# What exactly is a "liberal elite"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609 "2019-10-28T17:26:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/101 "2019-10-30T06:22:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > For the most part the rich liberal uses his money to try to make life better for those without as much. Bill Gates is an example. The rich conservative uses his money to try to get more money. IDK about any of that. Charitable giving by the ultra-rich is one of those things that conservatives like to point to as “proof” that taxes are bad, people with money are good, and that all the “social safety net” functions can be filled “better” by a hodge-podge of charities, and if only people weren’t taxed so much already they could donate that money to said charities. So I don’t know if Gates is truly liberal, and even if he is I’m sure there are plenty of card-carrying Republicans who happily give to charity and would insist that they should be allowed to give to charity instead of pay taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/102 "2019-10-30T06:28:12Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Sure, but the implication, again (which I think is starting to gain some traction), is that there is an implicit allegation of hypocrisy. > > Which may or may not be justified for a given case. > > But, merely labeling someone a hypocrite, even if true, does not make the views they are “hypocritically” espousing “wrong.” > > Which is why I think it’s important for my liberal friends to understand that it’s not just about being educated or wealthy, it’s about the views espoused (the “liberal” part of “liberal elite”), with the achievement of wealth and education (the things commonly associated with “privilege”) within the system being used to bolster an accusation of hypocrisy. As in “you’ve obviously done well in this system that you say we ought to change, and change in a way that will make it harder for others to amass equivalent (to yours) sums of wealth, so clearly you’re a hypocrite.” > > It’s an ad hominem, but not in the way you think. _"merely labeling someone a hypocrite, even if true, does not make the views they are “hypocritically” espousing “wrong.”_ It does, however, make claims of moral superiority wrong; besides there’s a very fine line between hypocrisy and dishonesty, when people can see others, at the very least, lying to themselves they can conclude that they may just as well be lying to others about things. For example, let’s say one of those _elites_ espoussing the view that Climate Change is going to cause so much damage that we absolutely must stop doing X, and then they blatantly do X, some people may think it’s just complete hypocrisy and nothing more, some may conclude that person doesn’t actually believe what they are espousing and just does it for some personal gain (i.e. gaining social capital), others that the elite in question may actually believe what they say but in view of how they act contrary to that belief that individual can’t be trusted to have an accurate view of the world because that disconnect between beliefs and actions exposed a confused or irrational mindset, etc, etc… The bedrock of human relationships is trust, hypocrisy undermines it, if one can’t be true to oneself why should others expect to be treated better? ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/103 "2019-10-30T09:27:52Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s a label useful for making people hostile to people better educated than they are. It’s a pity, because one should be trying to emulate smart people rather than sneering at them, but sneering is lazier so it’s an easy sell. This poster pretty much defines the question in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/104 "2019-10-30T09:52:56Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What fraction of the population do you estimate these folks make up? Do you believe them to make up a large/majority proportion of liberals, specifically? They make up just about every single politician and political loudmouth who advocate for the mentioned policy. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/105 "2019-10-30T10:03:54Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I thought “liberal elite” meant Jews. That’s “cosmopolitan” or “globalist.” A stereotypical “liberal elite” is someone who brags that he doesn’t own a TV. The salient aspect is not the TV, it’s the bragging. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/106 "2019-10-30T11:34:27Z")
This thread is hard to follow because the words ‘_elite_’ and ‘_“elite”_’ each have several meanings, and some posters use the terms interchangeably. And what is a ‘_conservative elite_’? Does it come with or without quotation marks? One theme I glean from reading the thread is that some well-educated people are denounced for thinking they are well educated. Is it only uneducated people who have the right to feel well-educated? :rolleyes: In that context, over the last 20 years there has been a profound shift in voting demographics which may help explain a correlation between _liberal_ and _elite_: > [@](#): > > “In 1994, those with at least some postgraduate experience were evenly split between the Democratic and Republican parties. Today, the Democratic Party enjoys a roughly two-to-one advantage in leaned partisan identification. While some of this shift took place a decade ago, postgraduate voters’ affiliation with and leaning to the Democratic Party have grown substantially just over the past few years, from 55% in 2015 to 63% in 2017.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/107 "2019-10-30T11:44:08Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Some examples: > > Liberal elitism is more often correlated with agnosticism and atheism. > > Liberal elitism is more often correlated with climate change science. > > Liberal elitism is more often correlated with social justice and equality. None of those correlates with elitism; they correlate with liberal only when the definition of liberal is pushed into correlating with them. