{"product_id":"the-ideas-industry-how-pessimists-partisans-and-plutocrats-are-transforming-the-marketplace-of-ideas-9780190906283","title":"The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas","description":"The public intellectual has a long and storied history. Previously, the public intellectual was always expected to opine on a broad array of topics, from foreign policy to economics. Yet in recent years a new kind of thinker has supplanted that archetype: the thought leader. Equipped with one\u003cbr\u003ebig idea, thought leaders focus their energies on TED talks rather than highbrow periodicals. In contrast to public intellectuals, thought leaders gain fame as single-idea merchants. Their ideas are often laudable and highly ambitious, but they often work through institutions that are closed to the\u003cbr\u003epublic and less open to criticism. In \u003cem\u003eThe Ideas Industry\u003c\/em\u003e, Daniel W. Drezner explains how this shift happened, pointing to the roles of political polarization, heightened inequality, and eroding trust in authority. In contrast to their predecessors, today's intellectuals are more likely to enjoy the\u003cbr\u003esupport of ideologically friendly private funders and be housed in ideologically-driven think tanks. Increasing inequality is also a key driver of this shift: more than ever before, contemporary plutocrats fund intellectuals and idea factories that generate arguments that align with their own.\u003cbr\u003eFinally, the erosion of trust in experts has lowered the barriers of entry in the marketplace of ideas. But, while there are certainly some downsides to the contemporary ideas industry, Drezner argues that it is very good at broadcasting ideas widely and reaching large audiences hungry for new\u003cbr\u003ethinking. Both fair-minded and trenchant, \u003cem\u003eThe Ideas Industry\u003c\/em\u003e reshapes our understanding of contemporary public intellectual life in America and the West.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190906283\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.50w x 1.10d","brand":"Daniel W. Drezner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41132913295541,"sku":"9780190906283","price":20.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_0e8ef5cd-e451-4d52-bfdd-d8a8022dc4be.jpg?v=1632833906","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-ideas-industry-how-pessimists-partisans-and-plutocrats-are-transforming-the-marketplace-of-ideas-9780190906283","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}