Revisiting Philip Slater’s Chrysalis Effect in the post-Donald Trump era

benfell

See updates through December 12, 2022, at end of post.


Fig. 1. Philip Slater. Photograph by Benjamin Wheeler, 1980, via the New York Times,[1] fair use.

Before I was in the Ph.D. program that I ultimately completed, there was another Ph.D. program, one that was the wrong program for me, but one nonetheless that I learned a great deal from. I’m thinking of one of the professors, there, now deceased,[2] Philip Slater, who wrote a book in which he applied the metaphor of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly to human society.[3]

As we know from elementary school, a caterpillar forms a chrysalis, in which it undergoes a transformation to a butterfly. We may not think much of the caterpillar or the chrysalis, but we admire the beauty of the butterfly. Slater understood our present society as a caterpillar and its transformation to an “integrative,” that is, more egalitarian and cosmopolitan, butterfly as inevitable.[4]

As the caterpillar begins its transformation, its own antibodies fight back. The caterpillar’s body is reduced mostly to slush, which of course makes sense because butterflies don’t look very much like caterpillars. That slush reconstitutes as a butterfly within the chrysalis.[5]

Students of systems theory will recognize that Slater was drawing on the idea of feedbacks. There are feedbacks that sustain an existing system, in this case, the antibodies of the caterpillar, and feedbacks that undermine and would ultimately overturn it, in this case, producing the butterfly.[6]

Stepping away from Slater’s metaphor for just a moment, in systems theory, the feedbacks that undermine the existing system may reach a tipping point, at which they overwhelm the feedbacks that sustain it, and the two sets of feedbacks may exchange places, with formerly undermining feedbacks sustaining a new system, and formerly sustaining feedbacks seeking to undermine it.[7]

In Slater’s metaphor, those ‘antibodies’ are those we would now recognize as authoritarian nationalist white Christian nationalist and conservative illiberal movements around the world. These ‘antibodies’ resist transformations to more egalitarian cosmopolitan societies.[8] It’s an optimistic view, one I cannot endorse because 1) metaphors based on biology rarely apply well to human societies, 2) the emergent outcome is neither preordained nor knowable, 3) the assignment of labels such as ‘antibody’ is arbitrary—a conservative might as easily argue that his utopia has yet to be realized and that a transformation (shall we call it armageddon?) will establish God’s kingdom on earth.

But if, at least for the sake of argument, we accept Slater’s thesis, it becomes possible to hope that Donald Trump’s likely downfall[9] marks a tipping point. This, again, is optimistic.

It is apparent even just from yesterday’s (December 7) news that the ‘antibodies’ are still at work, with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the ‘independent state legislature’ theory,[10] as with a neo-Nazi effort to overthrow the German government,[11] as with neofascist threats against Italian journalists.[12]

There are unanswered questions: In the U.S., I wonder, what now for white Christian nationalism, as it loses its charismatic leader? Trump may soon be gone, we can only hope to prison,[13] but we will not so easily be rid of his followers; while overt support for Trump has diminished considerably,[14] I see white Christian nationalist yard signs and flags every day. Do we really dismiss such people as ‘antibodies?’

The 2022 midterm results suggest an upper limit to the crazy that a plurality of the U.S. electorate will support, and this is certainly good news, but the crazy that exceeds that limit remains nonetheless,[15] not just here, but around the world,[16] and we can understand its threats of violence[17] accordingly. It does not depend on majority support for its sense of righteousness: It just wants its way.[18] Arguably, much like Slater’s ‘antibodies.’

What we’re missing here is evidence of social transformation and this is where the question of what value to assign to Slater’s metaphor becomes crucial. If Slater is right, the forces for social transformation will eventually overcome those ‘antibodies.’ If Slater is wrong, they won’t. If Slater is right, the outcome will be more egalitarian and more cosmopolitan. If he is wrong, they won’t.

