Does it exist? Should it exist? How does it compare to the situation in other countries?
Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
1–10 of 39 posts
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#2The sleep of reason produces intellectuals. It is worthwhile making the distinction between a healthy suspicion of the intelligentsia and a hostility to thought.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#3I don't know what you want to discuss, really. Yes, there is a strange element of anti-intellectualism in America. It stems from its form of capitalism and it's a shame really, because America has essentially lost its production capability, so if it doesn't compete intellectually, it's not going to compete at all.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#4Given the prevalence of "college is for suckers" comments in this forum, I'm surprised that you need to ask.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#5I don't know what you want to discuss, really. Yes, there is a strange element of anti-intellectualism in America. It stems from its form of capitalism and it's a shame really, because America has essentially lost its production capability, so if it doesn't compete intellectually, it's not going to compete at all.
Huh? Manufacturing output in the US is at record high levels.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#6Given the prevalence of "college is for suckers" comments in this forum, I'm surprised that you need to ask.
Little known fact: the mortarboard, or "thinking cap", grants all college graduates uncanny powers of logic and memory. It is impossible to become an intellectual without one.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#7I don't know what you want to discuss, really. Yes, there is a strange element of anti-intellectualism in America. It stems from its form of capitalism and it's a shame really, because America has essentially lost its production capability, so if it doesn't compete intellectually, it's not going to compete at all.
Huh? Manufacturing output in the US is at record high levels. http://freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-035es.html
I think what is meant is that the US is not a manufacturing world leader and is not as high as it should/could be.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh? Manufacturing output in the US is at record high levels. http://freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-035es.html
I think what is meant is that the US is not a manufacturing world leader and is not as high as it should/could be.
From the executive summary at the link I provided: "And despite all the stories about the erosion of U.S. manufacturing primacy, the United States remains the world's most prolific manufacturer--producing two and a half times more output than those vaunted Chinese factories in 2006."
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh? Manufacturing output in the US is at record high levels. http://freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-035es.html
I think what is meant is that the US is not a manufacturing world leader and is not as high as it should/could be.
It's true that we were the world leader once upon a time. From the 20's to the early 40's, we had a major competitive advantage: our factories didn't explode much, whereas European and Japanese factories did. In the late 30's and early 40's, there were also trade barriers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat, http://www.navy.mil) preventing the US from receiving Japanese and European exports.
However, in 1945, Europe and Japan figured out how to build non-exploding factories. The trade barriers were also removed. We retained our competitive advantage for some time after that, since it took them time to build up an industrial base.
But it is silly to expect us to be world leaders to the extent we were back then. That epidemic of factory explosions was a one time occurrence.
Re: Anti-intellectualism in American Culture
#10Given the prevalence of "college is for suckers" comments in this forum, I'm surprised that you need to ask.
There may be a fair amount of criticism of college as it exists today on news.YC, but I think it's also fair to say that the average poster here is not hostile to knowledge itself.