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PhilosophyInsights

Roger Scruton: Why Intellectuals are Mostly Left

Sir Roger Vernon Scruton is an English philosopher and writer who specialises in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views.
In recent years he taught courses in Buckingham University, Oxford University and University of St. Andrews.

In this clip, he talks about intellectuals and the left.

Naomi 8 Apr 10
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Also, he describes people more left-leaning than him as having a purely negative approach. Purely negative, my ass. Left-leaning people are all about making improvements and advancements for society. They dream of a better world. Universal healthcare...saving the world from climate change...cultural change for the better. Leftists are very "We've got to save the world" types. They have a great number of actual specific ideas about how to do this, too.

Leftists talk about things they hate no more or less than conservatives do, I'd say. Yeah, leftists talk about horrible the right is and various aspects of culture. Conservatives talk about how the government is an evil cabal of pedophile vampire globalists, and how horrible the left is. It's the same thing.

This guy's either dumb, or we didn't get the whole conversation in this video, or he's just someone who like to tell people what they want to hear for money, I'm thinking. "Political party X is bad in vague ways. Gimme' all yo' money 'cuz...I don't know...patriotism or some bullshit. Now buy my American flag Chia pets to show ur patriotism.

Left this, left that, right this, right that... You Americans (not all) are so black and white.
My view is that we should be all conservative in that we conserve good stuff that is working for us (in the UK, for example, no one wants to abandon the idea of education for all and healthcare for all), while we should be all liberal in that if there is a new idea that is good for us all, we should consider it and materialise it.

@Naomi That's a good point. I keep forgetting America is not the only country in the world. How American of me.

Also, the U.K. left is going to be more left-leaning than the U.S. left. I very possibly could be an ass then.

My bad. I think I forgot that other parts of Earth exist. I don't think I should have commented at all.

@MrShittles Do you travel much? There is a whole world out there. It's worth saving up to go see it. 🙂

@Naomi I do not travel much. I do talk to people all over the world online.

@Naomi I would definitely benefit from meeting people over the world. I can hear different views of people online, but I don't think you get to see the actual different cultures. You can't see the behaviors of people. You can't see what towns look like. I'm not at the point at which I have the resources that yet though. I might someday, but that'll be awhile.

@MrShittles People often behave differently when they are on social media. Yes, meeting people in the flesh, even on zoom, is much better.

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Yeah...there are a few leftists driven by blind destructive impulse.
There are at least many right-leaning people driven by the exact same destructive impulse. It's the same exact blind, lizardlike instinct. It's just that on the right, blind, lizardlike adherence is to tradition...regardless of how screwed up those traditions are.

This video focuses only on the worst elements of the left without acknowledging that those exact same destructive elements exist on the right.

This is the type of un-focused, generalizing video that causes nothing but harm for society.

I take a different view on Sir Roger. He was a free thinker. He would hardly have settled with generalisation. He was too smart for that.
I take your point though. Never mind which way they lean, there are many impressible people out there.

@Naomi This is the only video I've seen of him, so I don't know much about him.

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It's always a pleasure to listen, or read, Sir Roger.

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