Tom Nichols: Don't Descend into Darkness

In 'The Death of Expertise,' Tom Nichols examines the forces driving the rejection of expertise in modern American society. He argues that the internet, changes in higher education, and the transformation of the news industry into a 24-hour entertainment machine have contributed to a culture where every opinion is seen as equally valid. Nichols warns that this trend threatens democratic institutions by creating an ill-informed and angry public that denounces intellectual achievement. He emphasizes the importance of a reasoned skepticism and the self-correcting presence of other experts to maintain the integrity of expertise in a functioning democracy.