April
18, 2025
Fools and Deceivers
We
often say that those who don't think like us fall into two groups: fools and
deceivers. The elites are seen as consciously deceitful, and the people as
foolish.
But historians don’t work with such simplistic and naïve frameworks.
It’s not that the elites knowingly deceive the people (though opportunists
always exist), nor that the masses are entirely made up of fools (including
professors, engineers, doctors).
In general, the elites truly believe in what they say—and so do the people.
There are cultural, economic, and many other reasons why certain ideologies
prevail and others collapse: it’s not just a matter of fools and deceivers.