The public intellectual, as a person and ideal, has a long and storied history. Writing in venues like the New Republic and Commentary, such intellectuals were always expected to opine on a broad array of topics, from foreign policy to literature to economics. Yet in recent years a new kind of thinker has supplanted that archetype: the thought leader. Equipped with one big idea...
The public intellectual, as a person and ideal, has a long and storied history. Writing in venues like the New Republic and Commentary, such intellectuals were always expected to opine on a broad array of topics, from foreign policy to literature to economics. Yet in recent years a new kind of thinker has supplanted that archetype: the thought leader. Equipped with one big idea, thought leaders focus their energies on TED talks rather than highbrow periodicals.
How did this shift happen? In The Ideas Industry, Daniel W. Drezner points to the roles of political polarization, heightened inequality, and eroding trust in authority as ushering in the change. In contrast to public intellectuals, thought leaders gain fame as single-idea merchants. Their ideas are often laudable and highly ambitious: ending global poverty by 2025, for example. But instead of a class composed of university professors and freelance intellectuals debating in highbrow magazines, thought leaders often work through institutions that are closed to the public. They are more immune to criticism--and in this century, the criticism of public intellectuals also counts for less.
Three equally important factors that have reshaped the world of ideas have been waning trust in expertise, increasing political polarization and plutocracy. The erosion of trust has lowered the barriers to entry in the marketplace of ideas. Thought leaders don't need doctorates or fellowships to advance their arguments. Polarization is hardly a new phenomenon in the world of ideas, but in contrast to their predecessors, today's intellectuals are more likely to enjoy the support of ideologically friendly private funders and be housed in ideologically-driven think tanks. Increasing inequality as a key driver of this shift: more than ever before, contemporary plutocrats fund intellectuals and idea factories that generate arguments that align with their own. But, while there are certainly some downsides to the contemporary ideas industry, Drezner argues that it is very good at broadcasting ideas widely and reaching large audiences of people hungry for new thinking. Both fair-minded and trenchant, The Ideas Industry will reshape our understanding of contemporary public intellectual life in America and the West.
作者简介
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Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Prior to Fletcher, he taught at the University of Chicago and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has previously held positions with Civic Education Project, the RAND Corporation and the U.S...
Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Prior to Fletcher, he taught at the University of Chicago and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has previously held positions with Civic Education Project, the RAND Corporation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and received fellowships from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Harvard University. He received his B.A. in political economy from Williams College and an M.A. in economics and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Drezner is the author of four books -- most recently, Theories of International Politics and Zombies -- and the editor of two others. He has published articles in numerous scholarly journals as well as in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New Republic, and Foreign Affairs. Time magazine named Drezner's blog as one of the best in 2012. For more about Drezner and his work, visit his website at www.danieldrezner.com.
暴露的问题很现实，政治极化、社交媒体、贫富差距带来的问题：思想产业中的“思想”慢慢让步于“产业”进而丧失了专业、客观、批判性。但也没有给出很好的建设性意见，把intellectual分成thought leader和public intellectual似乎没那么站得住脚，而且全文对后者的偏好也透露出了各个领域经典的对“old golden age”的怀念。
People always wish to express themselves. What they wish to express stands for their thoughts. Thoughts stands for their passion. We don't yet know the content of the book. But, what it starts is rather impressing: The Pessimists, the Patrisans, and The Plu...
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南京大学出版社2018版
天使洢洢
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南京大学出版社2018版
1 有用 Cooltree 2019-01-26 15:18:11
相当的精彩 深刻 怀旧而不恋往，有批评和建设性意见。思想市场万岁 思想产业化 断舍离吧。
0 有用 SuSo 2017-07-30 05:10:24
Lopsided depiction of thought leaders. Could it be that public intellectuals are truly missing nowadays? Doesn't this support the nostalgia?
0 有用 聚丙烯基大冬瓜 2023-11-30 23:33:31 北京
暴露的问题很现实，政治极化、社交媒体、贫富差距带来的问题：思想产业中的“思想”慢慢让步于“产业”进而丧失了专业、客观、批判性。但也没有给出很好的建设性意见，把intellectual分成thought leader和public intellectual似乎没那么站得住脚，而且全文对后者的偏好也透露出了各个领域经典的对“old golden age”的怀念。
0 有用 Summer 2021-06-07 10:11:29
整本书压抑不住的作者的强烈表达欲，“快看我，听我讲”。书的内容可以简单总结为作者关于思想产业方方面面的个人观点，结构比较碎片化，同时也缺乏有深度的讨论。时不时确实有一些精辟的评论，不过也仅此而已。第二部分的最后两章例外，那两章关于think tank和management consulting的介绍和讨论还蛮有意思的。