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It's not so much "anti intellectualism" as anti reason. It does not matter if you are talking about the far right or the far left, it's a common denominator in all despotic, tyrannical or dictatorical systems. In both the USSR and in Nazi Germany, which were polar opposites in ideology, you had many, many people of absolute genius. This genius was constrained within the "Party Line". Any ideas outside of that "Line" were considered to be a danger to the premise the state was based upon and therefore brutally repressed. They USSR was particulary pro education and at the time of the revolution the litteracy in Russia was under 10%. Twenty years later it was virtually 100%. My wife' cousin was an English teacher in Siberia under the USSR and the language education was so far superior to anything we have here it's just incredible. When a student finished high school that student was FLUENT in English.
Where the anti reason comes in is when for instence they would study history their version of history would not allow that there is any redeeming value in the Capitalist system. The entire study would be slanted to show the failings and problems or that history. Against that the glories and successes of communism would be clearly taught omitting of course any and all the problems and failures in that system. That approach of course is against all reason and cannot produce true learning in any sense.
I see this anti reason concept played out every single day in the USA. Not only in the educational system but it is especially evident in public affairs. It is the height of unreasonableness to insist that policies that have been proven over and over and over again to be unworkable failures were in fact successes and should be done again. It's anti reason not anti intellectual to lie constantly to the people and especially so when the lie is believed even in the face of overwhelming proof it's a lie. That is the "Party line".
In the USA it's the right of course that has this party line and sticks to it dispite any reason, proof or experience that proves this line is wrong. It's a fairly simple thing to have a party line and to stick to it when you have a very limited and simple platform that is deviod of solutions that fall outside of the extremely limited parameters of that line. That is how you end up with a party like the GOP that can only say, Cut taxes, regress social progress, give corporations carte blanche, attack enemies.
That is about their entire solution to the thousands of complex problems that beset the nation. You know, it would be wonderful if things were that simple and the problems could be solved in that way but REASON tells us that they can't. Experience tells us they can't and history tells us they can't.
On the other hand Liberalism has a very hard time with any kind of party line because Liberalism always consists of specific solutions for each specific problem. Liberals almost never have any kind of orthodox solution to any issue but solutions evolve through the simple system of trial and error. If a solution does not work then modify it or scrap it and try something else.
My favorite liberal leader of all times had a mantra he used thousands of times in public life. "Reason before passion". With reason you can usually solve things, with passion that omits reason the chances are almost nil.
One of the first steps that dictators take is to eliminate the intelligentsia. The reason is obvious: Intellectuals will ask difficult questions that said dictators don't want to have to answer. It's much easier just wiping them out or sending them to a work camp.
Would you say that modern political parties are anti-intellectual? If so, why?
Isn't this a concerning trend?
"Eliminating the intelligentsia" is an OLD TECHNIQUE from a lost age where TV and the internet didn't exist and people had to read books to be 'intelligent'.
In a modern society it's much more important to CONTROL THE INFORMATION via censorship, propaganda and speech laws.
You can see this happening in socialist Europe with their hate speech laws preventing public discussion of many vital political issues, which the Progressives would LOVE to bring to America.
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