The Auron MacIntyre Show - Mitch McConnell and the Iron Law of Oligarchy ｜ 12⧸30⧸22

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00:00:30.600 Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proudly announced that sending billions of dollars to Ukraine was the number one priority for Republicans,

00:00:40.500 during a press conference in which he celebrated passing a massive $1.7 trillion spending package.

00:00:48.480 The longtime GOP figurehead was one of the central players responsible for engineering the disastrous 2022 midterms,

00:00:56.580 after redirecting crucial campaign funds away from promising candidates like Blake Masters in Arizona

00:01:02.960 because he was not content to parrot tired establishment talking points.

00:01:07.980 The Republican base has understood for a long time that McConnell is a disgrace,

00:01:12.720 but despite Mitch's betrayal of GOP voters at every opportunity, he sits comfortably ensconced in his position of power.

00:01:21.260 The Kentucky Senator acts against the wishes and interests of conservatives on a regular basis without any fear of losing his seat or his leadership position.

00:01:29.800 If popular sovereignty allows the people to hold leaders accountable,

00:01:33.840 why is someone so reviled by his own base so confident in the safety of his power?

00:01:40.180 In his book Political Parties, Robert McKells explored the behavior of representative governments

00:01:46.280 and why their voters seem to have a difficult time holding them accountable.

00:01:50.780 The political theorist begins by making some observations that might seem obvious,

00:01:55.780 but for some reason are quickly forgotten whenever the pundit class starts debating the motivations of political actors.

00:02:01.980 According to McKells, no organization is ever ruled by the entire body of that organization.

00:02:08.660 Be it a church, a bowling league, a business, or a political party,

00:02:13.340 an organized minority of members always takes control of the institution.

00:02:17.980 Even when the organizations are earnestly constructed on the principle of democratic input and accountability to the body of members,

00:02:25.680 a central group of leaders always emerges who actually guides the actions of the organization.

00:02:30.940 The natural fact of leadership is not itself an indictment of democracy.

00:02:36.420 The emergence of a leadership class is a universal feature of human endeavor,

00:02:40.720 and the Founding Fathers were not blind to this fact.

00:02:43.680 They organized the republic around representative and not direct democracy,

00:02:48.560 understanding that in a nation the size of the United States,

00:02:52.020 it was impossible to run the government without a set of leaders who, at least for a time,

00:02:56.800 dedicate their attention to operating the state in the interests of the people.

00:03:00.940 If over time, however, as the franchise expands and the democratic influence over the republic increases,

00:03:07.620 the interest of the leadership class becomes less and not more aligned with the interests of the average voter,

00:03:14.020 then the feasibility of popular sovereignty may be called into question.

00:03:17.960 If the democratic process inevitably leads to the installation of a leadership class

00:03:23.320 completely insulated from the consequences of that process,

00:03:26.740 is democracy even possible?

00:03:29.540 As McHales studied socialist worker parties in Europe,

00:03:33.420 the major democratic force of his time,

00:03:35.740 he noticed a consistent pattern emerging.

00:03:38.420 Average laborers with a gift for oration were consistently elevated by their fellow working-class party members

00:03:45.120 to speak and organize on behalf of the collective.

00:03:48.420 These trade union organizers often had humble backgrounds and genuine interests aligned with those who elevated them.

00:03:56.100 As the organization becomes more complex and its management more demanding,

00:04:01.440 these gifted individuals had to become specialists who devoted their time to the operation of the party

00:04:08.100 and leave their previous lives as daily laborers.

00:04:11.280 This change in vocation was their first break from the interests of the workers,

00:04:16.780 but would be far from the last.

00:04:18.980 These professional representatives quickly discovered that they could not achieve the ends their constituents demanded

00:04:25.420 with the meager power they had,

00:04:27.720 so the acquisition of additional power became the new goal.

00:04:31.560 The interest of gaining more power was often at odds with the immediate interest of their constituents,

00:04:37.840 but it could be justified because in the long term,

00:04:40.900 the purpose of acquiring power was ultimately to deliver on the promises leadership had made to party members.

