Thread by @Helenreflects

Here is my promised thread on the political philosophy of Watership Down (1972), the timeless novel by Richard Adams.
Short summary: to me, this work is a defense of liberalism, bottom-up democracy by consensus where everyone can flourish (cf Dewey), and political authority 1/

Why do we need political authority? One popular answer, defended in this book, is that political authority is needed for collective action. When Fiver foresees the destruction of the warren, a leader is needed to leave the warren and to found a new one, to channel decisions 2/

The best decisions are the decisions that are in the best interest of the group. This is Rousseau's "general will" and with that I do not mean a kind of demagogic "will of the people" where a group imposes its will on everyone, but what's best for everyone 3/

Hazel becomes leader not because he is the cleverest (that's Blackberry) or the strongest (Bigwig), or the best speaker (Dandelion), or the most visionary(Fiver) but because helps to enact decisions that reflect the general will 4/

The Sandelford warren where Hazel and his group of hlessil leave from is a place where right is might. It's not all bad to live there, but it's plainly unjust that the owsla can take the choicest food just because they're bigger and stronger. This is an unjust society 5/

The Sandelford chief rabbit (the Threarah) is actually quite sensible, but he thinks super-utilitarian (this has helped him e.g., conquer a severe epidemic of white blindness) but his utilitarian outlook fails in heeding Fiver and he does not address injustices in his society 6/

Now, onto Strawberry's warren. On the face of it, it looks really good. Nice, glossy rabbits that get fed by humans. Problems is, snares lie everywhere in waiting, and so these rabbits sacrifice their freedom, their shot at a good life, for physical comfort 7/

That's not the only problem. They've turned their back on rabbit traditions such as stories of El-ahrairah (classic trickster stories) because plainly, they've been tricked. And to uphold their comfort they curtail freedom of expression (you can't ask where) 8/

In this I see a valuation of tradition of the wisdom of the people (a position defended by conservatives such as Edmund Burke). The el-ahrairah stories contain collective wisdom about how rabbits, given their creaturely makeup, can flourish, and that makes them valuable 9/

Strawberry and Cowslip's warren has no place for discussion of the obvious rot in society. I think maybe Adams was thinking of the USSR or other societies without freedom of expression. Interestingly, the warren has no leader bc there's no collective action 10/

Now, if we look at Hazel's leadership of the emerging small warren on Watership Down it has a bunch of interesting features: Hazel's not afraid to innovate (e.g., he takes the large meeting room structure from Cowslip's warren, he lets bucks dig, because they don't have does) 11/

He allows everyone in the group to flourish and to do what they're best at: planning (Blackberry), story-telling (Dandelion), fighting (Bigwig)... He even enlists non-rabbit animals such as a seagull and a mouse. Reminds me of Dewey and his views on democracy and flourishing /12

The one non-forced error he makes is the rash break-out of hutch rabbits which nearly kills him (and which Fiver warned him about), it was a wrong decision because not informed by the collective good but by personal sense of glory and adventure /13

Note even there though, Hazel does not instrumentalize the hutch rabbits. He invites both bucks and does to come (even though they really only need does). This is a constant throughout the novel. He looks for non-zero-sum opportunities, e.g., in helping the wounded seagull /14

Efrafa is very interesting, from a political philosophical perspective. It's a system where rabbits have safety and they die of old age (or from their coercive, militaristic owsla) but they are plainly unhappy because they are not free. The safety comes at a terrible price. /15

They are also unable flourish by fulfilling their potential but are put in a rigid regime (e.g., Hyzenthlay is a seer, but her talents, unlike Fiver's, are not put to use)
Dissidents, such as Blackavar, are oppressed, maimed, killed, though their bravery could help the group /16

Woundwort is a formidable (very interesting) antagonist, but you can see where he's coming from. He has this really good system that served them well but is now falling apart and he just doesn't have the flexibility to change his mind /19

One problem Woundwort has is a problem you see with many leaders-turning-into-dictators: he has surrounded himself with very loyal yes-sayers (his council). They don't criticize them, because getting into the council requires absolute loyalty. So he gets no friction /20

His decisions go uncontested. This is a problem Shakespeare already pointed out with King Lear, who also did not tolerate opposition in his close counselors (e.g., Earl of Kent). You need if you're in that kind position people able and willing to tell you you're wrong /21

So, Woundwort loses to Hazel's warren because he lacks that flexibility. He also seems to think, because he's been socialized to think it, that strength = power, and so he's very surprised that Bigwig is not the chief rabbit when they fight (your chief rabbit??) /22

Some final thoughts: I find it very interesting, and in line with Hazel's general non-zero sum thinking that the story ends (note, this is from memory as I haven't read this to my child yet) with a third warren being founded between Efrafa and Watership Down /23

In this sense, with Woundwort's disappearance, you have what in a theological sense might be called a defeat of evil. Defeat because not only did Watership Down win, they won in such a way that evil was turned into, incorporated into the good /24

In a world that's dominated by zero-sum thinking this political philosophy seems to me hopeful and encouraging. I hope we will get the political leaders that make non-zero sum collective actions possible, in due course /end

@WeNeedEU hope you like it!

@threadreaderapp unroll please (I'm going to turn this thread into a slightly bigger blogpost)