The rise of the [pseudo]intelligentsia classes

[Typhoon]

Geoff Chambers | Weak minds think alike

In just over a half a century the percentage of graduates in the twenties age group has risen from a few percent to 20-30%. Graduates in my crusty generation of baby boomers were always conscious of being members of a privileged minority (about 5% in the sixties I believe) and of the fact that the most talented members of our generation (Lennon, Jagger) only entered college to drop out again. Todd points out that when graduates are counted in millions, accounting for 20-30% of an age group, they cease to be a dispersed minority and become an autonomous class, with their own culture and ideology, firmly anchored on the centre left and in the professional classes, but largely transcending traditional social categories.

Whether in hippy commune or government-sponsored think tank, they share a common belief in their superiority to the undiploma-ed masses. They notoriously rule the centre left parties, having all but ousted their traditional working class core, and have, via their control of academia and the media, imposed their ideologies on society at large: (pro-Europeanism and wilful blindness to the effects of uncontrolled immigration at the expense of the working class; militant sexual liberalism at the expense of the feelings of religious minorities; climate catastrophism at the expense of scientific rigour and common sense). Their disdain for the common man was long masked by their leftwing pose, but their reaction to the victory of the Brexit campaign has brought it out in the open.

In my experience this group is remarkably scientifically, technologically, and economically ignorant.

[Nonc Hilaire]

Geoff Chambers | Weak minds think alike

In just over a half a century the percentage of graduates in the twenties age group has risen from a few percent to 20-30%. Graduates in my crusty generation of baby boomers were always conscious of being members of a privileged minority (about 5% in the sixties I believe) and of the fact that the most talented members of our generation (Lennon, Jagger) only entered college to drop out again. Todd points out that when graduates are counted in millions, accounting for 20-30% of an age group, they cease to be a dispersed minority and become an autonomous class, with their own culture and ideology, firmly anchored on the centre left and in the professional classes, but largely transcending traditional social categories.

Whether in hippy commune or government-sponsored think tank, they share a common belief in their superiority to the undiploma-ed masses. They notoriously rule the centre left parties, having all but ousted their traditional working class core, and have, via their control of academia and the media, imposed their ideologies on society at large: (pro-Europeanism and wilful blindness to the effects of uncontrolled immigration at the expense of the working class; militant sexual liberalism at the expense of the feelings of religious minorities; climate catastrophism at the expense of scientific rigour and common sense). Their disdain for the common man was long masked by their leftwing pose, but their reaction to the victory of the Brexit campaign has brought it out in the open.

In my experience this group is remarkably scientifically, technologically, and economically ignorant.

Paradoxicaly, free higher education in the European model might help. No more university seats sold, leaving far fewer seats to be earned in a meritocratic setting. NMSQT qualifying scores would become career critical.

[Simple Minded]

Outstanding article. Thanks for posting Typhoon. I may have to add Geoff Chambers to my list of favorite intellectual wiseguys, like Thomas Sowell and Victor Davis Hansen.

It seems obvious that belief in Climate Change is a religion. Ask a True Believer to measure the temperature of an acre of Earth to a hundredth of a degree over 24 hours and you will get a response similar to the response a Christian would give if you disparage Jesus. But the entire Earth for millennia (not Trump's wife), sure, no problem. Tree rings and ice cores are all calibrated to 3 or 4 significant digits.

" Qui Est Charlie? was largely written off in the French media as a bilious anti-Hollande pamphlet. In fact it is a densely written sociological thesis, as are all his books. And it introduces one new theoretical concept which seems particularly apposite to the analysis of climate catastrophism: the explanation of how a weak affect arising from an unconscious social structure can be transformed into a strong social force."
- straight out of Elliott Wave Theory, the "intellectuals are herding cause their amygdala's are guiding them.

“It’s easy to imagine such characteristics in the case of far right politicians; or Moslem fundamentalists, or militant atheists, but how can you explain them in the case of people who place themselves on the centre left? The President of the Republic for example, is someone easy-going, insignificant, “an ordinary bloke”, according to his own description. "
- Herding is not thinking, it is responding to the feelings of their peers.

"Todd goes on to suggest that weakly held beliefs (such as the fundamentally inegalitarian world view unconsciously held by recently converted socialists emanating from a “Catholic Zombie” background) are particuarly prone to being transmitted in the holders’ milieu by a kind of mimetism: the weaker, the vaguer the idea, the more easily it can be adopted by the surrounding milieu. And Todd cites his personal experience of being able, in one-to-one conversation, to persuade a pro-European that current EU policies can only lead to the sacrifice of Southern European countries on the altar of a German ideal of economic rigour. But once the conversation terminated, the interlocutors revert to their (firmly held, because socially determined)[/i] belief in the importance of maintaining the Euro at any price, suppressing political dissent in recalcitrant countries, "

Emotion not reason rules the unthinking herd.

http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/?p=1275

[YMix]

Homie Zizek keepin' it real:

[...]

