In the summer of 2019, I reintroduced myself to reading. As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was spend my nights reading a science fiction novel before bed, but once I hit high school, I fell out of that routine. After graduating and moving for the second time, I wanted to spend my summer doing more than just watch Netflix, play tennis and swim with my brothers, I wanted to stimulate my mind again. Lucky for me, my father is an extremely avid reader and as I’ve grown up, I’ve become increasingly interested in the topics he reads about. One day, I asked him what his most impactful book was, to which he answered, “most definitely Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell.” I had never heard of Thomas Sowell before and I’ll be honest I wasn’t originally so drawn in by the title, but as soon as my father explained the general-purpose, I put it at the top of my list.
Intellectuals and Society was published in 2009 and yet it’s not a book you hear of very often, if at all. Born in 1930 in North Carolina, Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. While Sowell has written a variety of books including Intellectuals and Race, Discrimination and Disparities, and Wealth, Poverty, and Politics: An International Perspective, Intellectuals and Society is often seen as one of, if not his best, piece of literature. So, what is this book about and why should it be a mandatory read for college students?
Sowell begins his book with an explanation of what is stated as an intellectual. He breaks down the difference between intelligence and intellect as well as defines an “intellectual” as an occupational category in which people’s occupations deal primarily with ideas- writers, academics, and the like. This is an extremely important distinction because we are talking about people whose job begins and ends with an idea. They aren’t actually the ones to carry out the process of carrying that idea into action. Once this concept is thoroughly examined Sowell spends the rest of the book exploring the relationships between the intelligentsia and major aspects of society. These topics include “Intellectuals and Economics”, “Intellectuals and the Law”, “Intellectuals and War” etc.
Sometimes it’s the truths that are the hardest to hear that are the most life-changing. This is exactly how I felt reading every shocking and frustrating scenario that Sowell breaks down. I felt lied to and betrayed by the very people we elect and look up to for guidance and help in our most vulnerable times as a community and nation. This is exactly why every college student should read this book because I now know that we should NEVER look up to people whose sole purpose revolves around the basic human function of developing ideas. They are masters at using words that make reality seem either harsher or better than it is, but they never put their own muscle into putting their policies into action. Instead, they take the credit for ideas that so often tend to harm the majority over a select few.
We are indeed the next up-and-coming generation, but we won’t even come close to making a difference unless we stop praising the people we elect for their mundane ideas and start demanding that they do something about it. We need to educate ourselves so that we may see through the lies that consist of, “I’m here to help you” or the outdated propaganda that things are free without at price. Thomas Sowell will make you question a lot of things and it will make you uncomfortable, but then again, that’s how you know you’re growing. So, give it a read or two because you might just learn something about the intelligentsia and their many flaws.
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