Education: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as Presented in Behold a Pale Horse; pp. 287-288

Protocol 8

So far, the Elder, has been quite disappointing. This is, after all, a book which has done so much damage throughout the world. It was named dropped in the original Hamas Charter, it has been referred to in Mein Kempf, and fascist parties in Greece have read from it; but this book, it seems, is only giving a concentrated version of anti-Semitism. I guess, I expect more out of this (there is the possibility that I've read too much of these books to be surprised). 

Protocol 8 is one of those that diverge from the original source that it plagiarizes from. Protocol 8 follows an idea in Dialogue 8 (the numbers do not always match up), but the Protocols makes some shifts. Throughout our discussion of the Protocols I've mentioned that it is a plagiarism, and I've noted in the past that author Jonathan Kay argues that 60% of the Protocols is word for word (barring translation) lifted directly from the original source. I've referred a few times to that source and I've noticed that the divergence occurs because Joly understands his characters. Namely Machiavelli. 

Niccolo Machiavelli is the reason I have a PhD. I went to graduate school wanting to write about his political philosophy, I had read all of his works--minus his "Dialogue on Language" before starting. I did not get along with or have much regard for the political philosopher in my department and then...a bunch of odd things happened to get me where I am now. An aspect of Machiavelli's writing is that he offers a hypothesis or a question (i.e. is it better to be loved or feared?); he analyzes the question a little and then goes into examples from both his time (Renaissance Italy) and ancient Rome. If one is unfamiliar with his examples, his writing comes across as boring. The Protocols mostly diverge when Joly's Machiavelli does the historical analysis. This is important because the audience for the Protocols isn't going to read it. 

This section of the book follows the same pattern. The Elder repeats his same schtick from Protocol 5 about taking over the administrative state. They're not going to conquer the kingdoms and declare themselves monarchs; they'll hide in the shadows and control every avenue of power that the official king needs to conduct business. In the Protocols, this is considered a bad thing, in the Dialogues, Machiavelli is making the point that you need jurists, administrators, diplomats, and publicists; to operate a state. They're just important people who understand things. 

The Protocols frame this as evil. This is part of the plan, "These persons will have cognisance of all the secrets of the social structure, they will know all the languages that can be made up by political alphabets and words; they will be made acquainted with the whole underside of human nature, with all it sensitive chords on which they will have to play."

What the Elder wants, and what the author of the Protocols wants you to despise; are educated people in charge of the various facets of society. The idea, which is a running theme throughout the Protocols, is that anyone educated in a specialized subject is part of the conspiracy. If the common rabble do not understand something it's not because they lack education or lack curiosity, it's because it is a secret they are prevented from learning by "them." The sentiment is not an innocuous one either--the rebellion against advanced education continues to the present day. If teaching the kids something makes the older generation feel stupid/bad/guilty; then it needs to be banned and no longer taught. It's part of the conspiracy that you do not understand advanced economic theory rather than the truth--that you didn't study economics. 

The Elder claims the Goyim (which Cooper wants us to read as "Sheep") cannot do these jobs because they are too stupid. They, "are accustomed to perform their administrative work without giving themselves the trouble to think what its aim is, and never consider what it is needed for."

Wouldn't it be better to have those people doing the tasks as opposed to people that do understand? The former cannot fathom the purposes and, importantly, also don't care about it. The latter can use that information, they can try and carve out their own little fiefdom and become a challenge to the elder? In a normal conspiracy, this makes sense, but the endemic racism here claims that all Jewish people work together--they would never betray their own kind. 

The elder then claims that after some time this will establish an abyss between the elders and the common people so that this last point, about the possibility of betrayal, would never occur without the penalty of criminal charges or just disappearance. I don't understand how this is supposed to work; if someone is going to betray the elders, they already understand the penalty for not being successful. 

In the original, the abyss language is used but it's much different: "One must arrange things so as to give them to men whose antecedents and characters place an abyss between them and other men, each of whom only expects death or exile in case of a change of government or the necessity of defending all that exists to their last breaths."

Machiavelli claims that special education and positions will weave themselves into the person's character so that they will defend their state to the death. The secretary of defense, for example, will be so tied to their position in their state that by betraying it they will betray themselves. This is derived from an idea that Machiavelli had regarding the loyalty that Scipio Africanus extracted from the Roman nobility after their defeat at Cannae. Scipio made them so afraid to break their oaths that they would rather die, and then he defeated the Carthaginians. 

I still doubt that Cooper has read the Protocols with as much certainty as I doubt that many of the people who purchased this book never read past the first chapter. So far, the conspiracy is just, "They control everything" but it's still very short on details.