After yesterday’s discussion of the origin of intellectuals, the idea of how they as a collective class are exceptionally susceptible to seek power really stuck with me. One important question that was brought up was is it reasonable to allow those that are within the intellectual class, supposedly the most intelligent individuals in a society, to rule or make up the political governing system of our society? I would like to address that question in this blog. In short, being intelligent is not the only indicator of a strong leader and one that should be making laws or rules. Often times the greatest leaders are not necessarily those that create “decontextualized” ideas or think of ideas without solicitation in seek of the truth. Great leaders are able to learn from past leaders and past experiences using compassion, confidence while having the best interest of the public in mind. Intellectuals do not necessarily always fit into that criteria.
As we discussed in class individual intellectuals seek power in some aspect, whether that be through their educated discipline or some other aspect of their lives but in general intellectuals aim to rise up in the ladder of status. This tendency to continuously gain a higher status by producing more sacred ideas or products is particularly unique to intellectuals and takes a certain type of individual, one with charisma and confidence. As a result, this may be a reason why the public tends to gravitate toward those individuals and believe what they have to say and how they gain power, whether that be political, informational or educational. Therefore, intellectuals individual or group are not always necessarily the greatest choice to lead but it is understandable as to why the public views them as credible and trustworthy.