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/108 "2019-10-30T12:34:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m glad to see that you believe in proposing solid no problem to implement solutions to our problems. Not. > > Take up a collection to build a nuclear submarine, and see how much you get. The benefit to the country as a whole of that sub is great, but the benefit as perceived by each taxpayer (who will never even get to see the sub) is a lot less than the benefit of the money. And they will totally discount the cost of the Russians/Chinese/Grand Fenwickans rolling in. > You think Joe Putz who maybe takes two minutes to read about something the government wants to buy is better qualified than people with experience and training? If you think so, I suppose you diagnose yourself on the internet and don’t bother to go to those medical elite guys. “I read about how some doctor misdiagnosed something or botched an operation, so they are all losers and I can do better.” Is that your general position. How to spend our money is less important then our health, isn’t it? > If you don’t want to bring up Trump, how about the other climate change deniers, all on the right. > Your solution is about the same as saying we will cure obesity by having everyone eat only 10% of the food they do now. What could go wrong? The point you are missing about the fix is multifaceted. With climate change, the US can take all the steps we wasn’t to in regards to making the world a better place, but without the world stepping up to match, we are still doomed. Personal responsibility in this case will only get you so far but in this case, you cant even get the biggest players to take responsibility, why do you think that is? Obesity is the same simple matter that could be fixed by taking personal responsibility for what you allow yourself to be put into your body, as well as how much work you are willing to do to curtail the detrimental things that you do eat. As far as doctors go, they make mistakes just like Joe utz does. The reason the government is held, rightly, to a much higher standard is because when they fuck up, it is on a much higher scale and everyone shares in that burden. As with any policy, the devil is in the details. I am a pretty moderate fellow, with moderate views. I think the policies that are dramatic, require dramatic everything. Funding, support, belief. Policies shouldn’t be rushed through as a feather in a politicians hat. They should ALL be bi-partisan. We are getting far afield of the liberal elite discussion but the part where the liberal elites come in and tell Joe Schmo that “just vote for us, we will take care of you since you have your ill informed view” isn’t aligned with our view for what we have for YOU smacks of arrogance. The problem is they don’t know, THEY are the ill informed ones (and they ssimply don’t listen because they KNOW better) or we simply would not have been having to deal with Trump for the past three years … You bring up the military as a case in point to the collective benefit a sub provides. I don’t disagree with you, however just like economic policy, it should be sold to the public and agreed upon by both sides. I have often espoused that big things need big support, much like constitutional amendments. Especially when you are talking about fundamental changes to our lifestyles. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/109 "2019-10-30T14:52:06Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > They make up just about every single politician and political loudmouth who advocate for the mentioned policy. In what way is that different in the case of right wing conservative politicians and political loudmouths who advocate for their policies? Is it a common term of reference to call them, “conservative elites”? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/110 "2019-10-30T15:25:25Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I acknowledge that’s how you view the term and I’m sure people use it that way. I don’t share that view and I explained how I construe the term. Based on that, the First Steps Act doesn’t seem like it is fairly characterized as liberal elitism. I’m glad that reasonable people like you and me can agree. But we’re talking about all those others who refuse to see reason. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/111 "2019-10-30T16:15:41Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > The point you are missing about the fix is multifaceted. > > With climate change, the US can take all the steps we wasn’t to in regards to making the world a better place, but without the world stepping up to match, we are still doomed. Personal responsibility in this case will only get you so far but in this case, you cant even get the biggest players to take responsibility, why do you think that is? So, even if you stop throwing trash on the street some other guys will still do it, so you shouldn’t stop throwing trash on the street? Yes, while we are a major contributor to climate change, just the US stopping won’t force anyone else to stop. But it does give us a moral position to do something like charging carbon tariffs. We can hardly ask anyone else to fix the problem if we ignore it - and if we do less than some other countries. But that involves solutions - I was talking about denial. Which you are dancing around. > [@](#): > > Obesity is the same simple matter that could be fixed by taking personal responsibility for what you allow yourself to be put into your body, as well as how much work you are willing to do to curtail the detrimental things that you do eat. Actually, obesity has a significant genetic component, and isn’t just personal responsibility. I can say this because I can eat tons of calories and never gain a pound. That doesn’t make me better than someone who gains when looking at food. And