Elite Human Capital in Open and Closed Cultures

Note: Below is a draft of Chapter 4 of my forthcoming book on Elite Human Capital. See also Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3. It borrows from my previous article “Elite Human Capital Is Always Liberal,” in the second half, but begins with a new argument about the relationship between EHC and ideology, and under what circumstances one can have a conservative movement that is EHC.

Elite Human Capital tends towards written word cultures, while Low Human Capital relies on audiovisual content. Differences in intelligence and moral idealism help explain why. Those who are less intelligent and lazier tend not to read sophisticated newspapers, books, magazines, and journal articles. Podcasts and television are generally inferior to the written word in terms of communicating information on complex topics.

That said, not all Elite Human Capital is liberal. But communities who have EHC traits while being conservative or reactionary in their views end up that way because they form cultures, subcultures, and institutions that are hostile to dissent. If one imagines a 2x2 matrix, each combination is possible.

Quadrants I and III are instantly recognizable given the previous chapters. Today, American politics, like that of much if not most of the developed world, is divided between a relatively open-minded EHC faction on one side (Quadrant I) and an LHC, low openness crowd (Quadrant III) on the other. It is Quadrants II and IV that need further explanation.