Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell

Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell offers a less than complimentary description of intellectuals and their influence on western culture.  He adopts a narrow definition of an intellectual as a person who makes a living by presenting ideas without the need to have an output that can be measured objectively as does a doctor, engineer or basketball coach.  The intellectuals are often experts in their field but gain recognition by offering ideas and suggested solutions outside their specific area of expertise.  They seek the approval of other like minded individuals and view opposition by people with common knowledge as a badge of honor.

Intellectual proposals often deal with the abstract without understanding the specifics or common knowledge about the situation.  As an example: The desire for peace can be translated into the axiom that war is bad and should be avoided at all costs.  The intellectual will proposes that if we disarm then no one will want to fight us.  This strategy may work fine if the opposition has the warm friendly disposition of Barney the Dinosaur.  If the opposition is a James Bond like villain or a country ruled by an autocrat with dreams of world domination then the practical application has a downside. The opposition will be very pleased to take over and leave us with the comforting phrase, "Better Red than Dead".  In this sense, the Hunger Games may be considered an anti-intellectual film and book series. 

The author proposes that the efforts to inspire pacifism and promote a reduced sense of patriotism by well meaning intellectuals in France contributed to the relatively easy victory by the Germans over France in WWII.  In the first World War, France fought Germany to a stalemate. In the second, Hitler overruled his generals and correctly assumed that French soldiers did not have the sense of pride in country needed to defend it.  We see similar issues with Iraqi soldiers initially not doing well against smaller number of ISIS fighters where as patriotic Kurdish fighters hold up quiet well because they have a sense of group cohesiveness and a willingness to defend their group.

The book has a conservative edge to it, but makes a compelling argument that we listen to the advice of individuals outside their area of expertise at our own peril. 

Thomas Sowell - Intellectuals and War - 7 minutes