ThirstyFish

Once upon a time, Philadelphia had a rich culture of music. Not any longer. The live music scene has all but disappeared. Although the city is going through a new phase of gentrification, the new city culture is not really that peculiar. Television dominates culture, hence we are seeing the emergence of a global monoculture and the loss of cultural diversity.

The term "tyranny of the majority" was introduced by the affluent to caution against mob rule. Coined by John Adams in 1788, it was popular among the Founding Fathers and has played a role in shaping the opinions of many philosophers. I'm not sure these intellectuals signed up for the emergence of a global monoculture when they advocated for obscurantism. We now have a near uniform, television-conditioned global majority. Unintended consequences, or was it intended?

The elitist assumption that "the mob" can never grasp what is best for them, hence, the affluent have a right to rule over them, deceive them or leave them in the dark is a fatally flawed and a disingenuous rationalization. The affluent do not really fear the lack of wisdom of the crowds; What they fear is losing their property. There are plenty of examples in the histories of many indigenous cultures to suggest that, when crowds are well informed and are allowed to act with their own volition, they are generally way wiser than "intellectuals". Intelligentsia, almost without exception, have hidden agendas.