CHAPTER 9
End of Second World War and humanity across national borders had accepted – There definitively was something terribly wrong with the way human mind is handling the world and also, there was major trouble with the way nations’ politics accepted realism of national interest. Naturally, when many million people die in wars of madness, there always is a need for retrospection and reinvention of contemporary human realism.
After 1945, globally, it was felt that humans probably needed more intelligent mechanisms in management of societal, economic and political arena for larger wellness of human race, so that in future, the world could not be in such a situation, where conflicts between humans reach to such stages, where war becomes inevitable. Naturally, globally, intellectuals were called for the jobs and world over, most nations buoyed up its most intellectual and most intelligent people to the fore to manage society, politics and economics with good precision. Smart and ‘intellectually designed’ systems were evolved and put in place. This continued with many experiments till the start of new millennium.
However, somehow, as and when we see ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ on rise in many parts of the world, especially in the second decade of the new millennium, it seems, ‘true intellectualism’ has failed in some big way. It seems, average person, common men and women world over are very critical of their own intellectual leadership. It seems, they feel the intelligent people, the intellectual crop of their society, culture, economy and politics have duped and dumped them. They somehow feel, most of their troubles are because of the ‘hypocrisies’ unleashed and heaped by the intellectuals of their respective milieus. This seems a common global trend.
In India, in the USA and in many other nations, there is a very clear trend and people’s movement towards what is being termed as ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’. There was an old saying in political philosophy, which goes like – ‘The wearer alone knows where the shoe pinches.’ This self-centric, self-actualized and self-vindictive individualism, somehow in bitter antagonism with society and most collective institutions, leadered by ‘intellectuals, seems to be the seed of this fast growing trend of ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’.
In many countries, common men and women are so scared of high sounding intellectualism and rational-talks that they feel, it is always better to be ‘Foolishly Selfish’ than being a ‘Wise Befooled’. The reason seems to be simple – In over 70 years since the Second World War, the ‘intellectuals’ have brought about and sustained such social, economic and political idealism and systems, which has only led the world towards a destination, where human misery has only become more complex and global conflicts have only become too complicatedly unmanageable. The rich poor gap has become menacing with one percent people having 99 percent resources of the world.
The trust deficit of humanity has reached its rock bottom – human relationships therefore are becoming complex, conflicted and shattered. The simple thing is – Even an average person can now clearly see and decipher that the huge load of hypocrisies that the post Second World War ‘intellectualism’ has dumped on human lives, are majorly responsible for contemporary global troubles. At least, this seems to be the popular meme or collective unconscious thought of major human population.
That is why, it seems, this trend of ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ is fast catching up everywhere. The analysts say that political changes in India and USA are major indicator of how ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ has become the first choice of common men and women. All anti-intellectual enterprises, dogmatic idealisms and illogical perceptions are being cheered and voted for by masses. They have rejected the traditional intellectualism and now rely on anything, which sounds ‘anti-intellectual and anti-rational. That is why, in India and in USA, in society, cultures, economy and politics, those people are rising to ‘new leadership’ positions, who attack traditional wisdom, established intellectualism and status quoism of hypocritic prudence. As people feel duped and dumped by hypocrisies of ‘White Wisdom’, they have become votaries of anything that is not white and ideally ‘Grey Practicality’…! All shades of grey are being cheered and hailed…!
Why post Second World War intellectualism failed is a complex question. But then, humanity, especially the intellectuals have to ask themselves. May be, because true intellect is so ‘holistic’ that it always has trouble ‘installing’ its utility and worth in other’s mind. However, what seems a likely cause is – Intellectualism itself has been a reactionary intelligence. If ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ is a reaction against hypocrisies of intellectualism, the intellectualism also seems to be largely reactionary. Global intellectualism has never looked like having a ‘receptive-mode’ intelligence to evolve a global order with consensus and collective endeavors.
Secondly, probably, intellectualism has not been something, which is universal and stupidly simple – that is INNOCENCE. Human life and living has gradually become very complex. From relationships to retailing, everything for an average human has become too complex for simple understanding. Most people are grappling with complexities and therefore, there is a common wish to accept something, which is simple and honestly uncomplex. Stupidities and anti-intellectualism always has this advantage of sounding simple and practically amenable!
Intellectualism itself has grown more complex. From politics to economy, everything is now beyond average person’s understanding. The simplicity, honesty and innocence are core elements, which modern intellectualism has been missing hugely and this makes most people hate intellectualism. Rather, contemporary intellectualism has become synonym of hypocrisies. The global trend of ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ seems a reactionary outrage against complexities and hypocrisies of intellectualism.
The trouble is – ‘anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and solipsism’ may be current choice of masses but like the hypocritic intellectualism, it also does not have any solution for human conflicts and troubles. Solutions are only in simplicity, honesty and innocence of collective human wisdom. Therefore, intellectualism needs to own its failure and sit down to device mechanisms to redeem, reinvent and reinstate its utility and worth as true friend of humanity.
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