From Unreason to Idiocracy

I found this brief review of Susan Jacoby's 'The Age of American Unreason' in The Observer yesterday (they regularly syndicate old NYT articles).

The book highlights the rise and convergence of two trends in American culture: anti-intellectualism (the attitude that “too much learning can be a dangerous thing”) and anti-rationalism (“the idea that there is no such things as evidence or fact, just opinion”). She argues that "not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge but they also don’t think it matters."

This is, of course, a common refrain in our culture - you'll find that the dumb are always getting dumber if you listen to the elites that dominate them. Still, no one wants an Idiocracy: