Author Topic: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals  (Read 1428 times)

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Offline Michael Hardner

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What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« on: June 29, 2017, 10:25:24 pm »

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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2017, 06:00:38 pm »
Noam Chomsky, Fareed Zakaria, Thomas Sowell etc come to mind.

Internet may have killed them.  We don't need to rely on them as much any more when we have google and wikipedia.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2017, 06:30:20 pm by Moonlight Graham »
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Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2017, 06:49:53 pm »
Noam Chomsky, Fareed Zakaria, Thomas Sowell etc come to mind.

Internet may have killed them.  We don't need to rely on them as much any more when we have google and wikipedia.

Intellectuals are not walking encyclopedia they are idea leaders and analysts.  They synthesize information and teach us.

Offline cybercoma

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2017, 01:48:34 pm »
We don't need to rely on them as much any more when we have google and wikipedia.
This is what happened. The "me first" generation thinks they're as knowledgeable as people who dedicate decades of their life to studying fields of knowledge. Why, they can just look things up on Google and Wikipedia....surely that's akin to not only holding a PhD, but being one of the top scholars in your field. Surely.

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2017, 02:42:17 pm »
I see your point now, but not sure if I agree.

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2024, 08:05:25 am »
From Robert Reich via Threads

"How we beat back the corporate takeover of America:

1. Break up corporate monopolies

2. Continue building union power

3. End Citizens United and get big money out of politics

Let’s keep working to unrig the system."
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Offline Coolio

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2024, 08:47:29 am »
From Robert Reich via Threads

"How we beat back the corporate takeover of America:

1. Break up corporate monopolies

2. Continue building union power

3. End Citizens United and get big money out of politics

Let’s keep working to unrig the system."

Unfortunately, I cannot see that happening unless something occurs to change the political landscape in America. It did happen in the 20th century, but it was probably the result of the great depression, combined with World War II, and the subsequent baby boom. Americans started to demand a comfortable living wage, workers rights, civil rights, and political and economic freedoms.

This started happening in the 50s, but was in full swing by the 60s. The disparity between rich and poor was at it's historical lowest in the 1970s.  Unfortunately, this trend was reversed by the Reagan administration, with deregulation and tax breaks for large corporations, that have only accelorated in the past few decades. 9/11 and the curtailing of civil rights and freedoms did not help either.

Offline Coolio

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2024, 08:50:29 am »
Noam Chomsky, Fareed Zakaria, Thomas Sowell etc come to mind.

Internet may have killed them.  We don't need to rely on them as much any more when we have google and wikipedia.

I've always thought that the information coming from the internet should be regulated. It has gotten to the point where the average North American cannot tell the difference between legitimate news and propaganda, which usually helps out populist candidates (Trump,etc). I mean if people step aside and look at the big picture, the whole transgender debate is so silly and irrelevant when we consider the housing crisis, the state of education and health care in the country

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2024, 10:43:19 am »
But unless people are unable to remember recent events, they will soon see that populist demagogues who blame fantastic villains are fakes.

Offline Queefer Sutherland

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"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2024, 05:59:07 am »
https://youtu.be/De4_ZqMwuOg?si=W8_9MjXQDhKqgDdd

People don't stick to that narrative though.

You'll find liberals and conservatives will celebrate the wisdom of the crowds when they throw out a bum that they don't agree with.

Conservatives are now all about how the people are rejecting. Trudeau, and liberals are about how they rejected. Harper.

There is a truth in between the model of the citizenry as an uninformed lumpen mass, and the community of publics that we have designed for.

My thinking on this is that collective decisions, if guided well, provide a better grounding for governance. 

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2024, 05:59:33 am »
To add... This is difficult, however good things usually are.

Offline kimmy

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2024, 01:32:16 pm »


 -k
Paris - London - New York - Kim City
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Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2024, 01:36:06 pm »
Not sure what that meant, I just love Pooh bear.

Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: What Happened to America's Public Intellectuals
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2024, 01:39:05 pm »
People don't stick to that narrative though.

You'll find liberals and conservatives will celebrate the wisdom of the crowds when they throw out a bum that they don't agree with.

Conservatives are now all about how the people are rejecting. Trudeau, and liberals are about how they rejected. Harper.

There is a truth in between the model of the citizenry as an uninformed lumpen mass, and the community of publics that we have designed for.

My thinking on this is that collective decisions, if guided well, provide a better grounding for governance.

I actually think the collective will of voters is a lot wiser and makes better decisions than the vast majority of politicians and parties.  They usually make the right decisions come election time.  Usually.

The collective will is typically not extreme, nor prone to radical or stupid ideas.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley
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