Posted on 12/17/2025 11:04:00 AM PST by Blueflag
It has become clear to me that we need to expose the notions of "privilege" and "entitlement" for what they are. Thus this opus. Not a FReerepublic exit opus, just an opus, aka a rant.
Privilege and Entitlement are the Rhetoric of Resentment and Envy
THESIS: Privilege and entitlement are resentment and envy, laundered through FAFSA, glorified by inflated credentials, and paraded as moral superiority.
Today’s rant is grounded in the gospel of 2 Diplomians 2:9-14 –
· 2:9 - Blessed are those who anchor merit in wisdom and capability, for they shall not be deceived by inflated credentials.
· 2:10 – Blessed are those persevering in hardship, for they shall be called truly qualified.
2:11 – Blessed are the doers, for their deeds endure beyond parchment and pomp.
2:12 – Blessed are those proven in the field, for they shall inherit trust, not titles. 2:13 – Woe unto those who glorify paper above skill, for their harvest is hollow.
2:14 – Cursed is the wisdom that is post-modern-credentialed, for it yields only grievance and envy.
1. Aristocratic Roots
In pre‑Revolutionary France, privilege meant exemptions and spoils: nobles avoided taxes, clergy enjoyed special rights, commoners bore the burden.
The peasants saw privilege as unearned advantage, a birthright mocking their toil.
Resentment and envy fermented until it boiled over into revolution — dismantling privilege by force, redistributing wealth and power.
2. Marxist Recasting
In the 19th century, Marx re-framed privilege as class advantage: capitalists enjoyed profits while workers suffered exploitation
The rhetoric shifted from perfumed princes to industrial barons, but the emotional driver was the same: envy of those who had more.
Redistribution became the imperative — dismantling privilege through revolution, seizing what others possessed because “we don’t.”
3. 20th/21st Century Academic Identity Politics
Academia imported the term into race, gender, and culture. Privilege became structural: invisible advantages enjoyed by one group at the expense of another.
The tone hardened into accusation: you are guilty of privilege simply by existing in your category.
The envy thread remained — entitlement to dismantle what others have, not because of merit, but because envy demands parity.
4. Modern Deployment
Today, privilege is wielded less as description, more as cudgel.
It drives entitlement: if you have it, I deserve it; if I don’t, you shouldn’t.
The rhetoric is not about building, earning, or creating, but about redistributing and dismantling — born of envy, dressed up as justice.
Operational Realism
The lineage is short but sharp: aristocratic exemptions → Marxist class envy → academic identity politics → modern entitlement.
At every stage, privilege is the rhetoric of resentment and envy, not merit.
It teaches people to feel entitled, owed, deserving of what others have, not because they earned it, but because resentment is righteous and envy insists they should have it.
I welcome your thoughts.
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THESIS: Privilege and entitlement are resentment and envy, laundered through FAFSA, glorified by inflated credentials, and paraded as moral superiority.
Today’s rant is grounded in the gospel of 2 Diplomians 2:9-14 –
· 2:9 - Blessed are those who anchor merit in wisdom and capability, for they shall not be deceived by inflated credentials.
· 2:10 – Blessed are those persevering in hardship, for they shall be called truly qualified.
2:11 – Blessed are the doers, for their deeds endure beyond parchment and pomp.
2:12 – Blessed are those proven in the field, for they shall inherit trust, not titles. 2:13 – Woe unto those who glorify paper above skill, for their harvest is hollow.
2:14 – Cursed is the wisdom that is post-modern-credentialed, for it yields only grievance and envy.
1. Aristocratic Roots
In pre‑Revolutionary France, privilege meant exemptions and spoils: nobles avoided taxes, clergy enjoyed special rights, commoners bore the burden.
The peasants saw privilege as unearned advantage, a birthright mocking their toil.
Resentment and envy fermented until it boiled over into revolution — dismantling privilege by force, redistributing wealth and power.
2. Marxist Recasting
In the 19th century, Marx re-framed privilege as class advantage: capitalists enjoyed profits while workers suffered exploitation
The rhetoric shifted from perfumed princes to industrial barons, but the emotional driver was the same: envy of those who had more.
Redistribution became the imperative — dismantling privilege through revolution, seizing what others possessed because “we don’t.”
3. 20th/21st Century Academic Identity Politics
Academia imported the term into race, gender, and culture. Privilege became structural: invisible advantages enjoyed by one group at the expense of another.
The tone hardened into accusation: you are guilty of privilege simply by existing in your category.
The envy thread remained — entitlement to dismantle what others have, not because of merit, but because envy demands parity.
4. Modern Deployment
Today, privilege is wielded less as description, more as cudgel.
It drives entitlement: if you have it, I deserve it; if I don’t, you shouldn’t.
The rhetoric is not about building, earning, or creating, but about redistributing and dismantling — born of envy, dressed up as justice.
Operational Realism
The lineage is short but sharp: aristocratic exemptions → Marxist class envy → academic identity politics → modern entitlement.
At every stage, privilege is the rhetoric of resentment and envy, not merit.
It teaches people to feel entitled, owed, deserving of what others have, not because they earned it, but because resentment is righteous and envy insists they should have it.
I welcome your thoughts.
As an aside, I was reading Kurt Schlichter’s latest book, Red Panama. In that book he does a marvelous job both ridiculing and dismantling ‘wokeness,’ privilege, and the overwhelming idiocy that is modern Progressivism, simply by accurately describing them accurately via his characters.
I wish I could write that well.
I post this not to invite criticism or praise for Schlichter’s books. You are welcome to your own opinions.
Blessed are the unequal who can never achieve equality
White people are blessed. Privileges are revocable.
“White people are blessed.”
Everybody is blessed in various ways. It is just some focus on resentment and jealously instead of being grateful and using their blessings.
Will review.
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