But the tyranny of an
oligarchy is the worst kind of tyranny, because it means the
triumph of an average over individuals, whereas the worst that can
be said of a despotism is that it is the triumph of an individual
over an average. The tyranny of the specialistic oligarchy is
making itself felt to-day, and I should like to fortify the
revolutionary spirit of liberty, whose boast it is to detest
tyranny in all its forms, whether it is the tyranny of an
enlightened despot, or the tyranny of a virtuous oligarchy, or the
tyranny of an intelligent democracy.
The first evil which results from the rule of the specialist is the
destruction of the AMATEUR. So real a fact is the tyranny of the
specialist that the very word "amateur," which means a leisurely
lover of fine things, is beginning to be distorted into meaning an
inefficient performer. As an instance of its correct and idiomatic
use, I often think of the delightful landlord whom Stevenson
encountered somewhere, and upon whom he pressed some Burgundy which
he had with him.
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