You’ll perhaps notice what Slater didn’t,[19] that there are actually four permutations here and that one of them is that we can have social transformation that results in another outcome besides greater egalitarianism and cosmopolitanism. This is the permutation I worry about. It’s the permutation I find most plausible, it woke me up this morning, and it’s one of a few things that keeps me up at night.

Another permutation, where Slater is wrong on both counts, is for preservation of the status quo. Given the upheavals of the Trump era, a lot of people would settle for this, but it certainly doesn’t make anyone (this includes me) on the wrong side of our authoritarian political and economic system of social organization feel much better.

The final permutation is an understanding of social movements advocated by the department chair in my second Ph.D. program, the program that was right for me, JoAnn McAllister, where, grindingly, with seemingly endless iterations over what seems an eternity, we move incrementally toward a more egalitarian, cosmopolitan society at a non-transformative pace that never upsets or inconveniences the elites too terribly much.[20] This would surely be an inadequate response to existential threats like the climate crisis, but hey, my department chair and I are both “Boomers” who will be dead before it gets a whole lot worse, maybe.

This last permutation is also susceptible to setbacks, like the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade,[21] like the setbacks that that decision may yet pave the way for.[22]

It is also possible that a tipping point has not yet arrived. Or that Slater’s metaphor is simply wrong and that there will never be such a tipping point, that humanity will never overcome an enduring conflict between authoritarian nationalism and egalitarian cosmopolitanism.

It’s hard to be certain which of these scenarios is the one that will actually transpire. There are separate developments in separate countries, with plotting ‘antibodies’ certainly friendly towards each other, but, so far as I know, little evidence of coordination or collusion between them. That this may not be, indeed, probably is not a single grand multinational scheme could be more worrisome as white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and neofascism (which I grouped together with paleoconservatism in my dissertation,[23]) spring up like weeds in many places.

If we are indeed to resort to biological metaphors, the threat of violence[24] lends urgency to a cause of pulling out these weeds. It might be time to reach for some herbicide.

Update, December 9, 2022: As for that plot to overthrow the German government?[25] A day later, Matthew Karnitschnig is treating it as farcical.[26] While I can’t tell you Karnitschnig is wrong, I don’t feel nearly so cavalier.

The alleged ringleader was Prince Heinrich XIII Reuß, the long-haired scion of an 800-year-old aristocratic line, who police said organized conspiratorial meetings at his hilltop Schloss in rural Thuringia.

The 71-year-old prince and his alleged co-conspirators, a number of them retirees, assembled a formidable arsenal that, according to police, included at least one crossbow, a slingshot, swords, as well as hunting rifles of unclear vintage and pistols. . . .

Reuß’s motley crew included a former MP with the far-right Alternative for Germany party and a retired German special forces commander (who left the service in 1996 and never actually saw combat), as well as an opera singer (tenor), a roofer and a gourmet cook. After throwing over the government (at one point the group considered making Queen Elizabeth’s death the trigger day, but was unprepared when she passed away) the conspirators planned to establish a political “council” to run the country under Prince Heinrich.

Many in the group are adherents of a fringe movement known as the “Reichsbürger,” who maintain that the German republic is an illegitimate state and demand a return of the monarchy. Authorities put the total number of Reichsbürger, who often get arrested for not paying taxes and have a history of shooting at police officers, in Germany at about 20,000.

Others in the alleged conspiracy are rooted in Germany’s antivax movement, the so-called Querdenker.[27]

Probably a better approach to this is to wonder to what extent this plot is the tip of an iceberg. And in this frame, we then may wonder if there are others, similarly inclined, but less delusional.

Update, December 12, 2022: Oh, Marjorie Taylor Greene was “joking” now, when she said she’d have succeeded and have been armed where the January 6 coup plotters failed.[28] Where have we heard that before?

