The Pithiest Critique of Modern Conservatism Keeps Getting Credited to the Wrong Man

[Celerity]

“Wilhoit’s Law” was created by a different Frank Wilhoit.

https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” That line—written by Frank Wilhoit—has become a popular aphorism to sum up the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the modern Republican Party.

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Who’s Frank Wilhoit? Many people who cite the quote assume it comes from Francis “Frank” Wilhoit, an American political scientist whose 1973 book The Politics of Massive Resistance chronicled Southern segregationists’ efforts to resist Civil Rights–era court rulings.

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That would make a whole lot of sense. But in fact it’s the work of another Frank Wilhoit, this one not a professional scholar of American politics but a 63-year-old classical music composer in Ohio, who wrote the adage as part of a longer point in the comments section of the political science blog Crooked Timber. Since then, it has taken on a life of its own, recirculating on Twitter or Reddit every few months, most recently in reference to certain Free Speech Defenders’ aggressive posture on libel and defamation laws. A handful of sleuths have cracked the case before—Francis Wilhoit died in 2010; Frank Wilhoit posted his remark in 2018—but the confusion lingers, for obvious reasons.

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This week, I reached out to Wilhoit the younger to discuss the long half-life of his observation. He explained what he thinks of conservatism, which piece of his music he likes most, and why he can’t stand this case of mistaken identity.

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[Kid Berwyn]

1. Excellent definition and story!

I also like the observation from John Kenneth Galbraith:

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”

Thank you for a most informative OP, Celerity!

[empedocles]

3. Vintage Galbraith

[Caliman73]

2. You can also understand Conservatism from this lens, and it explains much of their behavior.

The foundations of Conservatism were solidified in defense of monarchy during the French Revolution. The idea that human societies are based "naturally" on a hierarchy of betters and lessers with the betters having the "god given" right to rule and the lessers serving dutifully. As long as you are not on the lowest tier of the pyramid, you can look down on someone and not feel low.

[ret5hd]

4. Excellent excellent story!

What an intelligent and erudite person…and spot-on!

[canetoad]

5. Yep, that's pretty pithy

And it really pithes me off.