Useful Fools

Many conservatives are surprised at how many previously non-political organizations (such as mainstream protestant churches) have adopted strongly left wing attitudes. Others are surprised at how formerly single purpose moderate organizations (such as conservation organizations) have become radical in their original purpose and have issued leftist pronouncements far outside of their organizational interest.

Hence we have radical environmentalists taking over conservation organizations, professional organizations making anti-war, pro-abortion and anti-conservative statements which have nothing to do with their goals (or for that matter, with the interests of their original membership).

This trend is very useful to the left, as many “non-partisan” groups make leftist pronouncements, fooling many of the public who are not aware that they have been taken over by radicals.

Political Scientist Robert Conquest, who was long ignored by the left as he chronicled the evil of Communist organizations, produced what are known as Conquests’s Three Laws of Politics:

Conquest gave the Church of England and Amnesty International as examples of the Second Law. I would add The Sierra Club, the ACLU, the US Presbyterian Church, and the American Library Association, and most NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations).

The second law, although it does not explain the mechanism, is a good one to keep in mind when observing the behavior of these organizations.

Note: #3 in its basic form contradicts my own Laws of Bureaucracy. However, if slightly reworded, it fits: “assume that it is controlled by a cabal of the enemies of the stated purpose of that bureaucracy”. This is applied, for example, to the US State Department.

References:

PalaceOfReason

John Derbyshire