Crowds and Power: Reflections on José Ortega y Gasset’s Social Philosophy

Krzysztof POLIT

Abstract

The author attempts to answer the question about the validity of the views of José Ortega y Gasset regarding his criticism of egalitarianism and the democratic system. The article concludes with the thesis that the lack of reference points observable in an egalitarian, democratic society triggers the disturbing phenomenon of the disappearance of the elites with a simultaneous expansion of the categories of quantity and utility. A natural consequence of this phenomenon is disappearance of the qualitative perception of the world and an increasing dominance of economic values. Anything that goes beyond the concrete and, as such, cannot be measured, becomes insignificant. The tendencies in question reflect the idea that the human being is capable of existing in a one-dimensional, horizontal world of quantity. However, an analysis of Ortega y Gasset’s views suggests that such an assumption must be deemed as false, since a human life, being necessarily open and unpredictable, needs to be based on a certain hierarchy of values derived from tradition. The values in question are conveyed by the spiritual social elites of the society. Since it is the elites that lead society, their disappearance in the process of massification will cause widespread chaos.