More seriously, it feels like the crazy is only accelerating[29] since I wrote a blog post revisiting[30] Philip Slater’s caterpillar-chrysalis-butterfly metaphor for social transformation[31] in the post-Donald Trump era. I have my reasons for my skepticism about Slater’s metaphor, as I explained in that blog post, but that metaphor only looks better the crazier Donald Trump, his loyalists, and other right-wing illiberals get.[32]

Of course, as I warned earlier, it’s a mistake to assume that all who would commit violence to advance their cause are as stupid and inept as we’ve seen so far.[33] Whether you think this paranoid or prudent, consider that these clowns could be a way of getting us to let our guard down. I doubt that’s the case, but I can’t promise you it isn’t.

  1. [1]Paul Vitello, “Philip E. Slater, Social Critic Who Renounced Academia, Dies at 86,” New York Times, July 2, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/books/philip-e-slater-social-critic-who-renounced-academia-dies-at-86.html↩
  2. [2]Paul Vitello, “Philip E. Slater, Social Critic Who Renounced Academia, Dies at 86,” New York Times, July 2, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/books/philip-e-slater-social-critic-who-renounced-academia-dies-at-86.html↩
  3. [3]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  4. [4]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  5. [5]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  6. [6]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  7. [7]Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems (New York: Anchor, 1996); Fritjof Capra and Pier Luigi Luisi, The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University, 2014); Joanna Macy, Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory (Delhi, India: Sri Satguru, 1995).↩
  8. [8]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  9. [9]David Benfell, “Republican politicians out of touch?” Not Housebroken, December 7, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/06/republican-politicians-out-of-touch/↩
  10. [10]Debra Cassens Weiss, “3 conservative SCOTUS justices appear to seek middle ground on ‘independent state legislature’ theory,” American Bar Association Journal, December 7, 2022, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/3-conservative-scotus-justices-appear-to-seek-middle-ground-on-independent-state-legislature-theory↩
  11. [11]Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement↩
  12. [12]Alice Speri, “‘We’re Coming for You’: Italy’s Neofascists Target Journalists as They Assume Power,” Intercept, December 7, 2022, https://theintercept.com/2022/12/07/italy-giorgia-meloni-journalists/↩
  13. [13]David Benfell, “It is now even more urgently orange jumpsuit time,” Not Housebroken, November 18, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/24/it-is-now-even-more-urgently-orange-jumpsuit-time/↩
  14. [14]David Benfell, “More questions than answers as Donald Trump flags come down,” Not Housebroken, December 3, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/28/more-questions-than-answers-as-donald-trump-flags-come-down/↩
  15. [15]David Benfell, “To condemn a delusional raging narcissist or to ignore incitement to rebellion. That is the question,” Not Housebroken, December 3, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/05/to-condemn-a-delusional-raging-narcissist-or-to-ignore-incitement-to-rebellion-that-is-the-question/↩
  16. [16]David Benfell, “The global illiberal surge,” Not Housebroken, October 17, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/10/17/the-global-illiberal-surge/↩
  17. [17]David Benfell, “The danger that remains,” Not Housebroken, May 23, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/01/07/the-danger-that-remains/; David Benfell, “The danger that still remains,” Not Housebroken, January 22, 2022, ↩
  18. [18]David Benfell, “Why ‘being reasonable’ doesn’t work and why violence is sometimes unavoidable,” Not Housebroken, December 4, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/04/why-being-reasonable-doesnt-work-and-why-violence-is-sometimes-unavoidable/↩
  19. [19]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  20. [20]Bill Moyer, with JoAnn McAllister, Mary Lou Finley, and Steven Soifer, Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements (Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada: New Society, 2001).↩
  21. [21]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ___ (2022).↩
