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Our American Elites – Part 1 Puritan vs. Plantation
From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee
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| Chum For Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters |
Our American Elites – Part 1
Puritan vs. Plantation
You have seen me struggling to make sense of the differences
between conservatives and liberals, the balance between personal liberties and
public responsibilities, and persistent class differences in America. Today, I
read an article that suggested a difference between American elites that fills
in a gap in my thinking. Naturally, I’m excited and want to share.
Despite our belief that all men are created equal, we have
always understood that some of us have advantages of education, wealth,
connections, and influence that are not shared equally. And, as a competitive
capitalistic society, we mostly accept these class differences in the hope that
someday we, or our children, might become rich and powerful too. We expect to
always have our elites.
The thing that got my attention was the idea that, in
America, there are two major background philosophies among our elites. Some
derive their life-views from Puritan thought while some get their thinking from
Plantation attitudes. This makes a difference in how a person of privilege
thinks about
