TRHLIM

An argument could certainly be made that academic university professors have brought more harm to society than any other job industry. Here's why ---



### 1. **Creation and Justification of Harmful Ideologies**

* Many of the most destructive ideologies of the 20th century — such as communism, fascism, and eugenics — were developed, refined, or legitimized in universities by professors.
* Intellectuals like Marx, Heidegger, and others deeply shaped political movements that contributed to war, genocide, and authoritarianism.
* Professors provided the *intellectual cover* that gave these ideas legitimacy and persuaded masses to adopt them.

### 2. **Corruption of Truth Through Incentives**

* “Publish or perish” incentivizes volume over accuracy, leading to flawed, sometimes fraudulent research.
* Bad science, once legitimized by academia, can mislead governments, businesses, and the public for decades (e.g., flawed nutritional guidelines, questionable psychology studies, racial pseudoscience).
* Because professors are seen as “authorities,” their errors carry more weight than mistakes in other industries.

### 3. **Misallocation of Talent and Resources**

* Some of the brightest minds get trapped in academia, spending careers writing niche papers with little real-world impact while society struggles with pressing problems.
* Billions in taxpayer dollars fund research and institutions that may not improve lives in proportion to the cost.
* Instead of fostering practical innovation, academia often reinforces insular debates that slow down progress.

### 4. **Shaping Elites Who Wield Power Poorly**

* Universities train politicians, bureaucrats, and corporate leaders. If society’s ruling classes make destructive decisions, professors indirectly bear responsibility for shaping their worldview.
* Arguably, many crises (financial, environmental, geopolitical) stem from educated elites who emerged from universities but were trained with flawed assumptions.

### 5. **Global Reach of Academic Harm**

* When a harmful idea originates in a university, it can scale massively. For example:

* Eugenics taught in early 20th-century universities influenced sterilization policies in the U.S. and fed into Nazi ideology.
* Economic models taught in elite institutions shaped policies that contributed to global inequality.
* A flawed idea from a factory or tech startup might affect thousands, but a flawed idea from a university can affect billions.

---

📌 Other industries may cause harm through direct action (war, pollution, exploitation), but professors amplify harm through *ideas*, which spread across societies and generations. Because ideas shape laws, wars, economies, and social structures, the destructive potential of academia exceeds that of any other profession.

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sturg33 said:
An argument could certainly be made that academic university professors have brought more harm to society than any other job industry. Here's why ---



### 1. **Creation and Justification of Harmful Ideologies**

* Many of the most destructive ideologies of the 20th century — such as communism, fascism, and eugenics — were developed, refined, or legitimized in universities by professors.
* Intellectuals like Marx, Heidegger, and others deeply shaped political movements that contributed to war, genocide, and authoritarianism.
* Professors provided the *intellectual cover* that gave these ideas legitimacy and persuaded masses to adopt them.

### 2. **Corruption of Truth Through Incentives**

* “Publish or perish” incentivizes volume over accuracy, leading to flawed, sometimes fraudulent research.
* Bad science, once legitimized by academia, can mislead governments, businesses, and the public for decades (e.g., flawed nutritional guidelines, questionable psychology studies, racial pseudoscience).
* Because professors are seen as “authorities,” their errors carry more weight than mistakes in other industries.

### 3. **Misallocation of Talent and Resources**

* Some of the brightest minds get trapped in academia, spending careers writing niche papers with little real-world impact while society struggles with pressing problems.
* Billions in taxpayer dollars fund research and institutions that may not improve lives in proportion to the cost.
* Instead of fostering practical innovation, academia often reinforces insular debates that slow down progress.

### 4. **Shaping Elites Who Wield Power Poorly**

* Universities train politicians, bureaucrats, and corporate leaders. If society’s ruling classes make destructive decisions, professors indirectly bear responsibility for shaping their worldview.
* Arguably, many crises (financial, environmental, geopolitical) stem from educated elites who emerged from universities but were trained with flawed assumptions.

### 5. **Global Reach of Academic Harm**

* When a harmful idea originates in a university, it can scale massively. For example:

* Eugenics taught in early 20th-century universities influenced sterilization policies in the U.S. and fed into Nazi ideology.
* Economic models taught in elite institutions shaped policies that contributed to global inequality.
* A flawed idea from a factory or tech startup might affect thousands, but a flawed idea from a university can affect billions.

---

📌 Other industries may cause harm through direct action (war, pollution, exploitation), but professors amplify harm through *ideas*, which spread across societies and generations. Because ideas shape laws, wars, economies, and social structures, the destructive potential of academia exceeds that of any other profession.

