Anti-Climacus

LINK: SIAW probably has a point here, as, speaking only for myself, I do tend to slip into philosopher-king mode on occasion.

"Pardon our populism, but we’re a lot more impressed by the views of millions of ordinary voters than by those of all the academics in the world. Democracy and human rights are safer in the hands of people who directly benefit from them, soberly appreciate their value and rightly fear the alternatives than they are in the hands of overpaid, overfed, overpraised intellectual snobs who take their considerable safety and excessive comfort for granted, and spend far too much of their time sneering at those who don’t belong to their self-regarding little subculture, but are expected to pay their salaries nonetheless. The convergence between reaction and “radicalism” continues, here taking the form of academic elitism blended with liberal self-righteousness - but that’s news?"

Which is a little odd, because (if I understand the point here), SIAW wouldn't mind people taking the views they're taking, so long as they took them in virtue of their being regular citizens (and voting); but once they take on the role of academics, their points somehow become elitist?

I suppose this is the not being willing to go into Marxism that's holding me back.