Leftism fails for a lot of reasons and I can’t go into all of them without writing an encyclopedia. But I can establish the most important. I would like to begin this series by sharing with you a passage from historian Will Durant in his book Our Oriental Heritage, regarding the fall of the Persian empire in the 4th century B.C.:
“It is in the nature of an empire to disintegrate soon, for the energy that created it disappears from those who inherit it, at the very time that its subject peoples are gathering strength to fight for their lost liberty. Nor is it natural that nations diverse in language, religion, morals, and traditions should long remain united; there is nothing organic in such a union, and compulsion must repeatedly be applied to maintain the artificial bond. In its two hundred years of empire Persia did nothing to lessen this heterogeneity, these centrifugal forces; she was content to rule a mob of nations, and never thought of making them into a state.”
Success does not happen by accident. There are reasons why people succeed— collectively and individually. The principles are the same. Those nations, and individuals, who possess certain qualities and characteristics will, nearly always, be rewarded positively for their efforts; those who lack those qualities will almost surely fail. History teaches this repeatedly and it is no surprise to wise, knowledgeable historians when a nation, or an individual, rises, and then collapses. They will have walked time-proven paths. Let’s examine Durant’s historical analysis.
“It is in the nature of an empire to disintegrate soon, for the energy that created it disappears from those who inherit it, at the very time that its subject peoples are gathering strength to fight for their lost liberty.” Empires, nations—and individuals—“rise” because of a strength of character and determination that is lacking in other peoples. As we study the past, we can see that people who are industrious, frugal, self-disciplined, sacrificial, and virtuous will nearly always succeed; people who are lazy, shiftless, self-absorbed, pleasure-loving, and wasteful will (eventually) fail. What happened in Persia has happened often in history—a strong people, determined, disciplined, and industrious, built a great empire. They weren’t perfect, far from it; no people are. They committed gross crimes and abuses, but still, they never would have gotten where they did if they hadn’t had some decisive attributes that drove them above and beyond their peers. You’ve heard of the Persians; you probably haven’t heard of the Girgashites. Why did Persia prosper and grow mighty while the Girgashites were consigned to the garbage bin of tribal anonymity? Persia had something that the Girgashites lacked. And while resources help, there have been a lot of peoples who were blessed with excessively wealthy geography but failed miserably to do anything with it (e.g., American Indians). Greatness lies in character, not in dirt. This is almost axiomatic.
And yet, Persia collapsed. Why? “The energy that created it disappears from those who inherit it.” In the beginning, the individual—or a nation—works hard. In a nation, a collective mentality, a “zeitgeist,” is created, and that is crucial. Success is simpler to illustrate in an individual. A man sacrifices, he builds, he sweats, he saves, he practices those virtues that produce a successful business. And succeed he does. He becomes prosperous, having been rewarded for his efforts. But unless he continues practicing the same attributes that led him to glory, he will soon see his glory crumble. Too often, an individual—and a nation—becomes rich from the hard labor of those who have gone before. But, when a nation produces abundance, it wants to enjoy it. So, what happens? The people get lazy, indulgent, careless, selfish, and then begin to make excuses for their failures, always blaming others. Finally, somebody with a hungrier mouth, usually, but not always, barbarians, arrive and conquer (or destroys) what was built. How many once-successful businesses have folded because those who inherited them did not continue to execute with the same diligence their forerunners had? The fat, lazy, undisciplined, and pleasure-oriented will always be defeated by those who are leaner, hungrier, and who want it more. Individually and nationally.
America grew strong because her people were strong. We became the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth because our forefathers worked hard, were frugal, strong, industrious, virtuous people who sacrificed so that they and their families might prosper. Yes, they made mistakes, of course, and they didn’t always practice perfect Judeo-Christian morality; not in the least. But they weren’t lazy and shiftless, either. If they had been, the United States would be a third-rate banana republic right now—in other words, the kind of nation Joe Biden and the Democrats are working overtime to create.
So let me reiterate. As we look back in history, we find incontrovertible evidence that success is at the end of a long, hard road called industry, frugality, self-discipline, sacrifice, virtue. And failure comes to those who get lazy, covetous, licentious, and wasteful. It happens almost without exception. And if we want the United States to continue to succeed—or to “re-succeed”—we must go back and once again study history, apply those qualities that lead to triumph, and shun those traits that produce disaster.
Leftism fails on this very point. There is nothing sacred to the Left. Everything is to be challenged, and everything that does not meet the test of Leftist “reason” or “logic” must be rejected. No tradition, no virtue, no quality is above suspicion; it is to be accepted or denied wholly or in part as Leftists’ personal judgment dictates. “Progress” is his watchword, but that too often means digression from that which has proven to be enduring, good, and successful.
It happened to Persia, among others. The wise recognize it is happening today in America. Ultimate degeneration—and for the exact same reasons.
Are you watching my “Rise of Leftism” historical survey on my substack mklewis929.substack.com? You don’t want to miss it or more articles on Leftism, our Founding Fathers, and true freedom, along with Biblical studies. Follow me on Twitter: @thailandmkl. Read my western novels, Whitewater , River Bend, Return to River Bend, and Allie’s Dilemma all available on Amazon.