If you?re a regular reader of Thomas Sowell?s work, it can?t surprise you that he takes a dim view of the role ?public intellectuals? play in society.
Sowell?s recent book Intellectuals and Society spells out some of the ways in which intellectuals and their ?vision of the anointed? have harmed the country over the years:
The intelligentsia have changed the high achievements and rewards of some members of society from a inspiration to others into a source of resentment and grievance for others.
The intelligentsia have largely ignored or downplayed the things in which Americans lead the world ? including philanthropy, technology, and the creation of life-saving medicines ? and treated the errors, flaws and shortcomings that Americans share with human beings around the world as special defects of ?our society.?
They encourage people who are contributing nothing to the world to complain, and even organize protests, because others are not doing enough for them.
They have rationalized the breaking of laws by those who choose to picture themselves as underdogs fighting an oppressive ?system,? even when these are college students from affluent homes.
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In the schools and colleges, the intelligentsia have changed the role of education for equipping students with the knowledge and intellectual skills to weigh issues and make up their own minds into a process of indoctrination with the conclusions already reached by the anointed.
Sowell doesn?t attribute this negative influence to evil intentions or stupidity. He says intellectuals simply respond to incentives. Since the outcome of their work is a set of ideas to be judged by their peers, rather than a tangible product or service tested in a true market, there?s little incentive for intellectuals to do anything other than echo their peers? prevailing views.
