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> say Nazi Germany in the late 1930’s I'd say Nazi Germany in the late 1930s was more of an anti-Jewish intellectual society, more than an anti-intellectual so
by paganel 6y ago
> say Nazi Germany in the late 1930’s
I'd say Nazi Germany in the late 1930s was more of an anti-Jewish intellectual society, more than an anti-intellectual society pure and simple, the reason being that them being mostly a technocratic State they highly needed those intellectuals, engineers and technicians. One of the many proofs is the work of von Braun, without which us as a species wouldn't have gotten to the Moon as fast as we did. The same discussion goes for Soviet Russia, with some exceptions (mostly genetics-related work, where the politruks intervened in a very harmful way for their scientists).
IMO the only true anti-intellectual regime that I know of from the 20th century is represented by Mao's relatively short-lived Cultural Revolution in China, a policy which was pretty quickly reversed.
- mmaurizi 6y agoPol Pot.
- paganel 6y agoYeap, that too, had forgotten about his atrocities.
- Nasrudith 6y agoAnti-intellectualism is usually largely about "intellectuals who keep on bringing up their annoying facts instead of just being useful to those currently in power and not rocking the boat" although it often takes on a life of its own to their own detriment. There has been a large history of rage at military innovations which disrupt the "elite's" favored tactics from Spartans lamenting siege engines to the hatred of crossbows. One example which comes to mind as similiar but more practical than intellectual is millers being portrayed as literally satanic in European feudal systems for getting richer through cleverness not a part of neither the church hierarchy nor conquest or even patronage.