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Tuesday 27 February 2018

The ideology with no name

A few days ago Quillette published a particularly interesting article by Darel E. Paul, Professor of Political Science at Williams College. It begins with diversity.

Diversity is the reigning social and political ideal of our age. It is the public ideology of the country’s most powerful state and business institutions. To many it is the essence of American national identity and, in one of the favorite phrases of President Barack Obama, ‘who we are’ as a country.

Rather than simply a recognition of difference, diversity is a cultural, economic, and political project to both generate difference and to manage it.


To my mind a key point in Professor Paul's piece is contained in this last sentence - diversity is a cultural, economic, and political project to both generate difference and to manage it. This in turn points to a wider aspect of Professor Paul's argument about diversity - the global spread of managerialism as a social and political philosophy.

Unlike capitalism or socialism, managerialism is not a household word. Yet it should be thought of alongside these more famous -isms. Capitalism places the business entrepreneur at the center of society and emphasizes her role in social development. Socialism elevates the worker to this status and places labor at the foundation of society. Managerialism, too, is a coherent and complex account of society with a program for creating social order. Not surprisingly, it places the manager at the center of that order and assigns her the key role in producing it.

It's an interesting article, worth reading all the way through. It might be said that managerialism obviously has a name, but that is not the point. As a social and political ideology it operates under numerous aliases from diversity to social justice to feminism, anti-racism and even climate change and recycling.

Ultimately it is an ideology where all human activity must be managed. Under the guise of promoting an egalitarian ethos it ensures the survival of elites. It offers them an almost unassailable ethical and social status as managers of that same egalitarian ethos.  

As one commenter observes -

Something this excellent piece hints at is how the ideology of diversity is in fact a barely-veiled manifestation (conscious or otherwise) of the old principle “divide et impera”.

4 comments:

Sam Vega said...

Managerialism is odd, in that - unlike other ideologies such as socialism or feminism - there is no clear goal which is held before us as a desirable state. It might be that this goal is being kept from us, and managerialism is merely the means to destroy the status quo so that this new something can emerge. Or it might be what highly complex societies do when they lose their way; a sort of spinning of the wheels. In any case, what seems to drive the process is the glee and gratification some people get when they are allowed to tell others what to do. Maybe we have just allowed the sociopaths and twats to take over.

Anonymous said...

Long article in Quillette with many themes some unspoken. Then Professor Paul seems an intriguing character. His last line says it all, 'Bureaucracy is the path to progress'. Forward to David Davis.

MikeW said...

Very good,

Managerialism. Years ago, from reading Crick's biography of Orwell, I found that the character, Goldstein was not Trotsky, but James Burnham (He had been a well known US Marxist before spinning to the right). A bit of 1984 satire that lost far to may people! Anyway, I have tried to get a copy of Burnham's book, 'The Managerial Revolution'. But it has ceased to be published or it goes for silly money to collectors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham

'Maybe we have just allowed the sociopaths and twats to take over.' Worse Sam, much worse.

A K Haart said...

Sam - I think your second possibility is a likely explanation - it might be what highly complex societies do when they lose their way. In an automated world perhaps this is what we should expect because even sociopaths and twats need an occupation.

Roger - yes Professor Paul does seem to be an intriguing character. Worth following up. It is possible that 'Bureaucracy is the path to progress' is a widespread belief within the upper middle class simply because they see no other option. Maybe there is no other option.

Mike - Burnham's book sounds interesting but as you say, it goes for silly money. I've just clicked the Amazon button requesting a Kindle version - you never know.