Richard Hofstadter/Addendum

Anti-Intellectualism in American Life

The conservative columnist David Frum has argued against a number of the claims made in Anti-Intellectualism by pointing to the development of institutions like the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the increasing number of cultural institutions across the U.S., the increase in the number of university graduates, and other factors. Susan Jacoby has written an updated version of Anti-Intellectualism in American Life titled The Age of American Unreason which—contrary to the optimism of Frum—paints a portrait of America where the negative situation described by Hofstadter has only gotten worse with the widespread availability of entertainment technology and commercially-sponsored "junk thought" as well as so-called knowledge resources that "anyone can edit."

Return to Main Article