Philip Dru: Administrator
Philip Dru: Administrator (1912)[1] is a book written by Edward M. House that lays out in novel form many of the early goals of Progressivism.[2]
Influence
President Woodrow Wilson is known to have been given a copy of Philip Dru[3] by Edward House, who was one of his most trusted advisers, to read while on a trip to Bermuda after winning the Presidency.
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson's Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane noted the similarities between Wilson's governing style and the writings contained in the novel: "Colonel House's Book, Philip Dru, favors it, and all that book has said should be, comes about slowly, even woman suffrage. The President comes to Philip Dru in the end. And yet they say that House has no power...."[4]
Conspiracy Theorists
The book Philip Dru has been a favorite among conspiracy theorists of the NWO/Bilderberg/Illuminati type[5][6][7], which really misses the point of the book. The book has been cast by such websites as "Blueprint for Tyranny",[8] which is accurate, but then there is so much mixed in that it is hard to get an indication of what the book really is and is about.
This has the deleterious effect of keeping people from reading a book which has a real educational value in the context of progressivism.[2][1]
Glenn Beck
While doing research into the history of Progressivism, Glenn Beck discovered Philip Dru,[9] mainstreamed the novel, and discussed it repeatedly on his radio show, on his then Fox broadcast, and later on The Blaze.[10][11][12]
Even George Will has made comparisons[13] regarding Dru and progressivism, which had never happened before.
Synopsis
House tries to frame the book within a framework of democracy and justice, where the more 'democratic' west engages in a civil war with the 'oligarchy' of the east.[14][15] However, the vision of Dru is largely technocratic, authoritarian, and progressive.[16] Philip Dru is, in short, a benevolent dictator.[17]
Characters
Philip Dru
Philip Dru is the story's protagonist, who is presented as somewhat of a child prodigy. He was born to be an expert, and is an expert on all things. He is ready from day one to be your administrator.
Upon their first meeting, Gloria expected to see a "god-like", "beautiful" man. The story starts out after Dru is already fully grown so his childhood is not the subject, however Gloria's brother Jack has clearly set very high expectations. The book plays down Dru's physical appearance presumably because Dru's intellect and expertise are his primary offering.
Gloria Strawn
Gloria is a character that serves as a developmental mirror, asking probing questions of Dru that push him in a certain direction. Dru and Gloria together act as one in driving the ideological narrative. Gloria comes from a wealthy family.
Toward the end of the book there are hints of a love interest between the two.
Jack Strawn
Jack is Gloria's brother, who introduces Gloria early on. He is present for the first portion of the story, but disappears once battle begins. He joins Dru's army, presumably in a leadership role of some kind.
At one point in the book, Jack describes Dru as follows: "He is a born leader of men, and he knows more about engineering and tactics than the Colonel and all the rest of us put together."
Jack, like Gloria, both exist to build Dru's technocratic preeminence and capability.
Senator Selwyn
Senator Selwyn is the closest thing to an antagonist in the book, and for a few chapters he is the primary antagonist. He plots behind the scenes with John Thor in an attempt to secure a manchurian candidate, James R. Rockland.
Later in the story, Selwyn submits to Dru's will after losing the war.
John Thor
John Thor is the other participant in "the conspiracy", who is presented to the reader as a plutocrat.[18]
"The System"
While not a character, the real antagonist of the book is "the system": the nameless, faceless plutocratic oligarchy that Dru is to take care of. The combination of trusts and lack of regulation is the problem, and an administrator will solve the problems that can't be fixed by more traditional means. But its not tyranny, its just administration. That's what will fix everything.
Plot
The opening chapter places the reader at Philip's graduation from West Point military academy, and introduces several characters, including Gloria, a primary character for developing and diving into Dru's statist view points. The book has several chapters devoted to developing these viewpoints, and takes the reader through a walk in the desert, a fictional sob story tied to a validation of income redistribution, and Dru's short-lived career as a writer for a nationally syndicated paper published out of New York.
While Gloria is out trying to win over converts to Dru's cause, she runs into a particularly shady senator. Gloria comes from a well-off family, and has access to people others may not have. She introduces Dru to the senator, to whom shortly afterwards the conspiracy that the senator was involved in becomes publicly known. This is where Dru becomes the general of some army originating out of Madison, Wisconsin.
Upon winning the war, Dru casts himself not as a dictator, but merely as an "administrator". The chief of the bureaucracies. His first administrative reform using experts and boards is of the judiciary. He appointed a second board of experts for the reform of laws. He had another board of experts for tax reform, a board for the incorporation of the states into the national government, and a board to deal with the "railroad problem". The old government is cast as a "negative government", a view that is widely held by progressives, even today.[19]
Administration and Progressivism
For a more detailed treatment, see Administrative State.
Bureaucracy and the administrative state are crucial pieces to progressive ideology, which is what makes the novel key to understanding the views of progressives.
Quotes
The strong will help the weak, the rich will share with the poor, and it will not be called charity, but it will be known as justice. And the man or woman who fails to do his duty, not as he sees it, but as society at large sees it, will be held up to the contempt of mankind.
Philip Dru, chapter 5
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (2012) Natural Rights Individualism and Progressivism in American Political Philosophy: Volume 29, Part 2. Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Progressivism's Revenge. American Thinker. “House's book is "utopian" in the sense that he is fantasizing about being given the authority to achieve, in one fell swoop, the agenda wished and fought for by the progressives of his time, as of ours.”
- ↑ (2006) Woodrow Wilson's Right Hand: The Life of Colonel Edward M. House. Yale University, 7. ISBN 978-0300137552.
- ↑ (1922) The Letters of Franklin K. Lane, Personal and Political. Houghton Mifflin Company, 297.
- ↑ Top Ten Secret Societies
- ↑ The Council on Foreign Relations
- ↑ N.W.O.: The Three Piece Master Plan To A New World Order: One World Government, Illuminati, Central Banking
- ↑ Philip Dru: Administrator, Blueprint for Tyranny
- ↑ Glenn Beck: Progressives dream to ‘remake’ America
- ↑ Philip Dru Administrator by Colonel Edward Mandell House as explained by Glenn Beck, YouTube
- ↑ FREE Download of the Book "Philip Dru: Administrator" of which Glenn Beck Talks About Again & Again & AGAIN!
- ↑ The century-old novel right-wingers believe guides Obama
- ↑ As a progressive, Obama hews to the Wilsonian tradition, Washington Post
- ↑ He (Dru) comes panoplied in justice and with the light of reason in his eyes. He comes as the advocate of equal opportunity and he comes with the power to enforce his will. p. 95
- ↑ 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents
- ↑ Pathology of the Elites: How the Arrogant Classes Plan to Run Your Life
- ↑ Issues and Events, Volume 8
- ↑ The authoritarian utopia of Colonel Edward M. House
- ↑ Obama Constitution Negative Liberties