Stigler held that science must be governed by an elite, not democratic procedures.
Evidence
In general in intell[ectual] affairs democracy is not a proper system of organizing. The best econ[omics] in the US is not the one the public would elect; a science must impose the standards of an elite upon a profession … Affairs of science, and intellectual life generally, are not to be conducted on democratic procedures. One cannot establish a mathem[atical] theorem by a vote, even a vote of mathematicians. An elite must emerge and instill higher standards than the public or the profession instinctively desire. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 107
Categorization
- XREF: Directly fractures the common caricature that Chicago-school economists were uniformly pro-consumer-sovereignty and anti-elite. Connects to discussions of Stigler’s ‘The Intellectual and the Market Place’ and the broader internal diversity within Chicago economics. — connects to: George Stigler held that science and ability are inherently elitist, not egalitarian. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 770; Stigler questioned the very usefulness of intellectuals in a rational world. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 796; Stigler rejected democratic governance of scientific and economic knowledge — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 105
- DEFINE: Illustrates Stigler’s distinctive position on intellectual authority within the Chicago tradition — an explicitly anti-democratic stance in intellectual affairs.
Broader Connections
- George Stigler held that science and ability are inherently elitist, not egalitarian.
#corroborates(0.95) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 770 - Stigler questioned the very usefulness of intellectuals in a rational world.
#expands(0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 796