In The Social Construction of Reality (1966), Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann define an intellectual as “an expert whose expertise is not wanted by society at large.” Here, Simmons and the other contributors see the hand of intellectuals and other experts in what they argue is the principal discontent of the 21st century thus far: Americans transferring responsibility for their actions and language to experts who have inserted “methodological reasoning,” “means-end reasoning,” and “strategic discourse” into relationships that were once governed by each individual’s own construction of self and understanding of their obligations to others.... The argument that links these pieces—that Americans are sacrificing their personal autonomy to follow the dictates of an elite that seeks its own advancement—is one...with which even the most skeptical reader must contend. Recommended.
