#elitism

Like it or not, philosophy or intellectual activity in ancient China was distinguished from manual labor, and thus philosophical texts were not only political in nature (because they normally addressed the issue of good government and social order) but also “esoteric.” They were not meant to contribute to general education, but to be studied only by a small fraction of the population, i.e., by those who had access to learning and power. If we want to understand the Laozi historically, we have to accept this context and thus also the fact that, as a philosophical treatise, it did not attempt to be generally accessible. It was originally a text for the few—and it clearly shows. ↗

— Hans-Georg Moeller

#elitism #education

They're so cold, these scholars! May lightning strike their food so that their mouths learn how to eat fire! ↗

— Friedrich Nietzsche

#education #elitism #higher-education #scholars #scholarship

There are some among the so-called elite who are overbearing and arrogant. I want to foster leaders, not elitists. ↗

— Daisaku Ikeda

#elitism #leadership #leadership

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' ↗

— Isaac Asimov

#elite #elitism #elitist #voter #voting

...what is art to the dilettante but the initiation of the sacred few to the exclusion of the profane crowd?... ↗

— John Geddes

#elitism #exclusivism #writing #art

There's a certain elitism that has crept into the attitudes of some in journalism, and it played out perfectly over the issue of these little American flag lapel pins. ↗

— Brit Hume

#american flag #attitudes #certain #elitism #flag