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There's a very good dollop of Hegel thrown into the mix as well. The idea of an individual's identity being submerged into and defined by membership in a collective known as a State evolved to a great degree from those who had rejected any identity flowing from God. Nietszche cursed the state as "the coldest of cold monsters" and promptly recommended its redemption at the hands of ubermenschen who weren't a great deal of improvement. Between these two ideas came Lenin's interpretation of Marx in which the collective was supreme under the leadership of an elite cadre. Philosophically it's a complete mess but politically it proved very effective.

One thing this implies is that every single doctrinaire Leftist believes very much in his or her right to dictate the direction of the collective by virtue of superior intelligence, an ubermensch over the masses. The self-described defenders of the masses are, to an individual, elitist to the core and horrified by the thought that they might be considered one of the masses.

The principle is that a certain set of political beliefs allows the individual to transcend his or own own culture in the belief in Something Greater - not, of course God, He has been replaced by the State. This transcendence is absolutely the core of Multiculturalism, in which the believers hold themselves above their native culture and in judgment of all. Milton would have recognized this form of transcendence in a second, and the author is right to quote him on the topic. "And ye shall be as gods" is the first of all lies, and if Nietszche and Marx repeated it they had a far older teacher. That is the lie that drives the Left.

Indeed, Hegelian philosophy does account for a sizable portion of the Left's thinking with respect to the individual and the masses. Truly how are the "vanguard of the proletariat" any different from the ubermenschen? They aren't, of course. Both are elite who perceive themselves to be "more equal than others" and the only ones able to free the toiling masses from their shackles.

Gads, I need to wash the taste of Marxist theory from my palate; time to read some FA von Hayek.

This transcendence is absolutely the core of Multiculturalism, in which the believers hold themselves above their native culture and in judgment of all.

Excellent analysis! It truly complements and extends this interesting article. And I agree, their teacher is that ancient serpent who is much older than any of these theories.

Somebody else posted this article a couple of days ago and I read it, was thinking about it, wanted to reread it - but couldn't find it. So thanks to Alex Murphy for scouting it out for us.