September 07, 2005
In Defense of Elitism
Quoted from the book of the same name by William A. Henry III.
Gradually and reluctantly, however, I realized that the wrath directed at elitism has less to do with money than with populist, egalitarian scorn for the very kinds of intellectual distinction-making I hold most dear: respect and even deference toward leadership and position; esteem for accomplishment, especially when achieved through long labor and rigorous education; reverence for heritage, particularly in history, philosophy, and culture; commitment to rationalism and scientific investigation; upholding of objective standards; most important, the willingness to assert unyieldingly that one idea, contribution or attainment is better than another. [p. 2]
No comment on this one:
Anyone who has ever spent a week involved in personnel matters knows that there is hardly an employee alive who sees his sidetracking as resulting from his own weakness. [p. 15]
Also note that the book--published in 1994 (I found the copy I read 11 years ago in my bedroom in my parents' house!)--quotes Mickey Kaus (p. 23). Mickey Kaus! He existed before the blogosphere did?
Posted by Morgan at 01:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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