Sunday, October 31, 2021

Why do politicians embrace anti-intellectualism and do these same politicians regret their actions?

Asked on Quora. My answer.

I am not sure what is meant by the phrase anti-intellectualism anymore. The term has been so abused that it appears to have lost meaning. If you are referring to an opposition against various avenues of intellectual/elitist idealism than the reasons are obvious.

All too often these ideals lack empirical support and prejudice the ‘ought’ over the ‘is’. Many are formulated on assumptions that fall short when tested in reality. However they have the potential to cause great harm at the local level by their zealous drive in removing necessary structures that have working utility.

Opposition is usually a function of resisting the tendency to fix what is not broken. As for the signs of regret..that is a consequence of the individual dynamic. Who knows what goes through a person’s mind? People have different motivations.

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