00:04:47.040 The more expertise and power the representatives acquired,

00:04:51.880 the more indispensable they seemed to be to the ends of the party,

00:04:55.820 even as their own interests diverged more and more radically from those of the people they theoretically served.

00:05:02.320 According to McKells, quote,

00:05:04.320 So you've always been picky about your produce.

00:05:07.520 But now you find yourself checking every label to make sure it's Canadian.

00:05:11.400 So be it.

00:05:12.760 At Sobeys, we always pick guaranteed fresh Canadian produce first.

00:05:16.700 Restrictions apply.

00:05:17.700 See in store or online for details.

00:05:21.960 The democratic masses are thus compelled to submit to a restriction of their own wills

00:05:27.780 when they are forced to give their leaders an authority

00:05:30.780 which is in the long run destructive to the very principle of democracy.

00:05:35.180 The leader's principle source of power is found in their indispensability.

00:05:39.980 One who is indispensable has in his power all the lords and masters of the earth.

00:05:44.920 The history of the working class parties continually furnishes instances in which the leader has been in flagrant contradiction

00:05:53.600 with the fundamental principles of the movement,

00:05:56.500 but in which the rank and file have not been able to make up their minds to draw the logical consequences of this conflict,

00:06:04.000 because they feel that they cannot get along without the leader,

00:06:07.940 and cannot dispense with the qualities he has acquired in virtue of the very position to which they have themselves elevated him,

00:06:15.940 and because they do not see their way to find an adequate substitute.

00:06:19.940 Numerous are the parliamentary orators and trade union leaders who are in opposition to the rank and file at once theoretically and practically,

00:06:29.880 and who nonetheless continue to think and act tranquilly on behalf of the rank and file."

00:06:35.880 End quote.

00:06:36.880 While it may feel odd for conservatives to relate to a European Workers' Party in the early 1900s,

00:06:43.820 the description of how a leadership class separates from the interests of its voters should sound strikingly familiar.

00:06:50.820 The situation for the Republican base is even more dire, as most of the base would be willing to replace McConnell,

00:06:58.440 but the skill, power, and connections that he has acquired have made him all but invulnerable to the democratic process.

00:07:06.780 Instead of making himself indispensable to the GOP base, he's made himself indispensable to his fellow Republican politicians,

00:07:15.100 and more importantly, to the donor class that funds them.

00:07:18.800 Mitch McConnell has insulated himself by prioritizing the needs of the oligarchical class that actually drives the agenda of the GOP

00:07:27.600 over the needs of the voters that legitimate the Republicans through popular sovereignty.

00:07:32.840 This phenomenon is not unique to Mitch McConnell, the GOP, or American politics, but is rather an inescapable fact of the human condition.

00:07:42.600 That's why McHale sums up this natural tendency of social organization as the iron law of oligarchy.

00:07:50.840 Democratic systems, just like all human governments, will ultimately be led by an elite class

00:07:56.760 capable of more complex organization.

00:08:00.420 The superior organization of that elite class will always allow it to insulate itself from the popular will of the average citizen in some way.

00:08:11.760 Now, the social scientist did not see this as a reason to abandon the effort to reduce, as much as possible,

00:08:18.760 the autocratic tendencies of human organization.

00:08:22.420 But his observations instead stand as a warning about a critical aspect of all societies.

00:08:29.260 Every nation will be run by a set of elites, and forgetting this truth allows the ruling class members to hide the truth about their power and their motivations.

00:08:40.420 An elite will always emerge to lead in every civilization.

00:08:44.080 The important questions are, do their interests align with the good of those they watch over, and can they be held accountable if the answer is no?

00:08:54.740 Thanks for watching guys!

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00:09:05.400 This video is based on a piece that first appeared on The Blaze.

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00:10:00.240 I hope everybody had a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great New Year!

00:10:04.240 And as always, I'll talk to you next time.

The Auron MacIntyre Show - December 30, 2022

Mitch McConnell and the Iron Law of Oligarchy ｜ 12⧸30⧸22

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