In his post below, Joaquim has enunciated rather well the distinguishing feature of elites: the search for truth. I am not concerned here with the question of how we do identify elites and, in particular, how do we ascertain whether or not a certain person belongs to an elite. Ultimately I believe that the final judge in this matter is history. Thus, the American Founding Fathers were most certainly an elite, yet it is rather doubtful that at their time they were considered so by themselves or by any significant fraction of the population.
The point I believe Joaquim is trying to address is why such countries as the United States are able to develop institutions which are prone to form elites, whereas other countries, such as Portugal, seem to be much lesser able to do so.
The religious factor seems to me a crucial point in explaining such difference. In Protestant cultures each and every man is supposed to read the Bible and search directly for Truth (God). In Catholic countries, by contrast, there is one professional class of people entrusted with the responsibility to search for Truth - the clergy - and then with the obligation of teaching it to the rest of the population.
In Catholic cultures the common man does not participate in the process of search for truth and has no feeling for it. This is reserved to a special class of people who devote their lives to this matter. In Protestant cultures, by contrast, any man is supposed to search for truth. It then follows that in Protestant cultures the elite-man typically arises spontaneously and often from the most unexpected places. In Catholic countries, a precondition must be met for a man to become part of the elite, namely, joining the Church. There are no elites outside the Catholic faith.
This expression joining the Church needs some qualifications. First, in modern times, it does not necessarily mean to become a priest, even though elites in Catholic countries are most likely to arise from the priesthood; it means that, as a precondition to be regarded as a member of the elite, a man has, at least, to share broadly the values of Catholicism. Second, it certainly means that no man in a Catholic country will ever be regarded as a member of the elite if he is in opposition to the Catholic Church, the reason being that the population will never look at him as being concerned with the search for Truth.
Catholic countries can produce elites and they have often produced elites in the past, like Protestant countries. They become unable to do so only in periods when the Church is persecuted or pushed away from public life and from the business of education. This is what has been going on over the last thirty years in Portugal - with a recent, renewed intensity - and it seems to me the obvious reason why there are no elites in the country today.
The point I believe Joaquim is trying to address is why such countries as the United States are able to develop institutions which are prone to form elites, whereas other countries, such as Portugal, seem to be much lesser able to do so.
The religious factor seems to me a crucial point in explaining such difference. In Protestant cultures each and every man is supposed to read the Bible and search directly for Truth (God). In Catholic countries, by contrast, there is one professional class of people entrusted with the responsibility to search for Truth - the clergy - and then with the obligation of teaching it to the rest of the population.
In Catholic cultures the common man does not participate in the process of search for truth and has no feeling for it. This is reserved to a special class of people who devote their lives to this matter. In Protestant cultures, by contrast, any man is supposed to search for truth. It then follows that in Protestant cultures the elite-man typically arises spontaneously and often from the most unexpected places. In Catholic countries, a precondition must be met for a man to become part of the elite, namely, joining the Church. There are no elites outside the Catholic faith.
This expression joining the Church needs some qualifications. First, in modern times, it does not necessarily mean to become a priest, even though elites in Catholic countries are most likely to arise from the priesthood; it means that, as a precondition to be regarded as a member of the elite, a man has, at least, to share broadly the values of Catholicism. Second, it certainly means that no man in a Catholic country will ever be regarded as a member of the elite if he is in opposition to the Catholic Church, the reason being that the population will never look at him as being concerned with the search for Truth.
Catholic countries can produce elites and they have often produced elites in the past, like Protestant countries. They become unable to do so only in periods when the Church is persecuted or pushed away from public life and from the business of education. This is what has been going on over the last thirty years in Portugal - with a recent, renewed intensity - and it seems to me the obvious reason why there are no elites in the country today.
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