moi: >>to me it is. I see elitism as being self-deceptive and, in politics, self-destructive (unless one wants to set one's self up as a political elite, which I don't). One can be "excellent" (or rather, strive to be so) without comparing one's excellence to that of others, saying that one is better or more rational than others.<<
Doug: >So what's the point of education, reading, travel, research? Shouldn't knowledged and experience help us make better decisions? Otherwise, why bother?<
it seems that those activities involve a lof of inherent pleasure to the individual, so that even if they didn't have other benefits, it would be worth bothering. Anyway, there's no problem with being better (more educated, etc.) by one's own standards, i.e., improving oneself. The problem of elitism arises when one defines one's "excellence" _relative to others_ ("I'm better than you are -- Nya Nya Nya"). Among other things, I may be more educated (etc.) than Mr. or Ms. Joe Schmo, but he or she may be better than I am in some or even many ways.
>Shouldn't knowledged and experience help us make better decisions?<
yes. They (we) should _help_. But in the end, it's the democratic rule of the people that must decide; it's the only legitimate basis for government. Among other things, Mr. or Ms. Schmo may know much more about the facts on the ground -- the concrete elements of the situation -- that does any elite.
Rosa L once wrote that "Historically, the errors committed by a truly revolutionary movement are infinitely more fruitful than the infallibility of the cleverest Central Committee." Even more, when there isn't a revolutionary movement (like now), an important way that
people could move toward being such is by making mistakes and learning from them. We bicoastal elitists should try to talk them out of mistakes ahead of time, but we can't make decisions for them.
BTW, RL was critiquing not just Lenin but also the Social Democrats led by Kautsky. Since then, the SDs have followed the elitist tradition that she criticized even though some claim her as inspiration. -- Jim Devine "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.