DeepSummary
The episode begins with Ryan Cooper interviewing David Austin Walsh about Walsh's book 'Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right.' They discuss the right-wing elites and influencers who attempted to recruit Walsh into the conservative, anti-woke movement by offering money and status, despite Walsh's left-leaning views.
Walsh explains his perspective on the role of intellectuals in the conservative political context. He argues that while the American right has historically portrayed itself as anti-intellectual, there is still a desire to cultivate a certain intellectual image and affect. Figures like William F. Buckley and the John Birch Society sought to lend their movements an air of intellectual credibility.
Walsh suggests that the right views intellectualism not as an ongoing process of inquiry and debate, but as a source of authority to celebrate great works and indoctrinate students. He believes the right wants to present a classical, English boarding school intellectual persona while pushing a populist, anti-intellectual agenda.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The American conservative movement has a complex, contradictory relationship with intellectualism, portraying itself as anti-intellectual while seeking to cultivate intellectual credibility.
- Right-wing figures and institutions attempt to recruit left-leaning intellectuals by offering money, status, and prestige to legitimize their movements.
- Intellectuals play a key role in consolidating political movements by providing propaganda, knitting factions together, and projecting an air of academic authority.
- The right tends to view intellectualism as a source of authority to celebrate established works, rather than an ongoing process of inquiry and debate.
- Conservative institutions have a high demand for credible intellectual voices to promote their agendas, even if they have to "scrape the bottom of the barrel."
- Prominent conservative figures like William F. Buckley cultivated an intellectual persona and affect despite lacking substantive scholarly achievements.
- Groups like the John Birch Society associated themselves with academics to lend an air of intellectual credibility to their explicitly anti-intellectual stances.
- Walsh suggests he has a "wounded attachment" to the academy and desire for intellectual approval, despite the right's efforts to discredit and distance itself from intellectualism.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Being an intellectual is not an ongoing process. It's not a dialogue. It's basically a celebration of great works, of educating students into how great this stuff is. And that's basically it. It's a source of authority as opposed to inquiry.“ by David Austin Walsh
- “And so, you know, there was a sort of commitment to a. A particular kind of, like, classical intellectual, english boarding school intellectual affect. And so even, you know, more populist and more explicitly anti intellectual organizations like the John Birch Society were very very proud of, you know, the affiliation of somebody like Raviolo Oliver, who was a classics professor at the University of Illinois.“ by David Austin Walsh
Entities
Person
Organization
Company
Book
Episode Information
Left Anchor
Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek
6/17/24
We’re continuing our discussion with David Austin Walsh regarding his book Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right. Check out the previous episode to hear about his attempted recruitment from the far right. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!