Review of The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulations as a Basis for Social Policy, 1995, BasicBooks, by Thomas Sowell
Tired of all the talk about liberals and conservatives? Well then, try this book by renowned black conservative Thomas Sowell, one who puts political debates in a new perspective. Sowell states that politics rests in the hands of the anointed and benighted, the anointed being primarily the subject of his book. Conservatives will find they share more with the benighted, but what about the anointed?
Those who are familiar with the Bible will know the meaning of the word "anoint." It means to pour something on yourself, often on your head. Some in professional circles anoint themselves with self-congratulations on their good deeds. To be able to congratulate themselves, they must be able to adopt a world view which is immune from criticism. This is one feature of the anointed that Sowell lists early in his epic work, one that was listed in the journal First Things as one of the top conservative books to read.
As far as the other features, Sowell lists them in an easy-to-understand order later in his book. Several are worth mentioning to give the future reader an idea of the impressive documentation available here. One is the belief by the anointed that they have what Sowell calls "differential wisdom." This means the anointed assume us "common people" - as good a description as any - are too ignorant to manage our affairs and we need to wisdom of the anointed in high echelons of society. The anointed will speak of our "love affair with the automobile," how pauperism is caused by ignorance and discrimination, and how citizens have "a longing for meaning." No studies are needed to confirm what the anointed already know: that their wisdom is far superior to the common people, wisdom they must spread and inculcate in others as fast as they can.
There are numerous others. The anointed have a feverish desire to fix societies' problems and because of this they assume, as is characteristic of liberals, that society is to blame for many of the misdeeds of those around us. They then take on crusades to change society to what is necessary to possibly fulfill their goal. Along the way, they take on mascots (this doesn't mean having a guy dressed up as a bird) to show how much they care and insulate their world view from feedback. Their world is a self-contained universe and the only justification for what they do comes from their own preconceptions which they assume, a priori, are true. Many of us will recognize crusades and mascots of the anointed: condoms and kids in the schools, homosexuals and increasing sexual liberation in various nooks of society, large government spending to cure poverty and social ills.
The anointed are the opposites of the benighted who have, as Sowell calls it, the "tragic vision" of humanity. This means that we recognize man's flaws, punish transgressors, and assume that man is limited in his ability to shape society and better it. The anointed see the world through utopian glasses and are ready to shape what they need after they first conceive of their world view in infallible terms.
I don't think you'll ever see Rush Limbaugh ever adopt Sowell's verbiage, ever speak of the anointed and anointed governmental policies. Yet, the terms in which Sowell has put the debate may at least provide a meaningful way of looking at the political landscape. Together with Lakoff, we may have an alternative view to the tired narrative of the struggle between liberal and conservative.
Jeffrey Stueber