Zizek: I don’t agree with the usual left-liberal attitude of dismissing all this as just lower-class populism, racism or fascism. Walter Benjamin put it clearly: ‘Behind every fascism there is a failed revolution.’ What is this discontent of the so-called ordinary people in Western Europe? How do we address this? These left-liberals do not want to address it. They just bemoan the fact that Europe is losing its heart. This is my greatest reproach to what I call the left-liberals: the worse the situation gets, the more they feel morally superior. They like to emphasise a sense of horror about Europe becoming fascist. Well, what are they effectively doing to prevent this horror?

[...]

That’s why some post-colonialists attack me so much. We have global capitalism, we have to ask ourselves how do we move over it. Is it that we accept that we have to move through it in the sense of modernisation, secularisation? And that this is the only consequential Marxist view? Or should we play this game and demand that the European Enlightenment is discredited on account of the horrors that it caused, and argue that, today, the only resistance to global capitalism can come from Third World, indigenous traditions: African traditions, Latin-American traditions, etc.

I do not buy this second version, not only because it is ineffective, but because I think it fits perfectly with where global capitalism is moving today. There is absolutely nothing subversive in this idea that we should preserve or revive some old tradition of communal meetings, the solidarity of the whole community over individual rights. I don’t believe there’s any substantial emancipatory potential in this. China is doing this today. I had a debate recently in Amsterdam with one of the Chinese political thinkers whose line of thought was that, ‘you in the West have a destructive modernity because your modernity is too much in this Cartesian, individual-rights, competitive vein. But we, the Chinese, succeeded in combining modernity with ancient Confucian traditions.’ I don’t buy this.

[...]

Zizek: I do think racism and sexism are problems today. But I do not like the culturalisation of racism, where the problem becomes one of tolerance. If you read speeches by Martin Luther King, and search for the world tolerance, you’ll find that it is practically absent. He did not perceive racism in terms of tolerance, but in terms of economics and politics. He saw that this was the core of the argument. What I hate today is this automatic association of racism with tolerance – ‘we do not tolerate their way of life, we should understand it more’. This is culturalisation.

For me, the problem with racism in the US is not that we are not open enough towards black people. The problem is that they are systematically marginalised because of their economic situation. The problem is not one of tolerance. We have a real problem with racism, but the way in which we perceive this problem mystifies it.

Another example is harassment. Of course, I am against harassment, but I was quite surprised at how often it is a very double-edged notion. My time in the US taught me that it can also have a very clear class dimension. For many middle-class academics and liberals, harassment means they cannot really stand the presence of vulgar, aggressive, ordinary people. Crying harassment is a way for the upper-middle classes – academics, intellectuals and liberals – to keep their distance from ordinary people.

[...]

Zizek: I am a pessimist in this regard. I agree with you about the limit of identity politics. I am especially sceptical of it, and here I follow Gilles Deleuze, who said it is absolutely crucial to maintain a link with universality. The true danger comes with the reasoning that only a lesbian single mother can understand what it means to be a lesbian single mother, or that only a gay man can understand what it means to be gay. I think such a view, such an undermining of universality, is catastrophic. I see no emancipatory potential in relying on, or referring to, your own particular identity as beyond criticism, as an unquestionable identity.

We have two types of identity: multicultural identitarian politics and the identity of migrants. But why is there such a tension between the two? Precisely because they are, at the same time, radically different and uncannily close. They move in the same terrain – the terrain of strict control. For example, in most religious fundamentalisms, sex relations are strictly codified. But, in a way, the same thing is happening with our political correctness – the way we are allowed to approach someone’s sexual identity, and the way we talk about it, is so tightly controlled.

Although they are radically opposed, the politically correct attitude and religious fundamentalism share this characteristic of strict control. On both extremes, we have strict control over how to proceed, what is prohibited, how quickly you approach a barrier. But human interaction does not work this way. All rules can be twisted.

[...]

http://www.spiked-online.com/spiked-rev ... 5iQvMvmjqA

[Parodite]

I like Zigzag...any link link to what he thinks is wrong with global capitalism and what should change and how?

[Simple Minded]

Geoff Chambers | Weak minds think alike

In my experience this group is remarkably scientifically, technologically, and economically ignorant.

Good point. Rigorous disciplined thinking has destroyed some really, really good ideas, and is probably responsible for most of the problems in the world today, at least according to the Idealists.

Science is racist, sexist, and all kinds of ist.

[Typhoon]

Geoff Chambers | Weak minds think alike

In my experience this group is remarkably scientifically, technologically, and economically ignorant.

