[lbo-talk] Noam on intellectuals

Charles Brown cbrown at michiganlegal.org
Mon Feb 12 07:09:47 PST 2007


I asked Noam Chomsky to elaborate on his embrace of American anti- intellectualism, and if he considered himself an intellectual. Here's his answer:


> In standard usage, "intellectual" means someone who has sufficient
> privilege, resources, opportunities, etc., so as to be able to
> reach some kind of audience on matters of general human interest.
> Has nothing particular to do with insight, knowledge,
> intelligence,.... By "anti-intellectualism" I meant the strain in
> American culture that doesn't take intellectuals too seriously,
> about the opposite extreme from Paris, where if one of the famed
> "intellectuals" sneezes, there's a front-page story in Le Monde and
> everyone gasps with awe. In these terms, I'm an intellectual, and
> Americans shouldn't take me seriously for that reason. I'm all in
> favor of that.

Me, I don't think an "intellectual" is one with privileges, resources, connections, etc., or shouldn't be. An intellectual is someone with specialized knowledge, the capacity to synthesize facts and ideas into some sort of analysis, the skills to circulate their knowledge and analysis through words and images. Like Noam Chomsky, who deserves to be taken seriously.

Doug

^^^^^^^

CB; Should be possible to come up with two different words to differentiate the two types referred to by Doug and Chomsky. I think Doug is referring to "experts."

Chomsky does focus on a key characteristic of what he is trying to get at - predominantly mental laborers who are "able to reach some kind of audience on matters of general human interest "- i.e. thinkers who are public figures/celebrities/leaders. Not all experts have this characteristic. On the other hand, not all public intellectuals are authentic "experts".

The ideas of any age are the ideas of its ruling classes, still has some impact. Thinking experts still have "patrons" and most are proletarianized , needing jobs. Their bosses largely control their think products. There are some politically independent expert thinkers, their ideas, of course, are not the ideas of the "age" or "decade" or "moment" ever.

Chomsky is unique as a publically respected intellectual who is independent of the ruling class. He _does_ deserve to be taken seriously, and I hope he keeps doing lecture tours until he's 100 years old. Go Chomsky !



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