Anthony Koch: Anti-elitism is antithetical to the conservative tradition
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But crowds do not think. They react. They surge, scream and stampede. As the crowd grows, the mind shrinks. That is the enduring lesson of the revolution: when the mob is sovereign, civilization burns.
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The conservative does not idolize the mob. He fears it. He respects the people but insists they deserve more than flattery. They deserve leadership. Real leadership — wise, learned, prudent and self-restrained. The kind that builds cathedrals rather than chasing hashtags. The kind that governs with duty rather than ruling for applause.
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Our problem today is not that we have elites. It's that they are unworthy of the station they hold. They sneer at tradition, mock virtue and outsource their conscience to PR firms and DEI consultants. They lack the moral formation, the historical consciousness and the sense of stewardship that once defined true aristocracy — not of blood, but of character.
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What we need is not to abolish elites, but to demand better ones. We need statesmen, not managers; custodians, not careerists; a ruling class that sees its role not as a license to exploit, but as a duty to preserve — to pass on the best of what came before, and to elevate what lies ahead.
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That is the conservative vision: a society not of rigid castes or phony egalitarianism, but of ordered liberty, guided by a moral elite that's worthy of its name. A society where hierarchy is not oppression but harmony; where authority is earned, and exercised with humility.
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