"Politics is downstream from culture" - Andrew Breitbart.
Lately I've been trying to understand why every society has classes. No matter what economic system you choose, there's always an upper crust of rich and powerful people making all the decisions. I've concluded that some form of ruling class is inevitable. But it's up to the people to determine how much authority we give them and what that looks like. In the end, the elites simply reflect the population at large. Many conservatives believe that we’re due for an American revival, but they don’t have the stomach to stand up for it. We’re going to get the hard times we deserve.
The Group Model
People tend to organize themselves in groups. On a micro level, people form families, work teams, and friend groups. Those groups unite to make larger groups like communities, tribes, and nations. The group model has been used across cultures and throughout history.
Groups of people naturally create cultures. These cultures are the sum of everyone's little choices throughout the day. For example, in America, we drive more cars, drink more alcohol, and eat more unhealthy food than people in other countries, demonstrating how much we value our right to choose. In Scandinavian countries, they care a lot about work-life balance, which is why they work fewer hours than we do.
Theoretically, individuals have complete and total freedom to make these little choices. But freedom means nothing without power. In a world where everyone is free, the powerful will always use their resources to dominate the powerless. It's human nature.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Main Street Insiders to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.