There are three kinds of elite. Those who move society forward. Those who lead it. Those who distract.
The first are those of science, philosophy, literature, art, creative daring, fighting for values, for ethics, for life. The second is money and politics. The third are those of show business, in all its forms (actors, singers, influencers) whose talent is often limited to their ability to stage themselves, to make people talk about them, to fascinate those who would dream of being in their shoes.
These three forms of elite – those of knowledge, those of power and those of fame – have existed for at least three thousand years, as witnessed by the most ancient texts, which marvel at the power of some, the wealth of others and the fame of yet others.
These three categories are not exclusive, and some characters belong to at least two of them: power and fame feed off each other. More rarely, knowledge feeds power.
For example, great discoverers, great scientists and great artists can become very rich or very powerful (as in the case of Pablo Picasso, Nikola Tesla or Bertrand Russel). It also happens that great artists are also entertainers (as is the case with great comedians). Politicians and businessmen can also have been, or still be, great scientists (as was the case with Chaïm Weismann or Nicolas Tesla). Finally, some entertainers have also been exceptional scientists or become statesmen (as was the case of Hedy Lamarr, a great actress and scientist, whose discoveries were at the origin of GPS and WIFI; and Vladimir Zemlinsky, an actor turned statesman). Finally, a few entertainers have become excellent businessmen (such as, very recently, the Kardashian family or Taylor Swift).
These three forms of elite (knowledge, power and fame) are of unequal importance. The second and third are not, in fact, elites, since almost all the functions they cover can be performed by people with no particular talent. They simply happen to give access to power, through money, politics or notoriety, which is enough to transform ordinary people into seemingly exceptional characters.
Dictatorship and decline await a society that treats the elites of money, power and fame better than those of knowledge.
This contempt for the elites of knowledge can be insinuated by the way they are socially denigrated, poorly remunerated and denounced as parasites (dictators don’t like those who seek; they tolerate those who find, and even then, only when it’s useful to them). This contempt also manifests itself in the over-valuing of other elites, who are elevated to the pinnacle and become social role models. Finally, it manifests itself in the rejection of knowledge as mere opinion, whether in astrophysics, climatology or medicine. It ends with the designation of these elites as enemies, because they refuse to let reality be twisted, to reinvent it, and to designate scapegoats as the cause of all problems.
This devaluation of knowledge elites has been going on for a long time in the West, and is still masked by the huge budgets of certain universities and Nobel Prize ceremonies. Both are derisory compared to the resources devoted to promoting other elites. Without a knowledge elite, democracy is moribund, even if it keeps up appearances.
In the United States in particular, the machine for destroying the knowledge elite is in motion. They are less and less valued. And even those who might one day hope to join them, such as Elon Musk, prefer the mirages of money, power and fame. The rest is history: an empire that discredits its true elites is doomed to disappear.
This could be an opportunity for Europe; if it doesn’t make the same mistake, if it glorifies its scientists and gives them the means to work, it could emerge victorious from the dark age that is beginning.
j@attali.com
Engraving from “La Ilustracion Artistica”