Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?

Cato Online ^ | January, 1998 | Robert Nozick

[arthurus]

Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?

Because they can't control it themselves. Intellectuals are so smart they know that they can design and order the world in all detail to be run from a central capital where they live and teach. That is the whole reason.

[MarkeyD]

The book Do As I Say (Not As I Do) : Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy points out that Noam Chompsky, the great socialist, is one of the greatest capitalists out there, to the point his name is now a "brand".

[Redcloak]

Why? Because, in most cases, "intellectual" should be set apart from the rest of the sentence with quotation marks.

[Little Ray]

Because they want to be able to allocate our labor and spend our money for us.

[kenth]

Yep. They talk about things, but don't actually do.

[oyez]

Remember what The Great Communicator said, "Liberals read Lenin and Marx. Conservatives understand them."

[LIConFem]

"...but those who, in their vocation, deal with ideas as expressed in words, shaping the word flow others receive. These wordsmiths include poets, novelists, literary critics, newspaper and magazine journalists, and many professors."

In other words, people who produce NOTHING; a characteristic of elitist socialists.

[RegulatorCountry]

The author has this backwards. Self-styled "intellectuals" are not necessarily drawn to leading opinion by advocation; it's much more the case that those opposed to capitalism are drawn to positions allowing such belief the illusion of intellectualism, in order to lead opinion. Big difference there.

[thulldud]

No doubt, some wordsmith intellectuals were cantankerous and questioning pupils and so were disapproved of by their teachers.

We cantankerous and questioning pupils just grew up into cantankerous and questioning adults.

In my case, the process just yielded a cantankerous, questioning conservative.

Go figure.

[Tribune7]

You I started reading this thinking that Robert Novak wrote it. LOL

[Eva]

Intellectuals oppose capitalism because intellectualism is not a salable comodity. Intellectuals are elitists who believe that their thoughts should be valued above all else and since they know better than everyone else, the intellectuals believe that they should be running everything, not the leading capitalists.

[Yardstick]

Because socialism is simple enough that it can be fully captured and explained with words. The spontaneous order of a capitalist system, on the other hand, is simply too complex to be fully knowable or explainable by any human mind, no matter how bright it is or how good with language it is. It's easier to expound eloquently on something you understand than something you don't. Thus word people prefer socialism. It fits their gift.

[Mike Darancette]

Self styled intellectuals are thinkers not workers. Capitalism takes work on every level.

[liberty2004]

Mainly because intellectuals are generally among the ruling class, and as the ruling class, they are control freaks, and don't like it when they can't control everything. Capitalism by contrast, requires freedom and decentralized decision making.

Bears repeating. Very well stated. Others make good points, but you hit the nail on the head!!

[overkill_007_2000]

bump

[TASMANIANRED]

btt

[frithguild]

marked

[Buffettfan]

GUILT

[Paine in the Neck]

" Intellectuals are so smart they know that they can design and order the world in all detail to be run from a central capital where they live and teach."

And every time they get a chance to try it is an utter, complete failure usually resulting in the deaths of millions.

[GingisK]

In a Communist system, they reign supreme.

Interesting to note that when communists take over a country, the first thing they do is kill off the "intellectuals".