Pulitzer Prize General Non Fiction Winner
Anti-intellectualism in American Life
by Richard Hofstadter
Summary
An influential cultural and intellectual history that traces the deep roots of American suspicion toward intellect, expertise, and elite learning across religion, politics, business, and education. Hofstadter argues that anti-intellectual currents are not aberrations but recurring features of a populist democratic society, and he examines how they periodically surge in moments of cultural anxiety. The book remains a foundational reference for understanding the cyclical tensions between expertise and popular opinion in the United States.
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Historical Context & Significance
Written as a response to the McCarthyism of the 1950s, Hofstadter sought to explain why American democracy often views "experts" and "eggheads" with deep suspicion.