Plato’s Noble Lie
In Book III, The Republic Plato’s most famous act of polite authoritarianism, Socrates says something to the effect: “Let’s tell everyone a myth. A beautiful, state-sanctioned lie. We’ll tell them they were all born from the earth, like potatoes. And also, everyone has a metal in their soul.” Nobody chooses their metal. It’s “natural.”
- Gold souls = lucky-duckies rulers (philosopher-kings).
- Silver souls = prostitute soldiers.
- Bronze/iron souls = farmers, artisans, slaves.
You would think people wouldn’t believe this nonsense. But Socrates, dead serious, is like: “If we repeat it enough and raise them on it, they’ll accept it. Just like how everyone believes in democracy.” Enter the concept of the noble lie: a way to control what stories people hear as children, to make sure they grow up to love the state and never ask questions like “What is justice?” or “Why can’t I leave?”
Democracies Uncomfortable Truth
At the heart of any great democracy are a few noble lies. Equality for example. Remember in pre-school your teachers taught you to line up and wait your turn. To be respectful. To share and be kind and that everyone is equal? Then remember the first time you boarded an airplane and learned about first class: The lucky-duckies who board the plane first and drink fine wine in the nice seats that turn into beds?
Schizophrenia
Democracies are schizophrenic; where they preach liberty, fraternity, and equality, they readily engage in counterintuitive behavior that’s fundamental to the capitalist framework which sustains them and provides sustenance: food, clothing, and shelter. Democracies are literally built on slavery, everyone within is complicit in the international slave trade by the very clothing on our backs, made offshore, by ` willing to work.
Mo-Money
Money is another noble lie. These dirty pieces of paper that unwitting democratic populations use to exchange goods and store wealth is so perfectly disguised exploitation that we collectively call it “freedom.” Where equality is democracy’s noble lie to tame the slaves and prostitutes, money is the lie used to feed the ants.
Time to Come Clean
Fellow Canadians, when we acknowledge that democracies are just like giant ant colonies, built complicated economic systems and tunnels that span the globe with distinct roles for everyone to get shit done: slaves, prostitutes and lucky-duckies, we can immediately help the global migrant crisis by creating a sustainable pathway to Canadian citizenship for Foreigners willing to work in special Canadian economic zones.
