Are Academic Elites Communists?

Townhall ^ | 8/15/06 | Walter Williams

[Starboard]

As a very successful businesman if I ran my company like the govt runs their business I'd have gone bankrupt long ago.

The government does not have a monopoly on mismanagement. I've seen my share of it in the private sector too. That said, the magnitude of government is monumental. Worse than most realize.

[phillyfanatic]

No, they are pacifist-socialists with a tinge of wussiness that allows anti-American and anti-Israeli hatred to prevail on our Ivory Tower Learning Facilities!!!

[PsyOp]

"We should declare the world Communist movement an outlaw in the community of civilized nations. Accordingly, we should withdraw diplomatic recognition from all Communist governments including that of the Soviet Union, thereby serving notice on the world that we regard such governments as neither legitimate nor permanent." – Barry Goldwater, The Conscience Of A Conservative, 1960.

“I find that America is fundamentally a Conservative nation. The preponderant judgment of the American people, especially of the young people, is that the radical, or Liberal, approach has not worked and is not working. They yearn for a return to Conservative principles.” – Barry Goldwater, The Conscience Of A Conservative, 1960.

Barry Goldwater, The Conscience Of A Conservative.

[Darkwolf377]

Like I said, commies! ;)

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. Yes, leftists love the utopian dream of communist ideology and ignore the disaster it is in practice.

[little jeremiah]

Richard Pipes is being generous. Leftists in general not only are attracted to the utopian ideals [sic] of Communism, they also are attracted to the destruction of family, morality and religion for its own sake. They are worse than he is making them out to be. In general, that is; I suppose there are some pie in the sky idealists, but they're the older ones.

[x]

Anti-communism is so working class.

That's more or less it. It's not ideology so much as snobbery and tribalism.

A century ago those "Boston Brahmins" could be very conflicted about politics, though. For today's academics, anxiety about the left doesn't exist, because for all practical purposes, they are it. Things looked different when there was fear of a real working class socialist movement.

[dirtboy]

While academic leftists, and I'd include their media allies, are not communists, they are anti-anti-communists. In other words, they have contempt for right-wingers, conservatives or libertarians who are anti-communists.

Ping

[Kenton]

Are Academic Elites Communists?

Surely not all of them. But there are probably more actual out-of-the-closet communists in Academia than in any other sector of the community.

[okie01]

The term "anti-anti-Communist", as described by Horowitz, is that it is a purposeful construct of the progressive left.

I.e., the Commies made it up in order to mask their own agenda.

Which is to say that the subjects of this essay are, if not actually practicing Communists, are clearly comfortable "fellow travelers".

[okie01]

Journalists, who never produce any tangible products or services, revel in their self-appointed role of critiquing the performance of those who do. They are professionals at second guessing.

In essence, journalists confuse their role with that of the critic.

Stop and think about how national news reporters write (and think) as if they were "political critics" -- performing a function in parallel with the theater critic or the art critic, not reporting at all. Similarly, the style section is absorbed with criticism of the culture.

Even the one-time Toy Department of the media, the sports department, has succumbed. Sportswriters are now intent on reporting about personalities -- as if their function was akin to "Entertainment Tonight" -- and acting as "baseball critics", "football critics", etc.

But the ugly truth is that most journalists don't know squat about what they cover on their beat.

[television is just wrong]

it is a very special time for anyone of minority status. They can lie cheat steal from all of the rest of us, and no one cares.

[Joe Boucher]

Great vehicle for a politician, play the race card.

If only I were a black half indian half black lesbian with a club foot and aids, I'd be richer then I am by far.

[television is just wrong]

lol, we can only hope to be so fortunate.(sarcasm as if you didn't guess).