposed and incompatible, do in fact describe the two conditions of modern man. In fact, they might even describe the same man at different stages of his maturation within society.
We are all born into different circumstances, and our upbringing materially influences our perception of the importance of maintaining control over our lives, something we call empowerment and self-determination.
The material conditions in which a child is raised, whether in poverty, middle-class comfort, or a high level of wealth, affect the later adult in how the individual perceives their need differently. to determine their destiny. Of these three classes, the poor and the rich, particularly when they are at their extreme, tend to give little importance to or discount such a need altogether. On the other hand, the middle-class individual tends to appreciate this right and value its importance in defining the course of his life.
Both poverty and wealth influence liberal thought
An individual born into poverty.By the time you become an adult member of society, you’ve likely developed a sense of hopelessness. In all likelihood, he and his immediate environment have drawn on the supportive resources of society for much of their lives and have had little opportunity to witness the results of their own contributions. Self-determination is not a practical goal when survival and subsistence absorb the focus of daily activities. Dependence on support systems is complete with diminishing opportunity to divorce from your perpetual reach. There are few or no support systems that help build the individual’s self-esteem, or teach him to get creatively involved in activities that improve his condition.
A single tributary who has achieved a great measure of wealth and comfort gradually withdraws more and more from the productive part of society. Once a predictably prosperous lifestyle is achieved, the individual no longer feels the need to control many aspects of his life and is willing to relinquish that control to the support system that has produced his wealth. Self-determination is no longer a primary goal, as wealth has diminished individuals’ desire to contribute further to their environment and to society at large.
In either case, poverty or wealth, the desire to absolve oneself from the social expectations that arise from empowerment, succumbs the individual to accepting a system that will provide for them and relieve them of the high expectations that self-determination would otherwise place on them. . In one case, the support system is structured around government social programs; in the other, it is constructed by the individual to support his own needs. In either case, the individual is inexorably drawn to promote a liberal attitude which, because it defines his life and is necessary for his existence, he actively accepts and cultivates.
The liberal thus created regards his condition as permanent and has little desire to change it.
Conservatism: the ideological alternative of the middle class
This is contrasted with the mentality of a person cultivated in the traditions and education of the middle class. For the middle class, wealth is an attainable goal. It is within reach, provided control is exercised prudently and well thought out. Any government-created support system, while it may cushion an unwanted fall, acts as a repelling force that, when approached, reminds the individual of the consequences of losing control over one’s own destiny. Getting caught in their web is often a source of shame, but not resignation.
The middle-class individual considers his position in society to be transitory; not as a destination but as a path towards the fulfillment of achievable goals. He looks to examples of success and models his behavior to maximize his chances of escaping from his current state. He is not angry with those who have excelled beyond their own levels of success. Instead, he learns by watching them and adjusts his actions to better his own measurements. He hates acquiescence and is enraged by his own failures and the acceptance of the failure of others. His attitude is strongly shaped by the fundamental principles of the Constitution, which act as a guiding light and also provide the limits within which his actions are framed.
More important, the middle-class conservative is unwilling to cede (or delegate) the controls necessary to chart his own path to fulfillment.
call to action
Although the conservative principles of self-determination are natural to the spirit of every human being, it is necessary to educate people to accept dependency as a way of life. Liberalism is not a balance to which all forces are drawn, but rather an unnatural state that needs to be constantly built and reinforced, lest it collapse under its own artificial weight. Indeed, history provides many examples of such implosions.
However, in our society, the commercialization of socialism and extreme liberalism has been masterfully crafted and is being executed before our very eyes. Conservatives should pay particular attention to the dominance of liberal ideology among the poor and the rich.
The rich, compared to the poor, are considerably more resistant to change and, although they represent a relatively small part of the population, their influence is multiplied by virtue of their wealth and notoriety. Fortunately, they represent a culture of followers rather than leaders, and will be strongly influenced by the outcome of mass attitude change. As a result, to achieve a change in their behavior and philosophy, no specific actions are required other than those applied to the other most important social group, the poor.
The poor represent a considerably larger group of the population, into which intelligently designed and strategically injected conservative programs can create a magnified effect of positive influence and potential spin-off outcomes. Such programs should promote small business development opportunities and should target individuals who have demonstrated socially responsible behavior and a desire to break free from the confines of their social support systems.
At the same time, conservatives must be constantly on the lookout for the opposing programs introduced by advocates of socialization and government control, programs that aim to eliminate the social lifelines that still exist and that the would-be poor could use to improve their livelihoods. condition.
norberto sluzewski