Page "Academic elitism" Paragraph 1

Some of economist Thomas Sowell's writings ( Intellectuals and Society ) suggest that academicians and intellectuals have an undeserved " halo effect " and face fewer disincentives than other professions against speaking outside their expertise.

Sowell cites Bertrand Russell, Noam Chomsky and Edmund Wilson as paradigmatic examples of this phenomenon.

Though respected for their contributions to various academic disciplines ( respectively mathematics, linguistics, and literature ), the three men became known to the general public only by making often-controversial and disputed pronouncements on politics and public policy that would not be regarded as noteworthy if offered by a medical doctor or skilled tradesman.