Stigler questioned the very usefulness of intellectuals in a rational world.

Evidence

55 The problem was not confined to economics: “What would be the use of intellectuals—meaning people who strongly prefer talking and writing to physical exertion—in a world where men knew their interests and efficiently pursued them?” See Stigler, The Intellectual, 313. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 796

Categorization

• XREF: A member of the intellectual class born at a Chicago economics center questioning intellectuals’ necessity — a self-undermining irony useful to the map. — connects to: Stigler argued the public rationally under-informs itself about policies with diffuse costs — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 1908; Stigler doubted that the public’s demand for economic science was significant. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 146; Stigler held that science must be governed by an elite, not democratic procedures. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 107 (+3 more)
• SEED: Angle: how intellectuals have historically rationalized their own irrelevance under markets, from Stigler to modern ‘idea entrepreneur’ critiques.

Broader Connections

• Stigler justified university political disengagement as sane specialization in a complex world. #expands (0.82) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 782