Aristocracy without Nobility

One of the biggest obstacles to the recovery of classical education is that it is an aristocratic form of education being driven and funded by the working class.

Although we have an egalitarian gag-reflex to any talk of aristocracy in America today, history has shown again and again that the perpetuation of valuable civilization and culture is dependent upon the aristocracy of a nation, republic, or empire. An aristocracy can be defined as “any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige”. The need is always that those persons, due to their vast resources of wealth and leisure, engage in the production and funding of liberal education and higher culture. The working class simply does not have the time or money.

The major problem is not that we don’t have people of means in our society…we have more in America “than we can shake a stick at” (to use a Southern phrase). As story after story of greed and corruption has affirmed in the last several years, it is that our “aristocracy” lacks nobility.

Without an aristocracy that is noble, the recovery of culture and liberal education is an arduous struggle and an uphill battle all the way.

May God grant us wisdom in pointing our culture to nobility and our nobility to generosity.