Merdecracy Redux

James A. Montanye Two years ago I introduced, in the context of Obamacare, a political concept called merdecracy, which I defined as a neologism that characterizes the vulgar essence of fraudulent and corrupt legislative practice (Merdecracy, The Independent Review 15:2 [Fall 2010], pp. 29599). I noted then that the concept extended far beyond the essays limited scope. Todays fiscal and monetary crises, presidential campaign excesses, and vapid media punditry demand further exegesis. First, to recap: merdecracy analogizes to a three-legged milking stool. One leg, bullshit, is turned from philosopher Harry Frankfurts scatological characterization of statements that lack a connection to a concern with truth, reflect an indifference to how things really are, and yet are not grounded in a belief that [what is said] is not true, as a lie must be (On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 2005; qtd. in Montanye 2010, 295). A second leg, horseshit, I defined as self-serving moral, sophistic, false, and otherwise misleading assertions (p. 296). The third leg, chickenshit, comprises the political and legal rules and interpretations through which the last bits of private advantage are extracted from the general public (p. 297). An early practitioner of modern merdecracy was the Reagan administrations architect of trickle-down federal budgeting, David Stockman, who subsequently turned his merdecratic talents to investment banking and macroeconomic punditry. Candor once compelled Budget Director Stockman to share with readers of The Atlantic magazine the fact that neither he nor anyone else in charge knew or understood what really was going on with his gossamer budget numbers. In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, now-pundit Stockman criticized Republican congressman and vice-presidential candidate-designate Paul Ryans budget ideas for being a similar fairy-tale budget plan; i.e., the plan is bullshit. Ryan, to his credit, acknowledges that the nation is in a deep and ultimately disastrous fiscal and monetary hole. His plan of escape, however, consists principally of ideas for slowing the rate of digging while optimistically hoping that the miracle of economic growth eventually will fill the hole. The scheme is reminiscent of a line from Ayn Rand: Its a sound, practical plan! ... It will work! It has to work! We want it to work! (Atlas Shrugged, New York: Plume, [1957] 1999, p. 980). This is the essence of bullshit. The allusion is fitting given Ryans authoritative knowledge of Rands works. Rhetoric surrounding the presidential campaign similarly transcends objective reality, only with a reckless abandon unseen in American politics for more than two centuries. Examples abound: a wildly irresponsible Democratic SuperPac campaign ad implies that Mitt Romney personally caused the death (from cancer) of a woman whose husband was laid off by a company that once was controlled by Romneys company, Bain Capital. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stands by his own improbable, unsupported, and intentionally

distracting claim that multimillionaire Romney avoided substantially all income tax liability in previous years. The Republican campaign in turn mis-characterizes the substance of President Obamas executive order modifying Clinton-era welfare reform legislation, and directly accuses the President and his re-election campaign of strategically fomenting class warfare and invigorating racial hatred. Both campaigns appreciate that wildly specious claims (along with some that are not entirely specious) encourage false inferences and beliefs among voters because such claims are more engaging than the comparatively mild, factual explanations they eventually elicit. Truth in this context is defined entirely by whether a claim works as a pragmatic means to a desired end. This is the essence of horseshit. The desired end here, of course, is the election of candidates whose campaign rhetoric, proposals, and promises pander to the pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests of voting factions and campaign underwriters. Successful candidates, consultants, and entrepreneurial factions ultimately capture private benefits resulting from the independent efforts and sacrifices of rankand-file citizens. This game is the essence of chickenshit. As American politics enters an accelerated phase of frenzied feeding at the public trough, merdecracy transcends the simple ugliness of unenlightened self interest. Developments in Western Europe demonstrate that merdecracy ultimately causes nominally free individuals to be herded into imposed austerity and poverty. This eventuality is forestalled only so long as voters hold accountable the merdicrats they elect.