Glenn Beck Is a Modern Day William Graham Sumner
Posted in News/Opinion by Lithobolos | Tags: Glenn Beck, News/Opinion, Politics, William Graham Sumner
One of the most common criticisms of those who think government should be reduced to the status of mere umpirage and public defender is that good honest people will fall through the cracks in a world of laissez-faire economics. Someone of the same mold as Glenn Beck would surely claim that in the place of government, “Faith, Hope, and Charity” would take care of the rest. This point of view may work in an imaginary original condition where everyone has equal access to resources, but it doesn’t make much sense in today’s modern context of globalism and market capitalism.
Nevertheless, this view is still popular, and sadly, it may even be experiencing an uptick in recent months. The simple truth is that this view is an apathetic and non-compassionate point of view that has its root in the idea that bad things happen to those who deserve it. From that root sentiment comes the egotistical ideas that “I never will and never have needed help” and that “to help someone justifies the vice that put them there.”
Running through the news cycle recently is the story of a Tennessee family that lost their home in a fire as a result of the fire department’s refusal to put it out because the family forgot to pay a $75 fee for fire coverage. This story hits most people right away as an example of injustice, but to some people this is simple a case of people getting what they deserve. The latter are often, and in my opinion should be, called “Social Darwinists.” They essentially believe the idea of natural selection, which is often wrongly described as “survival of the fittest,” doesn’t just apply to the biological world but also applies in the sociological world. They believe that this selection is normal and justified and to do anything that would help the unfit in turn hurts the fit and prevents the advancement of society.
You can see the Social Darwinist theme in Glenn Beck’s views on unemployment and specifically in the case of the Tennessee fire incident. On his radio show Beck and his co-host didn’t just mock the home owner, but they also concluded that “If you don’t pay the 75 dollars then that hurts the fire department. They can’t use those resources, and you’d be sponging off your neighbor’s resources.” Beck goes on to compare putting the fire out without paying the fee to Obama’s health care reform. By this extension of the Tennessee fire to health care reform, Beck shows that it is not just an isolated judgment but a perfect example of his Social Darwinist views.
Compare what Beck thinks about the Tennessee fire to one of the most infamous Social Darwinists, William Graham Sumner:
When you see a drunkard in the gutter, you are disgusted, but you pity him. When a policeman comes and picks him up you are satisfied. You say that “society” has interfered to save the drunkard from perishing. Society is a fine word, and it saves us the trouble of thinking to say that society acts. The truth is that the policeman is paid by somebody, and when we talk about society we forget who it is that pays. It is the Forgotten Man again. It is the industrious workman going home from a hard day’s work, whom you pass without noticing, who is mulcted of a percentage of his day’s earnings to hire a policeman to save the drunkard from himself. All the public expenditure to prevent vice has the same effect. Vice is its own curse. If we let nature alone, she cures vice by the most frightful penalties. It may shock you to hear me say it, but when you get over the shock, it will do you good to think of it: a drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be.
- William Graham Sumner, The Forgotten Man and Other Essays [1876]
Social Darwinism is a horrible and dead-end ideal that says little about human dignity and human rights. It is sad that anyone would believe in this misuse of biological theory to justify letting a drunk man die, a house burn down, or millions go without health care.
Furthermore, Sumner, like Beck, was a huge opponent of “socialism.” Read more of Sumner’s thoughts on this matter in The Challenge of Facts.
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poorkmart says:
Right Here:
http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=46801
That Blog post has failed miserably to really help anything since it included a bit from the homeowner: “Mr. Cranick later told The Associated Press that he had paid the fee in years past and that it had simply slipped his mind this year.” But doesn’t bother to mention: “He said the city mails out notices to customers in the specified rural coverage area;” and ““These folks were called and notified,” Vowell said. “I want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to get it and be aware it’s available. It’s been there for 20 years, but it’s very important to follow up.””
This isn’t about social darwinism, this is about people forcing expanded expectations on something through public opinion. It is the same concept that helps drive up health insurance costs and overall government expenses. This isn’t something that was cut back or removed to cut government or save money, and that the media would so casually cast it in that light is terribly frustrating, to say the least.
I beleive one of the worst things going on in poilitics/news in the US isn’t “incresing polarization,” as that has always existed, but the increasingly extreme characterizations that are known to be innacurate, but are intentionally being used regardless. The constant push that “libertarian=social darwinism,” or “tea party=social darwinism/racism(whichever we think sells better that day)” is ridiculous. The more you see of news coverage, the idea that “all members of ELF are lefties, but not all lefties are members of ELF” seems to be pushed to the wayside.
Glenn Beck is an ass. Big surprise. So is Keith Olbermann, but in all honesty, he doesn’t represent Democrats or liberals. Unlike Olbermann, I know some libs actually bothered to think about their positions and believe that thier ways have more Pros than Cons. Switch out Olbermann and libs with Beck and cons, and you get the same thing.
Hate Beck all you want, and disagree with the outcome of the fire in Tennesee, but don’t extend that to the side Beck wants to represent, or the fire to libertarians when it has nothing to do with them.
Lithobolos says:
Health Insurance costs are high because those who need it most are super expensive to insure and people who can’t afford it still pass on the costs with their visits to the emergency room and lack of preventative care. I don’t see the connection unless you are saying we shouldn’t treat people who are having heart attacks until we know they can pay, which would reinforce my point.
I don’t think this is an unfair or incorrect characterization of Beck, those like him, and Social Darwinists. The idea that, with all our powers, the mistake of not paying a small fee should equal a loss of ones home is based on a social Darwinist ideal. The issue is not whether the home owner made a mistake, we all agree that he did. The issue is that the fire department was AT his house sat by and did nothing to prove a point. When it comes to justice and fairness this is not even close to being proportional. To me this is a completely valid comparison that can be applied to other issues like health care and social safety nets.
I also think your comparison of Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck is overblown as well. I completely agree that they are both partisan, that both deal in editorial opinion, but I think the mode and method of their rhetoric is different. To me Beck’s level of indoctrination, fear mongering, historical revisionism, lack of fact checking and dependence on power of personality is on a completely different level.