  22. [22]Christopher Cadelago and Jonathan Lemire, “Lindsey Graham saves Biden’s big day,” Politico, September 13, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/lindsey-graham-joe-biden-abortion-00056505; David Charter, “Republican states plot to make birth control a crime,” Times, May 9, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/republican-states-plot-to-make-birth-control-a-crime-sljmb2s7f; Moira Donegan, “Republicans won’t stop until abortion is banned across America. And it could be,” Guardian, September 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/15/republicans-wont-stop-until-abortion-is-banned-across-america-and-it-could-be; Matt Ford, “Clarence Thomas Will Wipe Out Marriage Equality and Contraception Next,” New Republic, June 24, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/166891/thomas-roe-marriage-equality-contraception; Josh Gerstein, “What falls after Roe? Liberals warn of a privacy rights nightmare,” Politico, May 3, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/03/supreme-court-abortion-privacy-rights-00029871; Caroline Kitchener, “The next frontier for the antiabortion movement: A nationwide ban,” Washington Post, May 2, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/02/abortion-ban-roe-supreme-court-mississippi/; Caroline Kitchener, “Roe’s gone. Now antiabortion lawmakers want more,” Washington Post, June 25, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/25/roe-antiabortion-lawmakers-restrictions-state-legislatures/; Caroline Kitchener and Devlin Barrett, “Antiabortion lawmakers want to block patients from crossing state lines,” Washington Post, June 29, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/29/abortion-state-lines/; Alexandra Martinez, “Birth control, gay and interracial marriage, and more may be at risk if Roe v. Wade falls,” Prism, May 5, 2022, https://prismreports.org/2022/05/05/civil-rights-roe-v-wade/; Amy B. Wang and Caroline Kitchener, “Graham introduces bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks,” Washington Post, September 13, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/13/abortion-graham-republicans-nationwide-ban/; Zachary B. Wolf, “The surprising history of US abortion rights — and what might come next,” CNN, June 17, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/17/politics/roe-v-wade-history-timeline-what-matters/index.html↩
  23. [23]David Benfell, “Conservative Views on Undocumented Migration” (doctoral dissertation, Saybrook, 2016). ProQuest (1765416126).↩
  24. [24]David Benfell, “The danger that remains,” Not Housebroken, May 23, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/01/07/the-danger-that-remains/; David Benfell, “The danger that still remains,” Not Housebroken, January 22, 2022, ↩
  25. [25]Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement↩
  26. [26]Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/↩
  27. [27]Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/↩
  28. [28]Eugene Scott, “White House condemns Greene over claim she would have ‘won’ Jan. 6 insurrection,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/12/greene-jan6-white-house-armed-insurrection/↩
  29. [29]Kate Connolly and Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state,” Guardian, December 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement; Matthew Karnitschnig, “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Politico, December 8, 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/; Jacob Magid, “Trump berates disloyal US ‘Jewish leaders,’ ignoring calls to condemn Kanye, Fuentes,” Times of Israel, December 9, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-lays-into-jewish-leaders-ignoring-calls-to-condemn-kanye-fuentes/; Eugene Scott, “White House condemns Greene over claim she would have ‘won’ Jan. 6 insurrection,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/12/greene-jan6-white-house-armed-insurrection/↩
  30. [30]David Benfell, “Revisiting Philip Slater’s Chrysalis Effect in the post-Donald Trump era,” Not Housebroken, December 9, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/08/revisiting-philip-slaters-chrysalis-effect-in-the-post-donald-trump-era/↩
  31. [31]Philip Slater, The Chrysalis Effect (Brighton, UK: Sussex, 2009).↩
  32. [32]David Benfell, “Revisiting Philip Slater’s Chrysalis Effect in the post-Donald Trump era,” Not Housebroken, December 9, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/08/revisiting-philip-slaters-chrysalis-effect-in-the-post-donald-trump-era/↩
  33. [33]David Benfell, “Revisiting Philip Slater’s Chrysalis Effect in the post-Donald Trump era,” Not Housebroken, December 9, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/08/revisiting-philip-slaters-chrysalis-effect-in-the-post-donald-trump-era/↩

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