you of course missed the point entirely - eating only 10% of a normal diet is going to have more severe health consequences than the obesity it is supposed to cure. As would your “solution.” > [@](#): > > As far as doctors go, they make mistakes just like Joe utz does. The reason the government is held, rightly, to a much higher standard is because when they fuck up, it is on a much higher scale and everyone shares in that burden. You think Joe Putz and a trained doctor would have the same error rate? That’s what you’re implying. And any entity whose errors would have a large impact needs to be held to a higher standard. Talk to Boeing about that. Notice that they took responsibility for certifying the plane from the big bad government. How did that work out? > [@](#): > > Policies shouldn’t be rushed through as a feather in a politicians hat. They should ALL be bi-partisan. Obama thought that. It was his biggest mistake. Note no Republicans voted for ACA despite it being a basically Republican program (aka Romneycare.) Washington hoped for everything to be bipartisan. Didn’t last for long. If everything has to be bipartisan, you might pass a Thanksgiving resolution, and that’s about it. Government would collapse, which is perhaps what you want. Call yourself a moderate? Right. > [@](#): > > We are getting far afield of the liberal elite discussion but the part where the liberal elites come in and tell Joe Schmo that “just vote for us, we will take care of you since you have your ill informed view” isn’t aligned with our view for what we have for YOU smacks of arrogance. The problem is they don’t know, THEY are the ill informed ones (and they ssimply don’t listen because they KNOW better) or we simply would not have been having to deal with Trump for the past three years … Much of what the liberal elite wants is stuff like feeding people if they have no food. What I hear from conservatives is more “it’s your fault, just get a job and stop bothering us.” That said that during the recession also, remember? I’m trying to think of things liberals force on people. Social Security, perhaps? Like it or not, you contribute. Given the pitiful state of retirement savings, I’d say that forcing savings (and forcing employer contributions) is pretty good. What would you tell people who wind up at 66 without money and without being able to work? Tough? At least we didn’t know better than you? > [@](#): > > You bring up the military as a case in point to the collective benefit a sub provides. I don’t disagree with you, however just like economic policy, it should be sold to the public and agreed upon by both sides. Which it is, in Congress. By people who do this full time and have aides to help. I’m retired and I don’t have enough time to study every issue that comes up. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/112 "2019-10-30T16:19:21Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > IDK about any of that. Charitable giving by the ultra-rich is one of those things that conservatives like to point to as “proof” that taxes are bad, people with money are good, and that all the “social safety net” functions can be filled “better” by a hodge-podge of charities, and if only people weren’t taxed so much already they could donate that money to said charities. > > So I don’t know if Gates is truly liberal, and even if he is I’m sure there are plenty of card-carrying Republicans who happily give to charity and would insist that they should be allowed to give to charity instead of pay taxes. I think Gates qualifies as a liberal. I’m not sure if I’ve read about conservatives who claim charity can replace taxes, but I have read of some who say that social programs could be replaced by charity and a tax cut. We just got the tax cut - anyone have evidence about an increase in charitable giving for the poor? ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/113 "2019-10-30T17:23:55Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > So, even if you stop throwing trash on the street some other guys will still do it, so you shouldn’t stop throwing trash on the street? Yes, while we are a major contributor to climate change, just the US stopping won’t force anyone else to stop. But it does give us a moral position to do something like charging carbon tariffs. We can hardly ask anyone else to fix the problem if we ignore it - and if we do less than some other countries. > But that involves solutions - I was talking about denial. Which you are dancing around. > > Actually, obesity has a significant genetic component, and isn’t just personal responsibility. I can say this because I can eat tons of calories and never gain a pound. That doesn’t make me better than someone who gains when looking at food. And you of course missed the point entirely - eating only 10% of a normal diet is going to have more severe health consequences than the obesity it is supposed to cure. As would your “solution.” > You think Joe Putz and a trained doctor would have the same error rate? That’s what you’re implying. And any entity whose errors would have a large impact needs to be held to a higher standard. Talk to Boeing about that. Notice that they took responsibility for certifying the plane from the big bad government. How did that work out? > > Obama thought that. It was his biggest mistake. Note no Republicans voted for ACA despite it being a basically Republican program (aka Romneycare.) > Washington hoped for everything to be bipartisan. Didn’t last for long. If everything has to be bipartisan, you might pass a Thanksgiving resolution, and that’s about it. Government would collapse, which is perhaps what you want. Call yourself a moderate? Right. > > Much of what the liberal elite wants is stuff like feeding people if they have no food. What I hear from conservatives is more “it’s your fault, just get a job and stop bothering us.” That said that during the recession also, remember? > I’m trying to think of things liberals force on people. Social