Countering Corruption

In "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," C.S. Lewis outlines how to corrupt a democracy. The key, says Lewis (through Screwtape, a very senior devil), is to transform in people’s minds "equality," as defined in a political sense, into equivalency, in all aspects of life. This transformation is actuated when people look at others and declare them “undemocratic” because they act differently, think differently, or have different tastes than them. As Lewis writes:

Here is someone who speaks English rather more clearly and euphoniously than I — it must be a vile, up-stage, lah-di-dah affectation. Here's a fellow who says he doesn't like hot dogs — thinks himself too good for them, no doubt. Here's a man who hasn't turned on the jukebox — he's one of those goddamn highbrows and is doing it to show off. If they were honest-to-God all-right Joes they'd be like me. They've no business to be different. It's undemocratic.

After all, such a person would say, I am as good as they are and I don’t act like that! In this way jealousy, greed, and avarice are mutated from negative character traits into a “proper” demonstration of democratic values. 

Should this take hold more generally, society as a whole will insist on conformity. This, in turn, will cause individuals who could have achieved greatness to, on their own accord, decide not to for fear of being different. Lewis notes that dictators would allow no preeminence amongst their subjects to avoid rebellion. In a corrupted democracy, the proletariat will attack preeminence without need for a dictator. In fact, even those who could achieve preeminence will work to not do so.

The result is as follows: “For “democracy” or the “democratic spirit” (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of sub-literates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism.” 

If such a process can happen in a democracy, it can surely happen in a monarchy. In a monarchy, citizens are aware that the words of the monarch are the law. Even under a good monarch, where people are generally free, citizens know that their freedom comes from their sovereign. To corrupt such a monarchy is easy: convince the monarch to change the law or change the monarch. People can then straightforwardly be turned into a nation without great men, as they look to the government as their only way to achieve success. 

In a constitutional monarchy like Narnia it becomes a little more difficult. Because the king is under the law, one cannot change the law simply by changing the king. Instead, one must change the law via some higher authority. If the constitution is theologically based, that authority is God. Thus, for Shift and Tash, dedicated to corrupting Narnia, it is necessary to have a fake Aslan. In this way the tool of the antichrist (Shift) temporarily gains his oranges and bananas, and the true antichrist (Tash) has destroyed a formerly freedom loving country. Had the Calormenes not attacked so soon, Narnia would have evolved in a way similar to that described by Screwtape. Most Narnians would be peasants working for the benefit of Shift and his elitist cohorts. Many would be killed (like the dryads) or sold into slavery (like the talking horses) for the “good” of society. Religious worship in the name of Tashlan would have been “updated” to promote these atrocities. Instead, the Calormenes came in and, presumably, brought about the same results in a shorter time.  

What does any of this have to do with Torah? 

Judaism calls upon its adherents to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). This requires each individual to strive to be a model and teacher of Godliness, and for Jewish society as a whole to achieve holiness. Perhaps the rationale behind this command is to avoid the above corruption mechanisms. One intent on greatness must recognize greatness in others and a nation bent towards holiness will not allow its ethics and laws to be substituted for the commonplace and mundane.

At times, Jews have done their best to fail in both areas and in part they have been successful. There have been throughout history, and continue to be today, Jews who have thrown off the yoke of God and have become moral degenerates (sometimes while still appearing to accept God). During the time of the Judges and during the First Temple era, idolatry was rampant and the nation, far from being holy, fell to the deepest levels of un-holiness.

What is amusing, however, is how unsuccessful Jewish attempts to "fit in" have been. The United States offered Jews freedom from tyranny and antisemitism. Many Jews also used their freedom to escape from Jewish religious practice and traditions. Yet, despite these assimilationist tendencies, something back-fired. This less than 2% of the population somehow continues to make its mark in the sciences, entertainment, business, and academia. Rather than assimilating, individual Jews continued to achieve greatness. On a national level, Jewish hopes for the normalization and acceptance of the Jewish nation started with Emancipation and continues to this very day in the modern State of Israel. Yet, all hopes of reversing the words of Bila’am “They are a nation that dwells alone (Numbers 23:9)” have come to naught. The nation remains separated and distinct from all others. 

This is not to say that Jews are protected from the corruption foreseen by Lewis. Assimilation is without question a major challenge facing the Jewish people. It does however suggest a means for all people of avoiding the consequences Lewis suggests. Strive for greatness and holiness and demand the same from your children, your community, and your country.