Ideas Have Consequences

Ideas Have Consequences by Richard M Weaver, 192 pages

Written and published in the wake of the Second World War, Ideas Have Consequences takes as its first premise, admirably summarized by the title forced upon Richard Weaver by his publisher, the claim that ideas have an existence independent of those who think them, and events will follow the logic of ideas whether their proponents will it or not.  Weaver traces the origins of modernity to medieval Aristotelianism, which meliorated the early medieval and patristic rigorous ascetism of Christianity, to the nominalism of William of Ockham, which denied the independent existence of universals, and to eighteenth century Whiggism, which represents the negation of history, memory, and tradition.  

Of these, Weaver finds the second to be the most significant, as the denial of universals is tantamount to a denial of form and therefore a rejection of any kind of definition, limitation, or discrimination.  This leads to a shift from a belief that learning ought to be humbling to one in which knowledge is empowering, and a social system under which "manipulation is a greater source of reward than is production".  In Weaver's view, man did not discard the concept of essences because it was disproven, but because it was an obstacle to his own ambitions.  For Weaver, the flight to the city which characterizes the modern age is a flight from nature, and therefore also a flight from reality.  In the new, artificial order, enlightened self-interest dissolves the spiritual basis of true community, while the parallel cult of sincerity gives rise to a never-ending quest for sensation which actively attacks personal and historical memory.  This produces a population of spoiled children who believe happiness to be their natural right but lack the resources to attain to true happiness.  Incapable of understanding this, they become resentful and prone to blaming any scapegoat, whether the one percent or illegal immigrants, for their unhappiness.  Inevitably, treating men as mere bundles of egotism leads to statism and an obsession with "privilege".

Ideas Have Consequences is a cri de coeur, not a systematic work.  Weaver never resolves the question of whether metaphysics reveals deeper truths or covers reality with necessary illusions.  Meanwhile, his critique of Romanticism is a simplification of a complex movement and neglects the restorative aims of some of its leading figures.  Yet if Ideas Have Consequences does not present a fully developed analysis of modernity, what "it offers is a challenge.  And the challenge is to save the human spirit by re-creating a non-materialist society.  Only this can rescue us from a future of nihilism, urged on by the demoniacal force of technology and by our own moral defeatism."