Utopia and Its New Enemies: Intellectuals, Elitism, and the Commonwealth of Learning

摘要: Intellectuals are a problem, and they should be-both to themselves others. Fortified by this conviction, I was provoked write essay when, while reading The Guardian, came across brief commentary-Julian Baggini's "Wisdom's Folly"-on Plato's account of the trial Socrates, at which latter purportedly proclaims, "the unexamined life is not worth living." After pointing out that maxim "sounds unobjectionable" (par. 1), Baggini goes on suggest actually it profoundly "elitist" because "there would be no need exhort us examine our lives if we did think there were human beings who do not, so have valueless, bestial lives" (par.2). Let consider claim carefully. Of course assuming one's fellow humans "valueless" or "bestial" deplorable-worse than "elitist." Such assumptions bound up in sense personal superiority, enabled social structures often remain unknown unacknowledged. However, decrying position creatures unfavorably different matter. himself points defense his denunciation "examined life" as "[t]he bulk humankind, today history, has been far too busy struggling for survival engage lengthy philosophical analyses" 3). About struggle, least, he right.As type sentence 2012, one fifth global population absolute poverty, unable secure even minimally adequate subsistence, majority world simply poor, scraping urban shanty towns rural villages, with little leisure "lengthy analyses." 1 Nevertheless, suspicion life"-under conditions structural inequality-is merely philosopher's ruse asserting superiority over majority, true, misdirected critique. To sure, could assert so-called intellectuals always dedicated justice; many supported horrendous regimes or, very unwittingly complicit ordinary oppression. Raymond Williams's withering assessment "culture" "teashop" Cambridge supports charge elitism all well.2 But, Williams, such dubious elitist characters exhaust meaning intellectual. His approach dialectical, and, therefore, considers multiple effects totality. As soon follows example, fecund areas start emerge universally bleak landscape: critical function avid participation struggles oppressed. bracket from picture whose propels them toward critique injustice affiliation movements progressive resistance is, willy-nilly, ally-however unintentially-with right-wing populists. all, Ayn Rand novels Fox News produce strikingly similar accusations when denounce supposed university media elite.This convergence usual upshot attitudes historically frequent but lamentable advancing putative "social leveling" (from either "above" "below") administration symbolic actual hemlock-that purging, exiling, ridiculing, ignoring, censoring intellectual "elites" (including whom an accusatory finger, without mentioning hemlock part). This strategy does "equality" desirable sense. will argue instead leveling having depends upon universalizing enable life," or-as Pierre Bourdieu once evocatively put it-the "struggle universalization privileged existence render pursuit universal possible" (110). …