The Illusion and Substance of Power

The tale of the Garrick Club

We Americans have a certain naive view of the British class system. We still think the Brits operate like some 17th century period drama, with lords and barons established in the Isles for centuries ruling everything. In truth, as in every Western country, money and media mean more than titles of lineage. We can see the way real power operates in the fall of the Garrick Club.

The Garrick Club is a men’s club in London that has operated since 1831 and boasts MPs, senior government officials, celebrities, and, as an honorary member, King Charles III. The organization has operated since 1831. On paper, it should be one of the most elite organizations in the country.

Yet it took one mere article in The Guardian, one of the most hysterically left-wing papers in the hysterically left-wing British press, to bring the organization into a whimpering surrender. The paper leaked the membership list and expressed anger that the club was still men only.

Real power would mean that this article is never published. A slightly less degree of power might mean that the article is ignored. With a bit less power, you might have to confront it, but count on support from other media outlets and your own powerful members to overwhelm the people throwing bombs on the outside.

None of this occurred. The so-called elites instantly crumbled, falling into wailing hysterics and apologetics and begging journalists for mercy and understanding.

Sir Richard Moore, head of MI6, resigned from the club over the controversy. You might think that MI6 would be an elite group of patriots, perhaps with a reactionary tinge. You’d be wrong. You get the same silly rhetoric about diversity you get everywhere else. “What I want is for my service to better represent the country we serve,” he said. “That’s a noble aim, in my view, but it’s also an intensely practical aim. Diversity brings greater creativity, better problem-solving.”

Yet if the service reflected the country he serves, MI6 would probably collapse instantly because he wouldn’t be able to get anything done. Diversity as a social norm and a government initiative opens up markets, capitalizes and financializes social arrangements that used to be exempt from GDP, and makes it easier to invest - but it doesn’t actually make things work better, which is why elites seek work-arounds. Hence, Sir Moore’s membership in an all-male group, until it was leaked. Of course, the fact that the membership list was leaked in itself doesn’t inspire much confidence about MI6.

“We have an ambitious set of plans to tackle some of the barriers to women having long and fulfilling careers in the service,” Moore had written in the past. “We will also continue to work on our key priorities of attracting, recruiting and developing talent at all levels given that women continue to be under-represented at some grades and roles.” Sir Moore’s membership in the group suggests he doesn’t really believe that - but not enough that he’s willing to push back against these suggested changes.

Civil servant Simon Case also resigned from the Garrick Club following the report. His timid defense was that he had only joined it in order to reform it “from within,” sparking laughter from MPs. He said this in response to someone from Labour demanding he explain how he could justify a “genuine culture of inclusiveness” while being in an all-male group. Four senior judges also resigned from the club, as a female judge lectured the profession on the need for “inclusivity.”

The Garrick Club is reportedly nearing a vote about whether to admit women members. However, it’s unclear they will even need a vote. According to Lord Bannick KC, a member of the House of Lords, the word “he” in the bylaws is legally interchangeable with “she,” meaning that women can already join. One is reminded of what Aaron Burr said about the law - it is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained. If there is a vote, the outcome seems predetermined. “We decided to accept the legal advice of Lord Pannick,” said one member. “That will then be ratified by a meeting of the whole membership.” It doesn’t seem like there is much of a point to the whole proceeding.

What all this really tells us is the real way power works. Because of the way X is set up now, social media is filled with conspiracy theories and complicated hierarchies about the way the “elite” supposedly works. Much of this presupposes that hierarchy works the way it does in the movies - royal families, secret orders, and grand buildings hosting elaborate conspiracies to hoard money and power accumulated over centuries. The recent solar eclipse even led to some elaborate threads about how the Freemasons were actually behind the whole thing.

In reality, you can see real power at work when its victims apologize for not acting more quickly. The only reason this club is changing its membership rules is because it got negative media attention. Yet the members, ostensibly some of the most powerful people in the country, instantly caved and started pretending that they were on the other side all along. The norm of inclusivity is so universally accepted that even those trying to keep the current policy are trying to pretend that they are the real egalitarians.

In reality, the reason any exclusions exist is because people don’t actually want equality. The hunger for status and distinction is the most important driving force among humanity - and egalitarianism is just another strategy to pursue status. Indeed, it may be the most highly effect strategy, but it allows you to break down de facto networks organized outside the state and the bureaucracy while forcing your own de jure networks and set-asides to be mandated by law. Words like “freedom” don’t really serve to describe what’s going on, because even those who want to shut down private clubs altogether or demand that the government has the right to review membership organizations’ rules say they are doing it in the name of “freedom” and democracy.

In reality, because hierarchy is a universal, new attempts to get around egalitarianism will emerge. Partially this is because people just want a way to differentiate themselves from the mass, partially this is because people need a way to network and solve problems away from prying eyes and official supervision, and partially because constantly being in the Longhouse is psychologically exhausting, especially for men. Yet the attempts to shut down such channels through media reports and official investigations will also continue, and it doesn’t matter how many high-placed people you have as “members” if they are afraid to act and secretly ashamed of their beliefs.

In reality, we need to think of the way egalitarianism operates as a strategy for pursuing status even as it preaches equality. It’s a model to follow. The hierarchies and networks of the future won’t be full of fancy titles or braggadocio about its own importance. They will operate in the shadows, focusing on action rather than formalism. They will be formless and hard to attack. They may not even have a formal structure at all. What is unquestionable is that they will continue to exist. The fall of the Garrick Club isn’t a story about power being held to account by the powerless; it shows the Club never had much power to begin with.