Intellectuals and Society

By: Thomas Sowell

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2009 Thomas Sowell (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A book that my son must read

An insightful book and top ten of books I will one day recommend my son read before going at it on his own

One of Sowell's finest

Thomas Sowell paints a clear picture of the effect of the intelligencia in this country and on the world. He goes in depth on how they have shaped outcomes of war, politics, and social issues. This is a must-read for any fan of Sowell.

Intellectuals searching for wisdom should read

Highly recommend this book for everyone wanting to understand just a little more of how the world works, in particular how the education system and media has been hijacked over the last 100 years by the elitists that look upon themselves as better fit to rule as a group vs letting people have individual freedom.

Excellent

Very good description of intelligentsia vs common sense in society. Seeking control vs incremental advancement of society.

definitely a required reading

this should be a required reading as you could fill an entire year worth of educational exercises on how peddling hypocrisy and revisionist history are mainstays of the current republican party. By engaging in the same criticisms he supposedly levels against his opponents, this book can be summed up summarily as "intelligentsia is everything that has resulted in everything bad in all moments in history"

yet, he carves out special reverence for Maynard Keynes, freidman, and others that he would never bother to criticize. ideas promoted by both bushes, Peterson, and trump would fall squarely within his framework yet he would never admit so and says that the intelligentsia of the contemporary right are just restoring some decency to tithe overabundance of liberal intelligentsia.

yet the intelligentsia in both sides, whom i would place Sowell in with that same category since he arbitrarily places people in without ever clearly defining what is the criteria for being included in that category, peddle in the same nonsense of moral aptitudes and appealing to whatever version of justice they submit themselves to while, in his own words, filtering out all information to the contrary.

like I said, this should be a required reading for all those interested in how someone could be so blind to their own hypocrisy and how far they are willing to distort and twist reality and cherry pick historical fact to fit their narrative.

yes

you have time. listen to this. it will change your life. no one is messing with Thomas Sowell. your welcome.

The most lucid thinker of our time

I amazed by how accurately Thomas Sowell diagnosed the maladies of our society - way before the last decade in which the madness is beyond imagination. God knows how we can stop the habit of using and overusing the "social justice card" to justify harmful policies.

Common sense in abundance

A brilliant recounting of history with many examples to illustrate his points which often go unanswered

Dr. Thomas Sowell is a national treasure

I continue to write reviews of the very best of the many hundreds books in my Audible library that I listened to before I started routinely writing reviews. Intellectuals and Society is fits in that category.

Sowell is a PhD economist who also is black. His economics books are best read and studied in printed format, but his books, columns, and essays on history, culture, and and current events are a great fit for the audiobook format. Dr. Sowell is now in his 80's but he remains prolific. On my list of public people I most admire he ranks #1!

In this audiobook Sowell makes the case that most intellectuals are arrogant and lack common sense, and that their views have far more sway on public opinion and policy than is justified. His case is a strong one that is supported by a multitude of examples.

Flawed thinking creates flawed social experiments

This book shows the folly of what happens when it's easier to concentrate power than knowledge -- social engineering that backfires.

"Intellectuals" "who romanticize cultures which leave the world in poverty, disease and chaos, trash cultures that lead the world in prosperity, medical advances and law and order." They look the other way when masses flee societies they romanticize. They look away when tough stances against aggression may nip war in the bud and wait until the bombs are falling on them to act. They encourage the poor to blame poverty on the rich, a tragically detrimental view that discourages the self-examination that might lead them to make fundamental changes in their own lives instead.

The group he focuses on are the people whose narrow view is limited to the wrongs they see around them and attribute to some evil in the American system. Yet they ignore the broad perspective of human behavior and cultures in their context. This leads to seriously flawed thinking and social experiments we're better off without.

Well supported and thoughtfully presented.