He began as a marxist and ended up a democratic humanist who liked the idea of philosopher kings, thought society could be organized and guided from above and the future predicted and controlled (somewhat).
No thanks. Had enough of his type last century. Save us all from "brilliant" men. Books were OK. Kinda mechanistic, humorless and pedantic though.
Assimov wasn't in the same league as Philip K. Dick--the best American writer since Mark Twain.
Hey, I like the idea of philosopher-kings, but I think I and Asimov are (were) both smart enough to recognize that the idea is horrible in practice.
Assimov (sic) wasn't in the same league as Philip K. Dick...
Oh, I think they were in the same league. It is possible to like them both for what they were, in and of themselves, rather than trying to measure them against each other ;)
Feel free to document this amazing assertion.
and ended up a democratic humanist
Not really, but if that's the only way you can cram him into a narrow, stereotypical mental pigeonhole of your choosing, I hope you find some comfort in it.
who liked the idea of philosopher kings, thought society could be organized and guided from above and the future predicted and controlled (somewhat).
And you got this from *what*, the fact that *one* of his science fiction works (the Foundation trilogy) contains such characters and events? None of his personal essays or non-fiction works supports your assertion that he subscribed to such beliefs himself.
You remind me of the parable of the blind men attempting to describe the elephant...