There's no such thing as a conservative intellectual — only apologists for right-wing power

This is incorrect.

There is a such thing as a "conservative intellectual". It's just that they've been long since drowned out by the rest of the party, and the right-wing voting base has no appetite for actual, sensible conservative policies right now.

This was a thoughtful and dense article but I'm glad I finished it. I learned the name of a pedophile priest in the process (Marcial Maciel) but otherwise only reinforced what I already know from other sources. Oh, and it led me to a WP article from 2021 about how the GOP inflates book sales, which I posted on Lemmy.

This article - and its headline - aren’t perfect. But the anti-intellectualism that’s deeply rooted into American leadership of what’s now seen mostly in the conservative platform is well documented and known. Check out Anti-intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter for a lot of support for what this short article tries to convey. And since that book’s 1964 writings, it’s only become stronger.

The conclusion paragraph is what I think most people are best taking away from this piece (not the overly-broad headline, which honestly is just clickbait compared to the substance of the article): “Ideas those may be, but the product of genuine intellectuals — those who employ critical reasoning and approach facts honestly — they are not. Ever since the Enlightenment, there has been a perpetual battle, a war of words, between those who would make the world a little freer, a little healthier, a little fairer and a little saner, and those who are viscerally repelled by such markers of secular progress. We see the practical consequences of this conflict everywhere, from the ruined cities of Ukraine to our own barbarously retrograde state legislatures. It is necessary for each of us to know which side we are on in the intellectual struggle of this chaotic century.”

There is a battle for truth, facts, and logic happening right now. And while there may be some conservatives who abide by those values, the party and its leadership have verifiably demonstrated otherwise. From trickle down economics to opposing universal healthcare (and nearly every major issue between), the facts simply do not support the party stance. Anti-intellectualism in real life, played out with real consequences, supported by masses willing to vote against their own interests.

Just because media and conservative leaders think Kissinger and Friedman are intellectual’s doesn’t mean history will. Define intellectual. IMHO it’s someone that the majority of people think of as thought leader, who has good ideas for society. Cambodia and Neoliberalism will not age well. Just because someone does a big thing doesn’t make them an intellectual. By that metric, Trump is an intellectual.

Wasn't this posted here like a week ago?

I was hoping this politics community would be reasonable and have good discussion.

instead we just get more of r/politics

Social media perpetuating identity politics then acting confused when there's such a big divide in this country.

Looks like lemmy politics is just a rehash of r/politics. What was the point then of coming onto Lemmy, why didn't ya'll just stay in your Reddit echo chamber?

"No true Scotsman" fallacy in action. It's rare to see it in such a pristine condition.

(For the record, I'm an unabashed, unapologetic leftist. But this article is bullshit from graf 1 to the end.)