31 Jul Whip It. Whip It Good
One of the defining characteristics of the New Left, and especially its environmental mien, is its hyper-asceticism, its belief that any pleasure, enjoyment, or happiness must, somehow, be a violation of the proper order, of the Universe’s will. Do you like to drive? Well…that’s bad for the planet. Do you like to travel? Also, bad for the planet. Do you eat meat? Ah, guess what? Do you like air conditioning? Oooh, too bad. Like cocktails? Well, then, aren’t you the selfish, little planet hater! (And no, we’re not joking). Everything you enjoy is bad – not for you, necessarily, but for the world!
Almost exactly a year ago, Noah Rothman – a senior writer for National Review and the former associate editor of Commentary – wrote a book called The Rise of the New Puritans, in which he rather convincingly compared the contemporary Left to the Puritans of old, the Calvinist English protestant reformers who, more or less, sucked the pleasure out of everything. According to Rothman, there “is a cultural shift underway within the progressive ranks” and progressivism has become “a totalistic philosophy with religious undertones.”
As we say, Rothman’s case is convincing and well-written. There are, however, some thoughts worth adding. For starters, the New Left and its current humorless and joyless “woke” manifestation is also an integral part of the long struggle between Marxism and egoism, the Marxists’ (and cultural Marxists’) demand that humanity adopt its post-Christian religion versus the egoists’ refusal to do so and to give up their temporal pleasure. (We’ve described this struggle here, here, and here).
Perhaps more relevantly, we think that the ultimate roots of the New Left’s asceticism can be found in the millenarianism of medieval Europe. Note here that while Puritanism is post-medieval, it too had millenarian characteristics, especially in its American version, which is to say that Rothman’s conclusions are perfectly compatible with this idea.
We have long argued that – as we did here – the Left in its entirety (and again, especially in its environmentalism) is an heir to the millenarian idea that the historian Norman Cohn called the “Golden Age Myth” which was characterized by an “egalitarian State of Nature.”
This myth of a pre-historical utopia is critical in Western thought and the development of Western civilization for at least a couple of different reasons. First, as Cohn notes, it was only natural that the egalitarian State of Nature would eventually give rise to the egalitarian Millennium; the social myth became a revolutionary myth over time as the “Golden Age irrecoverably lost in the distant past” was replaced by a Golden Age “preordained for the immediate future.”
As for the New Left’s asceticism, that, we think, hearkens to the pauperes and especially the flagellants of the 13th and 14th centuries. Cohn wrote that self-flagellation began as a form of self-penitence but, in time, grew to be something more, to represent the means of attaining universal salvation. The Flagellants, whom he called “an elite of self-immolating redeemers,” “saw their penance as a collective imitatio Christi, possessing a unique eschatological value.” Or, in other words, they believed that their self-mutilation would bring salvation to all the world. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes this heretical sect as follows:
The Flagellants became an organized sect, with severe discipline and extravagant claims. They wore a white habit and mantle, on each of which was a red cross, whence in some parts they were called the “Brotherhood of the Cross”. Whosoever desired to join this brotherhood was bound to remain in it for thirty-three and a half days, to swear obedience to the “Masters” of the organization, to possess at least four pence a day for his support, to be reconciled to all men, and, if married, to have the sanction of his wife.
The ceremonial of the Flagellants seems to have been much the same in all the northern cities. Twice a day, proceeding slowly to the public square or to the principal church, they put off their shoes, stripped themselves to the waist and prostrated themselves in a large circle.
By their posture they indicated the nature of the sins they intended to expiate, the murderer lying on his back, the adulterer on his face, the perjurer on one side holding up three fingers, etc. First they were beaten by the “Master”, then, bidden solemnly in a prescribed form to rise, they stood in a circle and scourged themselves severely, crying out that their blood was mingled with the Blood of Christ and that their penance was preserving the whole world from perishing. At the end the “Master” read a letter which was supposed to have been brought by an angel from heaven to the church of St. Peter in Rome. This stated that Christ, angry at the grievous sins of mankind, had threatened to destroy the world, yet, at the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, had ordained that all who should join the brotherhood for thirty-three and a half days should be saved. The reading of this “letter,” following the shock to the emotions caused by the public penance of the Flagellants, aroused much excitement among the populace.
The ascetic New Left is comprised of those whom we’d call “inverse Flagellants.” What we mean by that is that the medieval Flagellants expected to be treated like heroes, saviors, saints. They believed that their sacrifice could help redeem mankind. The inverse Flagellants, by contrast, believe that mankind can be redeemed not by their sacrifice and penance but by yours. So, while they can enjoy their private jets, their mega yachts, their globetrotting lifestyles, and their motorcades, they demand that you ride your bikes and buy electric cars and, generally, whip yourselves into compliance. While they prattle in about rising sea levels and the threats of overheated oceans, Barack Obama can buy seaside estates on Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii, Joe Biden can enjoy his mansion at Rehoboth Beach, and Bill Gates can hunker down in his $43 million cabin on the water in Del Mar, California. You should give up meat. You should set your thermostat at 80 degrees. You should enjoy “staycations.” You should get used to cooking on an electric stovetop. In short, you should beat yourself bloody, while they watch disapprovingly, knowing that whatever you do, it’ll never be enough, and you will have to do more.
To save time and trouble – aNd ThE pLaNeT! – it would probably be best if you just made a list of everything you enjoy and then quit doing it. Whatever it is, it’s causing climate change or contributing to the spread of COVID or spreading disinformation or committing metaphorical violence against someone somewhere. Just stop it!
In the name of God Gaia!
