内容简介
Thisisaclear-eyedcritiqueabout(butnotfor)intellectualsthatexplorestheirimpactonpublicopinion,policyandsocietyatlarge.Thisisastudyofhowintellectualsasaclassaffectmodernsocietiesbyshapingtheclimateofopinioninwhichofficialpoliciesdevelop,onissuesrangingfromeconomicstolawtowarandpeace.ThethesisofIntellectualsandSocietyisthattheinfluenceofintellectualsisnotonlygreaterthaninpreviouseras,butalsotakesaverydifferentformfromthatenvisionedbythoselikeMachiavelliandotherswhohavewantedtodirectlyinfluencerulers.Ithasnotbeenbyshapingtheopinionsordirectingtheactionsoftheholdersofpowerthatmodernintellectualshavemostinfluencedthecourseofevents,butbyshapingpublicopinioninwaysthataffecttheactionsofpowerholdersindemocraticsocieties,whetherornotthosepowerholdersacceptthegeneralvisionortheparticularpoliciesfavouredbyintellectuals.Evengovernmentleaderswithdisdainorcontemptforintellectualshavehadtobendtotheclimateofopinionshapedbythoseintellectuals."IntellectualsandSociety"notonlyexaminesthetrackrecordofintellectualsinthethingstheyhaveadvocatedbutalsoanalyzestheincentivesandconstraintsunderwhichtheirviewsandvisionshaveemerged.Oneofthemostsurprisingaspectsofthisstudyishowoftenintellectualshavebeenprovednotonlywrongbutgrosslyanddisastrouslywrongintheirprescriptionsfortheillsofsociety-andhowlittletheirviewshavechangedinresponsetoempiricalevidenceofthedisastersentailedbythoseviews.
作者简介
ThomasSowellhastaughteconomicsatCornell,UCLA,Amherstandotheracademicinstitutions,andhisBasicEconomicshasbeentranslatedintosixlanguages.HeiscurrentlyascholarinresidenceattheHooverInstitution,StanfordUniversity.HehaspublishedinbothacademicjournalsandpopularmediaincludingtheWallStreetJournal,ForbesmagazineandFortune,andwritesasyndicatedcolumnthatappearsinnewspapersacrossAmerica.