tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post6073195926058655311..comments2024-03-17T00:23:24.896-07:00Comments on Social Democracy for the 21st Century: A Realist Alternative to the Modern Left: Postmodernism and Third World Progressive MovementsLord Keyneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-57365142919995785432015-02-09T05:08:23.239-08:002015-02-09T05:08:23.239-08:00I think most people unfamiliar with postmodernist ...I think most people unfamiliar with postmodernist ideas think of those ideas as "liberal". In fact, postmodernism as discussed in yesterday's post, is really "illiberal" and nothing but a power play through intellectual bullying. <br /><br />By reducing every idea to a personal opinion—and therefore equivalent to all other opinions, since postmodernists deny any means for distinguishing better quality opinions from worse—postmodernists reduce intellectual activity to a cynical manipulation. As you point out, these sorts of arguments only favor those who seek to undermine rational arguments and evidence. Often, these people seeks to establish their own power. Stanislav Andreski raised similar arguments about the effects of poor quality social science research in his excellent book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Social-sciences-sorcery-Stanislav-Andreski/dp/B0006C54HG" rel="nofollow"><i>The Social Sciences as Sorcery</i></a>.<br /><br />And we can't forget how this nonsense is polluting our own world. Graduates from the best universities who have no grounding in the science and mathematics also succumb to postmodern ideas in various guises as well as directly. They go on to make policy and write books and articles that are widely read. I've found this especially true in education research, which is destroying our public schools.dplentinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14175827472300873294noreply@blogger.com