There are two rather egregious flaws in this line of thinking from the very start. The first is that "intelligence" is purely an inborn trait. That "being stup

There are two rather egregious flaws in this line of thinking from the very start. The first is that "intelligence" is purely an inborn trait. That "being stupid" is a condition on par with serious mental disability. Stupidity isn't mocked by the smart to belittle the dumb. It's mocked by the majority of society to promote feelings of superiority in the mockery yes, but also to share lessons about what not to do. Anyone (barring mental disability, and even then) can learn, and can be taught. I've certainly encountered my share of the intelligentsia too brilliant to lower themselves to the common level, but I've encountered far many more gifted people who wanted deeply to share their knowledge with those around them. Yes, our society fetishises intelligence, but the vast teeming masses of "dumb people" are a lot smarter than most would believe. The second fallacy here is that financial earning or being able to survive at all are somehow connected to "human worth" which is connected to intelligence. As we automate more and more fields of labor, we are moving towards a post-job society. The issue isn't that Americans over value intelligence, it's that we over value the concept of "hard work." Especially as enshrined in the old advice of many parents, "you have to work hard to get ahead in the world." Well, no, you don't. Working smart helps a lot, but soon you won't have to work at all. Or you won't be able to. Forget our negative perception of "the dumb." We need to fix our negative perception of "the lazy." We must learn how to value people for something beyond their contributions to labor, and maybe we must also teach people how to have and feel valuable beyond labor. And we should do it fast, because after we automate away the drivers, the merchants, and the laborers, it won't be long before we've automated away the lawyers, artists, programmers, and doctors. And then there will be nothing left but politicians, and is that the world you want to live in?