Be more like Him

A variation on the Whig theory of history:

“The younger generations are always right” is the foundational belief and claim here. But is that true? Plenty of younger generations (it’s not clear how many Maugham thinks there are) belong to neo-Nazi groups, white power groups, Islamist groups, Brexit groups, pro-Trump groups.

And more generally and abstractly, what about the fact that people have time to learn more as they get older? What about the accumulation of experience and knowledge and information over time? Doesn’t that count for something? Of course that’s only as good as it is – one can accumulate bad information as well as good, but still, it’s not strictly a one-way process of becoming ever stupider and more wrong as one ages.

Ah yes. If you are a man, be sure to discount the views of that pesky stupid woman who lives with you and gets stuck with all the domestic work. What the hell does she know?! Bitch.

Ah yes, listening and learning, which he is so good at…unless it’s women talking. Also notice that his list of the ways his tribe is privileged doesn’t include “male.”

8 Responses to “Be more like Him”