Where have all the intellectuals gone?

Author: Dai Rongrong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: A war against the mediocre had long been overdue. — This short, sharp book shocked me, and it has shocked every person I've recommended it to. If the author hoped to fill an empty coffee shop with this book, he succeeded. — Amazon review
For a while, I have deeply felt the confusion of intellectuals and been troubled by it, a feeling that seems to afflict many in our cultural institutions, universities, and colleges. The public has the right to hear high-quality academic discussions from our cultural institutions, and as an audience with infinite potential, they should be given greater respect. This book is written for the many intelligent men and women who yearn for a more challenging intellectual and cultural life. It is not a lament for the golden age of academic life being gone forever. We have not become idiots. We have many unforgettable works of art and scientific achievements, and we continue to make outstanding discoveries. This book aims to examine the ways in which we are currently developing ideas, educating the public, and shaping a new public, while simultaneously questioning the anti-democratic and protectionist foundations of contemporary education and cultural politics—that is, portraying mass participation as incompatible with maintaining high standards. I believe that today's cultural elites have inwardly accepted this view, which has led to the rise of a mediocre attitude toward academic life and a harmful instrumentalist attitude. A culture that tends to equate discussion with the tedious exchange of professional opinions will suffer from indifference and social alienation. Since all of this is indeed crucial, a cultural war against the mediocre had long been overdue. — Frank Furedi
Intellectuals are a dangerous breed. In the view of learned, broad-minded scholars who are concerned with public issues, such as Bertrand Russell, Raymond Williams, and Hannah Arendt, today we only have shallow experts, superficial orators, and deceptive doctors. In the age of the knowledge economy, we have combined widespread participation in higher education with boring culture. In this book, the author delivers a sharp satire and critique of the mediocre trend and practice that, under the banner of "anti-elitism," emphasizes widespread participation to the detriment of intellectuals, the dumbing down of cultural fields, and cultural vulgarization. It explains the essential contributions of intellectuals to culture and democracy and attempts to tell us why, today, we need to rebuild a public sphere where intellectuals and the general public can dialogue.