Decadence is not what we think

The idea that “good times make weak men” goes back a long ways. Our Founding Fathers worried about it, comparing the hardy farmer and frontiersmen with the decadent aristocrats of Europe. Ancient Romans worried they were losing their mojo long before the Empire fell. The classic view is like this John Buscema clip from the Silver Surfer’s origin (from the Stan Lee-written Silver Surfer #1).

Zenn-La has become soft, comfortable, and is incapable of fighting back when Galactus attacks; it takes Norrin Rad, the last real man, to confront Galactus and save his world, at the price of becoming the Silver Surfer.

Thus we had some pundits taking the view the Clinton years — good economy, no external enemies — were a dystopian hellhole. What place is there for American heroism and courage if everyone is happy? How can Americans become great if they aren’t forced to sacrifice (“they” being a pronoun that invariably excludes whoever’s making this argument)? We should celebrate the courage of the Donner Party eating each other rather than build a world where cannibalism is unnecessary and sacrifices mean more than a way to survive.

I think, therefore, that the online conversation below captures the true decadence and softness of our times.

This is true in many ways. The religious right’s enthusiasm for ending the First Amendment is partly a lust for power — get control of the government and they can be the one true church! — but it’s also people who can’t imagine how bad religious violence gets (even though it’s not gone away in our own time). The Founders knew, which is why they kept religion out of the government, to evangelize America in competition with each other but without government support.

I think there’s also a delusion that they’re fighting decadence and erasing softness, toughening us up. That they believe, in the words of John Stuart Mill (who was criticizing this view) “that savage life is preferable to civilized; that the work of civilization should as far as possible be undone.” As Dare Obansajo says, it’s the logic by which Pol Pot and Mao forced people to leave the cities and labor in the fields. Not our leaders themselves of course: they’re tough guys (usually guys) who fought their way to the top. They’re superior. It’s everyone else who needs toughening up.

If the world’s going to come crashing to an end, so much the better: they’ll survive because they’re the ubermenschen, the superior individuals. Not simply because they’ve made a lot more money. We’ll either join the Donner Party in death or become better people. We should thank them!

No, we shouldn’t.

Rights to all images remain with current holders.