The Courage to be Utopian

Mises Daily:Tuesday, July 02, 2013 by Lawrence J. McQuillan

In “The Intellectuals and Socialism,”[1] Nobel laureate F.A Hayek shows how ideas gain acceptance in modern society. More importantly, he shows how to win the battle of ideas against supporters of big government. His thoughts provide us with an Independence Day meditation.

Over the long run, public intellectuals—Hayek called them “professional secondhand dealers in ideas”—wield an “all-pervasive” influence on public policy and politics by shaping public opinion.

A public intellectual need not be an original thinker, scholar, or expert in a field. He need not possess special knowledge or be particularly intelligent. But a public intellectual can readily talk and write on a wide range of subjects and he becomes acquainted with new ideas sooner than others. They serve as intermediaries in the spread of ideas.  Such intellectuals include journalists, teachers, ministers, lecturers, publicists; radio, television, and online commentators; writers of fiction, cartoonists, artists, actors, and even scientists and doctors who speak outside their fields of expertise…. Public intellectuals are the gatekeepers of ideas in modern society, and voters tend to follow them in the long run….. “It is no exaggeration to say that, once the more active part of the intellectuals has been converted to a set of beliefs, the process by which these become generally accepted is almost automatic and irresistible. .....What appeals to him are the broad visions, the spacious comprehension of the social order as a whole which a planned system promises.” …To Read More….

My Take – Original thinking is twofold; nuts and bolts thinkers who develop new products and services that benefit mankind and vacuous armchair intellectuals.  The first absolutely requires facts and understanding of how things actually work in order to achieve success.  The second merely dream dreams without any concept or understanding of how anything works in the real world.  Nor do they care because their ‘vision’ is so pure it can’t be contaminated with facts; just like the infamous five year plans implemented by Stalin that starved millions to death.  To them it’s the implementation of the dream that counts; not the outcome.