In Defense of Elitism

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning culture criticforTimemagazine comes thetremendously controversial, yet highly persuasive,argument that our devotion to the largelyunexamined myth of egalitarianism lies at the heart of theongoing "dumbing of America."Americans have always stubbornly clung to themyth of egalitarianism, of the supremacy of theindividual average man.

But here, at long last,Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William A.

Henry IIItakes on, and debunks, some basic, fundamentallyingrained ideas: that everyone is pretty much alike(and should be); that self-fulfillment is moreimortant thant objective achievement; that everyonehas something significant to contribute; that allcultures offer something equally worthwhile; thata truly just society would automatically produceequal success results across lines of race,class, and gender; and that the common man is almostalways right.

Henry makes clear, in a book full ofvivid examples and unflinching opinions, thatwhile these notions are seductively democratic theyare also hopelessly wrong.