The Dark Knight’s heroism rests on elite deception as its core virtue.

Evidence

Secondly, what these readings also miss is the actual nature of the model of virtue presented in the film. If this is (neo)conservative, it is not at the simple level of utilitarian calculation of consequences. What we are dealing with is a far more complicated Straussian meta-utilitarianism whose cynical reasoning is akin to that of Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor. Deception — of the masses by the elite — is integral to this account of virtue: what is “protected” is not the masses’ security but their belief (in Harvey Dent’s campaign). — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 570

Categorization

• XREF: The Grand Inquisitor recurs in Fisher’s earlier work on ideology and hierarchy (ch33 context).
• DEFINE: Clear gloss of Straussian meta-utilitarianism and its protective-lie structure.