Intellectuals and society

This is a study of how intellectuals as a class affect modern societies by shaping the climate of opinion in which official policies develop, on issues ranging from economics to law to war and peace. The thesis of Intellectuals and Society is that the influence of intellectuals is not only greater than in previous eras but also takes a very different form from that envisioned by those like Machiavelli and others who have wanted to directly influence rulers. It has not been by shaping the opinions or directing the actions of the holders of power that modern intellectuals have most influenced the course of events, but by shaping public opinion in ways that affect the actions of power holders in democratic societies, whether or not those power holders accept the general vision or the particular policies favored by intellectuals. Even government leaders with disdain or contempt for intellectuals have had to bend to the climate of opinion shaped by those intellectuals. Intellectuals and Society not only examines the track record of intellectuals in the things they have advocated but also analyzes the incentives and constraints under which their views and visions have emerged. One of the most surprising aspects of this study is how often intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society-and how little their views have changed in response to empirical evidence of the disasters entailed by those views.… (more)

Media reviews

The New Republic

Let’s get my judgment of Thomas Sowell’s new book out of the way first. There is not a single interesting idea in its more than three-hundred pages.

User reviews

LibraryThing member WhitmelB

Thomas Sowell is one of my favorite writers and he does not disappoint this time. Intellectuals influence policy makers in powerful ways and yet bear no responsibility for the outcomes of their influence. They traffic in ideas but not action.

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LibraryThing member lisacronista

This is the book that introduced me to mid-20th century history. I had no understanding of why the U.S. annexed Puerto Rico, why we jumped into WWI, why Europe appeased Hitler, or why it took us way too long to enter WWII to stop Hitler.

More recently, intellectuals have deceived many of us into

incorrect views of public figures, such as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. They say he is a recluse when in fact he is the most hospitable and sociable of all the justices.

The folly intellectualism has been repeated continuously throughout history and has caused senseless suffering from society to society. How nice it would be if we would learn from our mistakes, but instead we forget the lessons of the past and repeat the same nonsense. Modern intellectualism is an oxymoron -- and it's pure foolishness.

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LibraryThing member Kendall41

A very disappointing and misleading book. Without close examination, it looks like a serious study of the role of intellectuals. It isn't. It is a screed. First promoting various notions which have seized Right Wing America, then showing how, through history, the same impulse has destroyed just

about everything it touches. There are interesting ideas in the book, but the interesting ones are old. Where ideas are new, they're tendentious or selective or straw men.

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LibraryThing member jwhenderson

This is a study of the affect of intellectuals on modern society. The author argues that intellectuals shape public opinion in ways that have deleterious effects on the direction of our society. The conclusion from Sowell's analysis is that intellectuals are often proven wrong in their

prescriptions for solving the ills of society. Moreover they often ignore the reality of empirical evidence. This is a challenging and thought-provoking book.

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LibraryThing member librisissimo

Sowell is a highly respected economist and columnist. He is also one of a few black conservatives in public life.

LibraryThing member DrT

9-2-23 Book title and author: Intellectuals and Society: Revised and Expanded edition.

Why I picked this book up: the first Sowell book I read hooked me so I bought 3 more at an inexpensive price and this was my next Sowell book.

Thoughts: Intellectuals and Society examines the record of these

(intellectuals) defined as “idea workers” and the conditions, methods and incentives driving their points of view that, according to Sowell, have often resulted in disaster for societies where intellectuals have been allowed "undue influence". Sowell is a fantastic, in depth and also broad reader with deep understanding and was very educational for me and as a Libitarian conservative and me being a conservative we were on the same page a lot.

Working with ideas only, lack of real accountability, narrow and specialized knowledge they attempt to influence society, public opinion, media, sports stars for example, Intellectual climate of distortion and misinformation, he is great as pointing out historical examples, he shows what I took as reasoning and evidence of what has been going on and we do not know from where this all comes, from society, from politics or maybe it is circular?

Why I finished this read: I appreciated his mind, writing style and rhe expectations of how this has been happening.

Stars rating: 5 of 5 stars.

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LibraryThing member gmicksmith

This is a cogent and articulate expression of ideas by one of America's prominent thinkers. Intellectuals are dedicated to shaping public opinion in ways that affect the actions of power holders in democratic societies, whether or not those power holders accept the general vision or the particular

policies favored by intellectuals. As a recovering academic, I understand at first-hand how the author shows that usually intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society.

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