Good point. Rigorous disciplined thinking has destroyed some really, really good ideas, and is probably responsible for most of the problems in the world today, at least according to the Idealists.

Science is racist, sexist, and all kinds of ist.

The professional societies in the physical sciences are forever going on about the lack of women in the field,
invariably citing some form of "sexism" as the cause,
yet in the life sciences women constitute roughly half and in the health sciences they are a dominant majority.

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-sciences

Sexism certainly existed back in the day of Emmy Noether and Marie Curie,
whereas today physical science academic faculties are falling over each other in their rush to hire women.
Yet the meme persists.

____

Alan Sokal, a physicist, carried out the classic exposé of the of the conceptual foundations of chattering classes referred to in the article and in my quote:

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/weinberg.html

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/transg ... efile.html

[Simple Minded]

Geoff Chambers | Weak minds think alike

In my experience this group is remarkably scientifically, technologically, and economically ignorant.

Good point. Rigorous disciplined thinking has destroyed some really, really good ideas, and is probably responsible for most of the problems in the world today, at least according to the Idealists.

Science is racist, sexist, and all kinds of ist.

The professional societies in the physical sciences are forever going on about the lack of women in the field,
invariably citing some form of "sexism" as the cause,
yet in the life sciences women constitute roughly half and in the health sciences they are a dominant majority.

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-sciences

Sexism certainly existed back in the day of Emmy Noether and Marie Curie,
whereas today physical science academic faculties are falling over each other in their rush to hire women.
Yet the meme persists.

____

Alan Sokal, a physicist, carried out the classic exposé of the of the conceptual foundations of chattering classes referred to in the article and in my quote:

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/weinberg.html

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/transg ... efile.html

True enough. I have been on the interviewer end of talking to totally unqualified applicants who were selected to be interviewed due only to group identity. When they can't answer basic science/engineering questions, but brag about their extensive involvement in student activist groups, that is a big clue. I remember thinking "So that's what you were doing instead of studying."

Thanks for the links. I look forward to getting someone to read them to me.

That's the problem with science. It does not take into account feelings and group identity. Everyone "knows" gravity oppresses some (fat people) more than others, and that mathematics is inherently and brutally insensitive. Some day we shall overcome....

[Parodite]

SM, you lazy darling. You should read those links Typhoon provided. They are gems. In order to stay ahead of the curve and be able to buy a new pair of socks occasionally.

[Simple Minded]

SM, you lazy darling. You should read those links Typhoon provided. They are gems. In order to stay ahead of the curve and be able to buy a new pair of socks occasionally.

did it! I broke free of the oppressive, objectivitst nature of Reality (not sure you know, but 99% of Americans are oppressed by Reality) for an hour and a half, and read them. You are correct, they are gems and I admire Sokal's and Weinberg's intelligence and sense of humor. Probably to fully appreciate what Sokal did would require many hours or years of study on my part, and you are again right, I am just too lazy to do it.

No surprise that some "intellectuals" are as human as the rest of us. They seek confirmation bias, insulate themselves with like thinking peers, and they will publish whatever sells in the current market. What sayeth you Typhoon, have you ever been to a scientific seminar that seemed more like a church revival designed to lead the strays back to the flock?

BTW Parodite, you have now reached equality in OTNOT psychic status with Napster. I have been telling my wife for about I week now I need to order some more socks. These are my favorite:

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Toe-Ultra-S ... 60_TE_dp_1

Problem is, right now, gray does not seem to be available, so I'm still in a holding pattern. Oppressed by reality again.....

[YMix]

I like Zigzag...any link link to what he thinks is wrong with global capitalism and what should change and how?

I'm reading The Venetian Money Market (I had the amazing fortune to find a very cheap copy of the book) and the sub-chapter on regulation reminded me of your posts on banking. You'll be pleased to know that these issues have been discussed off and on since at least the XIVth century and that we have yet to find an answer.

[Typhoon]

. . .
What sayeth you Typhoon, have you ever been to a scientific seminar that seemed more like a church revival designed to lead the strays back to the flock?
. . .

Some seminars in supersymmetry and string theory.

_____

I had the pleasure of attending a talk by Ilya Prigogine [mentioned by Weinberg] a long time ago.

In preparation, I read his book From Being to Becoming.
One of the few books I've read where I could not figure out what the author was trying to get across.
Was even more confused after the lecture. It made as much sense to me as the postmodern deconstructionists quoted by Sokal.
Talking to my colleagues after the talk, it was clear that I was not alone.

That being said, Prigogine is known for his seminal work in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, especially the concept of such non-dissipative systems* attaining stability by exporting entropy.

*One example is life. You only attain thermodynamic equilibrium when you're dead.