Simulation of meaning
One of the more remarkable qualities of young people recruited by elite institutions is their capacity for emotional regulation. If you watch any interview with an Ivy League student or an intern at a Wall Street firm, you will very likely find yourself struck by the exceptional level of composure on display.
These young people speak in a way that suggests a kind of comfort with stress, ambiguity, and what politicians may call “hard choices.” This is the sort of “talent” not taught explicitly in school. It is entirely implicit. It’s implicitly understood by people who are allowed into the club. It’s implicitly practiced under the guise of work ethic and compassion. There is no grander conspiracy than a shared temperament and tolerance for moral ambiguity.
On the one hand, you watch these young people and you can’t help but feel impressed by them. After all, who doesn’t want to have the composure and sophistication to command a room? We say we value poise precisely because it is not easily attained. On the other hand, any keen observer who still possesses a conscience will have to contend with a sense of unease. Where does this poise come from? Is it real or performed? To what end can it be used?
We like to imagine that youth means innocence, but we also know that corruption doesn’t die from old age. Poise is certainly not evil in itself; it is what we do with poise that determines the well-being of others. A company executive and a soldier may both possess exceptional poise. One will use his gift to justify mass layoffs despite record profits; the other will use it to save his comrades. But elite institutions will argue that there is no difference between the two.
This is the kind of moral ambiguity that all elite institutions try to develop in their disciples. This is the final destination of all leadership training in a morally bankrupt society.Still, let’s give them some credit. Developing a new generation of elites is no easy work. Look at all the young disciples discarded by the system! All of them were told that they were special and believed they were special. They all had mentors who promised them the world. They toiled for years and years to have a shot at greatness. They learned how to lie with a smile in service of power. But in the end, hard choices must still be made. A system trained on the pursuit of false meaning cannot suddenly develop a conscience.
Elites may be attracted to the notion of success, but they can never rescue themselves from the feeling of emptiness. No one can. And so, more than the promise of wealth and power, what institutions sell is the simulation of meaning. The greatest deception is not that anyone can achieve success, but that hardship and self-betrayal provide the ultimate meaning in life. That even in failure and disgrace a person may still find the light of his dreams. What else could compel a person to keep fighting for recognition from people who never cared about them? Moral ambiguity is meaning. Betrayal is meaning. Defeat is meaning. Vice is meaning. And yes, even emptiness is meaning.