---
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you're not wrong

Yes — many of the leading thinkers associated with libertarianism have had academic careers. A few notable examples:


  • Friedrich Hayek – An Austrian economist and philosopher, professor at the London School of Economics and later the University of Chicago. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974.
  • Milton Friedman – A central figure in modern libertarian thought, longtime professor at the University of Chicago, and Nobel laureate in Economics (1976).
  • James Buchanan – Known for developing public choice theory, professor at several U.S. universities, and Nobel laureate in Economics (1986).
  • Robert Nozick – A Harvard philosopher whose book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) is a cornerstone of libertarian political philosophy.
  • Murray Rothbard – Economist and historian, taught at Brooklyn Polytechnic and later the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, influential in the development of anarcho-capitalist thought.

So yes, academics—especially in economics and philosophy—have played a major role in shaping and articulating libertarian ideas.
 
the baleful influence of academics runs shockingly deep

how about Bentham and Mill

ChatGPT said:​

Yes — Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are important precursors to modern libertarian thought, though they weren’t “libertarians” in the contemporary American sense. They were primarily academics and philosophers, but with slightly different orientations.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832):

  • Philosopher, jurist, and social reformer.
  • Developed utilitarianism, arguing that policies should maximize overall happiness (“the greatest good for the greatest number”).
  • Criticized unnecessary government restrictions and sought legal reforms, which aligns with libertarian values of minimizing coercion.
  • Taught and wrote extensively but was not in a formal university post—his influence was largely through publications, legal reform efforts, and correspondence.
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873):

  • Philosopher, political economist, and civil servant.
  • Advocated individual liberty, freedom of speech, and limits on government interference in personal life (as in On Liberty).
  • Worked as an academic writer and government official, and studied at home under his father James Mill and later Bentham’s circle.
  • Mill’s liberalism—especially his emphasis on personal freedom—was highly influential for later classical liberal and libertarian thinkers.
Summary: Both were academics/philosophers who provided intellectual foundations for later libertarianism, particularly around individual liberty, minimal government interference, and utilitarian ethics. They predate the more formal libertarian movement of the 20th century but are often cited as key precursors.
 
ChatGPT has helped me identify the common academic roots of Marxism and Libertarianism!!

Were Marx and Mill both academics

ChatGPT said:​

Yes, with some nuance: both John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx were engaged in intellectual work, but their academic status was very different.

John Stuart Mill:

  • Not a formal university professor, but a philosopher, political economist, and civil servant deeply involved in intellectual circles.
  • Wrote extensively on economics, liberty, and social reform, and was closely connected to Bentham’s utilitarian circle.
  • So, he was an academic thinker in the sense of producing scholarship and shaping ideas, but he wasn’t employed by a university.
Karl Marx:

  • Formally trained in philosophy and law; earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena.
  • Worked briefly as a journalist and editor; he never held a long-term university professorship.
  • Most of his influence came through writing, political activism, and revolutionary networks rather than academic teaching.
  • Some early positions (e.g., at the University of Bonn and Berlin as a student) were academic, but his adult career was outside formal academia.
So: Mill was an intellectual academic in practice but not formally employed by a university, while Marx was academically trained but spent his career mostly outside formal academic positions.

If you want, I can make a quick table of major political philosophers and their “academic” status—that makes these distinctions very clear. Do you want me to do that?
 
nsacpi said:
that's like so bad faith dude
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Bad faith or whatever you want to call it. You know it was happening and in large numbers and yet you wouldn’t support any realistic measures to stop it.

Fortunately the chosen one ascended back to his rightful place on the throne and has saved hundreds of thousands of little girls from experiencing the same miserable fate.
 
nsacpi said:
you're not wrong

Yes — many of the leading thinkers associated with libertarianism have had academic careers. A few notable examples:


  • Friedrich Hayek – An Austrian economist and philosopher, professor at the London School of Economics and later the University of Chicago. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974.
  • Milton Friedman – A central figure in modern libertarian thought, longtime professor at the University of Chicago, and Nobel laureate in Economics (1976).
  • James Buchanan – Known for developing public choice theory, professor at several U.S. universities, and Nobel laureate in Economics (1986).
  • Robert Nozick – A Harvard philosopher whose book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) is a cornerstone of libertarian political philosophy.
  • Murray Rothbard – Economist and historian, taught at Brooklyn Polytechnic and later the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, influential in the development of anarcho-capitalist thought.

So yes, academics—especially in economics and philosophy—have played a major role in shaping and articulating libertarian ideas.
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the point I was making, which apparently sailed above you, is you can get your robot friend to tell you any point you're making is a wise one
 
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