Noam Chomsky delivers one of the most scathing critiques of college professors and the postmodern intellectual trend.
“There’s a lot of material reward that comes from it. If you're part of that system, you can run around conferences, land prestigious professorships, and all that.”
“As a general phenomenon, it has served to insulate sectors of a so-called radical intelligentsia from popular movements and actual activism—functioning instead as an instrument of power.”
Chomsky points to the groundbreaking work Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science by Jean Bricco and Alan Sokal. The book dissects the claims of France’s most respected intellectuals about science—a rot that spreads far beyond Paris—and exposes the embarrassing contradictions.
“It’s so embarrassing you cringe reading it.”
While these observations were made decades ago, they remain painfully relevant. Too many academic institutions continue to empower and fund faux intellectuals—individuals who would struggle to compete on merit alone.
Chomsky’s critique challenges us to rethink what counts as intellectual rigor and authenticity in higher education today.
