on elites

Noonan.

Popehat.

the necessities of the struggle

The necessities of the struggle impel the workers to support one another across political boundaries and professions. The more active the struggle becomes, therefore, the stronger and more extensive this federation of proletarians must become. And some narrow-minded economists accuse this federation of workers, represented by the International, of instigating strikes and creating anarchy! This, very simply, is to mistake the effect for the cause: the International has not created the war between the exploiter and the exploited; rather, the requirements of that war have created the International.

~ Bakunin, 1869

fraternizing with one's superiors

The fine line between sycophant and colleague ~ a forced laugh to a joke one didn't quite get (or even quite hear) ~ feigning interest in activities entirely foreign to one's nature ~ suppressing one's real interests, one's real style of discourse ~ the metamorphosis of weak future goals into concrete projects in progress ~ conversely, the metamorphosis of petty accomplishments into grand achievements ~ can one opt out of the game? Can one be oneself, but not sell oneself? Or, perhaps, they are simply the same thing . . .

the tyranny of titles

Are we not equal in our education, equal in our abilities, equal in our prudence? Why then should mere title, a label handed down from on high, give you license to lord over me? In the Book of Names on St. Peter's lectern we are listed alphabetically. There merit, not title, holds sway.