It has come to my attention that Newt Gingrich considers Asimov’s Foundation series to have been a major influence in his intellectual formation. Although this perhaps bodes better than some other Republicans’ idolization of, e.g. Ayn Rand, it’s still disturbing, in multiple, incompatible ways. In fact, it’s cognitively dissonant in at least four ways:
- a) Asimov was an atheist liberal, while Gingrich positions himself as a christianist (neo-)conservative (arguably not very plausibly, but still);
- b) despite the above-mentioned fact that Asimov was, politically, liberal, nevertheless the actions of Hari Seldon (the founding psychohistorian – fictional picture at left) in the novels are hardly exemplars of liberal or democratic political action – they more resemble elitist crypto-totalitarianism – more than one critic over the years has compared Asimov’s psychohistory and the emergent Foundations (First and Second) as essentially Leninist-style avant-gardist cabals;
- c) Gingrich apparently shares his interest in psychohistory with none other than liberal(-ish) talking-head Paul Krugman;
- d) Gingrich is hardly like Hari Seldon, despite being influenced by the fictional character’s ideas – the former Speaker of the House seeks political glory and the media limelight, while Seldon preferred to operate in secret, behind the scenes.
I’ll elaborate more, later, maybe.
Meanwhile, what I’m listening to right now.
Eyelit, “Sun.”
