George Walford: Intellect
As one moves along the range from protostatic toward metadynamic so the original identification with the static principle comes to be replaced by identification with dynamism.
There are other ideological features which follow a similar course of development as one moves along the ideological range, and in the next section we shall briefly discuss some of these, not following out their full development from one major ideology to the next but indicating the general course followed by each feature through the ideological series. These features are the identification with intellect, the group and cosmic situations, and individualism and collectivism, political and economic. I begin with intellect.
The identification with intellect and intellectuality is negative at the protostatic end of the range and becomes positive as one approaches the metadynamic. Nazism repudiates intellect and intellectuality, Anarchism accepts them. [1] It is necessary to distinguish between “intellect” and “intelligence.” [2] The relationship between the two is complex and difficult, and they are commonly confused. All I can do here is to stress that ideological theory does not suggest that those toward the protostatic end of the range are any less intelligent, less sharp or quick of mind (or less capable of acquiring knowledge) than those toward the metadynamic end. What it asserts is that the former tend to accept non-rational factors as guides to action while the latter are concerned that their behaviour should be logically consistent and capable of being justified by reason.
Nazism (protostatic) claims to be guided by non-intellectual factors such as blood, race, the Will of the Leader. Toward the other extreme Anarchists (paradynamic) take it for granted that their behaviour should be governed by intellectual considerations; they devote much time and effort to study, argument and discussion, to ensuring that their behaviour shall be intellectually justifiable. The intervening ideologies display greater or lesser concern with intellect according to their situation in the range, the epistatic or Conservative, for example, being more intellectual than the protostatic or Fascist but less so than the epidynamic or Communist, who in turn is less so than the paradynamic or Anarchist.
[1] Domain of Ideologies Part I Chapters 3, 4
[2] Domain of Ideologies pages 28-31.
Continue reading An Outline Sketch of Systematic Ideology (1977):
The Walsby Society | Introduction | Ideology and the Left | The Field of Ideology | Assumption and Identification | Definition of an Ideology | Ideological Groups | The Major Ideologies | Ideological Development | Intellect | The Group Situation | The Cosmic Situation | Political Individualism and Collectivism | Economic Individualism and Collectivism | Personal Ideological Structure | Social Ideological Structure | Conclusion | Papers on Systematic Ideology