Security, perhaps? Like it or not, you contribute. Given the pitiful state of retirement savings, I’d say that forcing savings (and forcing employer contributions) is pretty good. What would you tell people who wind up at 66 without money and without being able to work? Tough? At least we didn’t know better than you? > > Which it is, in Congress. By people who do this full time and have aides to help. I’m retired and I don’t have enough time to study every issue that comes up. I haven’t denied climate change, but you keep bringing up hypotheticals that don’t fix anything either. Propose a solution so I can shoot it down? But this topic is an offshoot of why liberal elites are supposedly liberal elites. It’s because they think they know better than the other guys what to do to fix the other guys ills. Bipartisan bills used to be the norm. I personally don’t give 2 shits what has happened in the last 3 or 4 presidencies, let’s fix that and we can have bi-partisan bills again. Just throwing up your hands and saying “well, look at what they do” isn’t ever going to resolve the issue. I don’t have a solution for this except to get the MONEY out of politics. As far as the liberal elites in Congress, bipartisanship would solve all of those woes. Forced retirement contributions, or an expansion of Social Security, or even a Basic Guaranteed income , if any of those could be agreed upon and who and how to pay for such things (once upon a time, they may have been able to come to terms) If people choose for themselves to eat cake until they can’t afford cake anymore, I don’t feel the need to be sorry for them all that much. Do we let them die? Probably not, but they can exist on ramen and water. Our prison system is another example of being too cush. Prison should be PRISON, full on chain gang type work being done while there. THAT acts as a deterrent, not the gym having, games playing, TV/library time stuff that they get now. With that said, end the war on drugs and Prison should really only be for the violent criminals. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/114 "2019-10-30T17:48:16Z")
I always thought that the term refered to me, but I am not dangerous or arrogant. Well, arrogant only in the eyes of the lesser beings, I am told, but that is their problem and I don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/115 "2019-10-31T10:13:19Z")
I used to work around this one guy who was a liberal and was big into the idea he wasnt racist and loved MLK and all and claimed I was but then I pointed out his hypocrisy in that he lived in a majority white neighborhood, sent his kids to all white schools, and attended an all white church. Then I pointed out where I lived, worked, and went to church which wasnt exactly diversity-equal but way better than him, and he got angry and dropped the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/116 "2019-10-31T10:24:05Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > We are getting far afield of the liberal elite discussion but the part where the liberal elites come in and tell Joe Schmo that “just vote for us, we will take care of you since you have your ill informed view” isn’t aligned with our view for what we have for YOU smacks of arrogance. The problem is they don’t know, THEY are the ill informed ones (and they ssimply don’t listen because they KNOW better) or we simply would not have been having to deal with Trump for the past three years … > ents. This reminds me of a policy under Obama where they were (rightfully so) upset about the high statistics of black male middle and high school students being suspended and expelled at a higher rate than others and thus creating a “school to prison pipeline”. So under Obama they instituted policies that said schools couldnt suspend or expel black students and instead, had to come up with alternate programs. The result was chaos in our schools with discipline problems skyrocketing and some schools turning chaotic as administrators were powerless to do anything about it. Thing is Obama listened to the wrong people - the educational elites who mostly work at the university level, instead of the teachers working in the bad schools. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/117 "2019-10-31T11:27:51Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I used to work around this one guy who was a liberal and was big into the idea he wasnt racist and loved MLK and all and claimed I was but then I pointed out his hypocrisy in that he lived in a majority white neighborhood, sent his kids to all white schools, and attended an all white church. Then I pointed out where I lived, worked, and went to church which wasnt exactly diversity-equal but way better than him, and he got angry and dropped the subject. Cool story, bro. ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/118 "2019-10-31T11:37:08Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > In what way is that different in the case of right wing conservative politicians and political loudmouths who advocate for their policies? > > Is it a common term of reference to call them, “conservative elites”? Non Sequitur. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/119 "2019-10-31T12:34:40Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > Non Sequitur. Yeah, I can see how someone might find that an inconvenient question, better avoided. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609/120 "2019-10-31T16:05:28Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > You do you. Other people can judge as they see fit. If you’re talking about the calculation of the arctangent of an angle, you could be objectively correct. If you’re talking about the best way to order a person’s affairs to maximize utility, an attitude of humility is better than one of arrogance. What if we are talking about vaccinations? Is the “common sense” position as valid as the elitist doctor? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-liberal-elite/842609.md?page=7)