The Establishment and the Elites

In the run-up to and aftermath of Biden's tarnished election "victory," I've been using the words "establishment" and "elites" frequently. But exactly what is the "establishment," and are the people who populate it any different from the "elites?"

The establishment are those in the position to control major entities within our society—the entities that comprise the four constituencies—the Democrats, the mainstream media media (and the tech companies that control major social media outlets and search capability), #NeverTrump Republicans, and bureaucrats within the deep state. Each of these entities has a vested interest in the status quo, because it, and it alone, allows them to maintain their positions of influence and power. Using that influence and power, they acquire wealth for themselves and their friends and business partners.

The elites are those who view themselves as our intellectual and cultural leaders. They may be members of the establishment, but they are also ensconced in academia, the arts, entertainment, letters, and the commentariat. 

Although the establishment certainly trends left in ideology, there are members who lean right. But in every case, they adopt an orthodoxy that ensures their grip on power. Interestingly, they are quick to make decisions that effect the broader population, but rarely apply those decisions to themselves, avoid taking responsibility for the outcome of those decisions, never apologize when their decisions or policy positions have deleterious outcomes, and suffer few if any consequences when they are caught in unethical or even illegal activities. It's good to be a member of the establishment.

The elites, with almost no exceptions, are Left or hard-Left in ideology. Their modus operandi is virtue signalling, suggesting (erroneously, I might add) that they are our moral betters (They. Are. Not.) They work very hard to control the message and view themselves as social influencers. Most view the general public with distain. Like their counterparts in the establishment, they think they are 'the smartest kids in the room' (They. Are. Not.)  At the same time, they believe the public to be unsophisticated and stupid, easy to influence and manipulate, and star-struck by their inflated notion of their intellect, talent, and accomplishment.

Both the establishment and the elites hate, hate hate Donald Trump and did everything possible to sabotage his presidency and then defeat him for a second term. His style offends them, but far more important, he showed them absolutely no respect. I suspect they secretly applaud any voter fraud that did occur (and it almost certainly did occur) because that fraud led to Trump's loss.

They were infuriated by Trump's successes, particularly because they loudly and assertively claimed that every one of his initiatives and policies would fail, get us into a war, or destroy the planet and wreck the economy. When none of that happened, they looked like fools. (Many of them are fools.)

Donald Trump accomplished much during the four years of his presidency, but possibly his most important achievement was to demonstrate to the public that both the establishment and the elites are like the emperor with no clothes. They strut across the national stage, believing their own B.S. while proving again and again that they're wrong at least as much as they're right. In fact, it's not even close.

UPDATE:

This, from the inimitable Richard Fernandez:

Fernandez's last question answers itself.