Has anyone here read "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life"

[Cary]

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Intellectualism-American-Life-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394703170

I read it many years ago. If I recall correctly Hofstadter says that the phenomena was not unique to any political party or ideology, but until recently I would have sworn that if not unique it was certainly a hallmark of "conservatives" and not liberals. I admit my error, assuming our erstwhile fellow lefties are bonafide liberals.

I have to revisit this book soon. Has anyone read anything more current on the subject?

[DevonRex]

1. Sounds interesting. And since I have some Amazon money to spend

I'm gonna get it.

I grew up in a republican family and believed their ideology until I left home. It was a good education and going into the military that taught me how wrong my parents and siblings were. And somehow I thought that all democrats must be smarter and fairer than republicans.

Somehow I think folks on both sides have become addicted to drama and the instant gratification of outrage. And that certainly doesn't help advance intellectualism, does it?

[NJmaverick]

2. It's always been my belief that people in this Country tend to be intellectually lazy

most people prefer to be told what to think, rather than take the effort to research, think about and then form one's own opinion. As a result of this laziness the simpler the idea or concept the more appealing it will be (rather than based on any sort of merit). In fact this tendency causes massive over simplification of complex issues.

The Republicans were the first to head down this path. First you had the Rush Limbaugh era where simple slogans and talking points ruled. That has been replaced by the completely emotional and now intellectually devoid tea bagger movement.

Now we are seeing the liberals heading down a similar path. Complex issues like the HCR bill are broken down to "Public option= Good; No Public Option = Bad". That's not the best way to address these issues, but for those that are not too keen on putting out the intellectual effort, there is a huge appeal.

[Cary]

3. "Now we are seeing the liberals heading down a similar path."

Yes, and that's why I posted this.

Another interesting perspective is William F. Buckley's "God and Man At Yale." Of course I disagree with almost everything Buckely ever said, but at least he's conversant.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

4. It's one of my favorites

Did that sound overly nerdy? I'm a big Richard Hofstadter fan - it was a huge loss to have him die so prematurely. I'm sure that even though his published works are impressive, his best was yet to come. We'll never know.

And you're right. As I recall, he documents the difficulties that the Labor Movement in the 1930's had trying to connect with the leftist intellectuals who would have been its natural allies. And it was Hofstadter's work that showed me there was a distinct anti-intellectual strain in American Populism (in addition to anti-semitism). It made me realize that when Pat Buchanan calls himself a populist, he's probably not that far from the actual, historical definition.