Absence of 21st Century Intellectuals

An early mentor of mine thought me to seek to explain instead of excuse when looking for answers. One topic which repeatedly surfaces in conversation since the financial crash of 2008 is why we have failed to learn from it and move on. The answer is visible and in plain sight within mainstream media when we look at the talking heads they repeatedly turn towards for guidance. These so called experts are 20th century industrial age thinkers who continue to look at the world through outdated and outmoded models. As a result we have languished in group think and witnessed herd behaviour.

This prompted me to ask where are the 21st century intellectuals? In the past we have been fortunate to have academia provide a sanctuary for independent thinkers. Bloomberg recently published two pieces around the state of academia in the US which registered. The first was by Virginia Postrel on academic culture and the second by Megan McArdle on political bias. This problem is not unique to the US. President Michael D.Higgins addressed the European Universities Association annual conference this week and spoke of an intellectual crisis.

As the university repositions itself in a globally connected and more culturally diverse society, it must seek to deliver its capacity to deliver that creative consciousness and participatory citizenship; recognising both the positive and liberating potential of technology and the critical role of emancipatory universal learning in enabling us to connect to the possibilities of an unknown future.

Its important to acknowledge when we get things wrong. Robert McNamara admitted later in life that Vietnam was a mistake. Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan acknowledged his part in the financial crisis. Co-ordinated responses from central banks globally since 2008 have shown that little has been learned from the crisis. Today Europe mirrors the early 1930s, the US resembles where it was in the early 1970s and Japan remains frozen in the early 1990s. We already have one lost Generation due to the absence new thinking. If our leading third level institutions are not sanctuaries for independent thought then it is little wonder that we find ourselves globally where we are just now.