> There's an idea on the left that the really good stuff should
> percolate up from below, and the duty of intellectuals is to listen
> and learn from such but I really would love some concrete examples.
The writing of Zora Neale Hurston, Tillie Olsen, and RB Traven, any music worth listening to.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that all the good stuff percolates up from below. But the fact is that the process of education is largely a process of indoctrination and stultification, with the result that fresh ideas and perspectives are few and far between.
Joanna