Democracy

The Machine Will Never Triumph, part twenty-four

Democracy

I am a democrat in so far as I love the free sun in men
and an aristocrat in so far as I detest narrow-gutted, possessive
    persons.

I love the sun in any man
when I see it between his brows
clear, and fearless, even if tiny.

But when I see these great successful men
so hideous and corpse-like, utterly sunless
like gross successful slaves grossly waddling
then I am more than radical, I want to work a guillotine.

And when I see working men
pale and mean and insect-like, scuttling along
and living like lice, on poor money
and never looking up,
Then I wish, like Tiberius, the multitude had only one head
so that I could lop it off.

I feel that when people have gone utterly sunless
they shouldn’t exist.¹

Here we have a brief statement from Lawrence regarding his views of the sun-men, democracy, and the upper and lower classes. Lawrence believes that democracy is an ineffectual system, since it relies on popular opinion, rather than spiritual acumen, as a judge of who should rule. As we can see with recent elections in the United States, democracy too often leads to poor outcomes and the election of bumbling fools. Unlike Marxists, who take the side of the lower classes, Lawrence abhors the lower-class masses for their robot-like automatism. Unlike certain traditionalists and conservatives, Lawrence also despises the upper classes for all the harm they do to the world and humanity. What Lawrence wants is a new way—not a system—where those who rule, rule because they have a deep spiritual connection to the cosmos and to the Gods. These rulers would not rule for power or money, but out of a devotion to the religion of life and a devotion to their constituents’ ability to attain their highest spiritual aspirations. As for the lower classes and upper classes who are sunless and robotic, Lawrence—rightfully—wishes them to go the way of the dodo bird.

Lawrence vastly prefers aristocracy to democracy, and rightly so. The privileged classes of today, who rule, are not the best; they are simply the wealthiest. Their empire is an empire of dirt. Lawrence’s magisterial take-down of democracy and plutocracy is as follows:

I hate democracy[…] “Only the greedy and ugly people come to the top in a democracy,” she said, “because they’re the only people who will push themselves there. Only degenerate races are democratic.” […] “I do want an aristocracy,” she cried. “And I’d far rather have an aristocracy of birth than of money. Who are the aristocrats now—who are chosen as the best to rule? Those who have money and the brains for money. It doesn’t matter what else they have: but they must have money-brains,—because they are ruling in the name of money.” […] [W]hat are the people? Each one of them is a money-interest. I hate it, that anybody is my equal who has the same amount of money as I have. I know I am better than all of them. I hate them. They are not my equals. I hate equality on a money basis. It is the equality of dirt.”²