The nemesis of mediocrity

About this book

The nemesis of mediocrity by Ralph Adams Cram is a polemical essay of social and political criticism written in the early 20th century. It contends that the modern world, laid bare by war, has lost true leaders and sunk into a levelling mediocrity fostered by democratic mechanisms, industrialism, and a shallow notion of progress.

The book opens by contrasting the commanding figures of the previous century with the smallness of contemporary public men, arguing that leadership has withered in politics, religion, philosophy, education, and the arts. Cram distinguishes a “democracy of ideal” (abolition of privilege, equal opportunity, and the use of ability) from a “democracy of method” (parliaments, mass suffrage, party machines), and claims the latter has failed, breeding corruption, timid opportunism, and the rule of the second-rate. He blames secular, vocational education for weakening character; laments religion’s retreat from public life; and, in a now-controversial vein, warns that unrestricted immigration and racial mixing degrade civic capacity. He foresees that one great war cannot cleanse the system, predicting further upheavals unless either spiritual renewal or the rise of commanding leaders redirects society. In the postscript, written after the war’s turning point, he acknowledges the emergence of genuine military leadership and the concentration of civil influence in a single towering statesman, yet concludes that peacetime governance still flounders and that any real hope lies in converting the tested discipline and sense of justice forged at the front into enduring civic leadership.