By Sam Vaknin
Author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
Why did the Beatles generate more income in one year than Albert
Einstein did throughout his long career?
The reflexive answer is:
How many bands like the Beatles were there?
But, on second reflection, how many scientists like Einstein were
there?
Rarity or scarcity cannot, therefore, to explain the enormous
disparity in remuneration.
Then let's try this:
Music and football and films are more accessible to laymen than
physics. Very little effort is required in order to master the rules
of sports, for instance. Hence the mass appeal of entertainment -
and its disproportionate revenues. Mass appeal translates to media
exposure and the creation of marketable personal brands (think
Beckham, or Tiger Woods).
Yet, surely the Internet is as accessible as baseball. Why did none
of the scientists involved in its creation become a multi- billionaire?
Because they are secretly hated by the multitudes.
People resent the elitism and the arcane nature of modern science.
This pent-up resentment translates into anti-intellectualism,
Luddism, and ostentatious displays of proud ignorance. People prefer
the esoteric and pseudo-sciences to the real and daunting thing.
Consumers perceive entertainment and entertainers
as "good", "human", "like us". We feel that there is no reason, in
principle, why we can't become instant celebrities. Conversely,
there are numerous obstacles to becoming an Einstein.
Consequently, science has an austere, distant, inhuman, and
relentless image. The uncompromising pursuit of truth provokes
paranoia in the uninitiated. Science is invariably presented in pop
culture as evil, or, at the very least, dangerous (recall
genetically-modified foods, cloning, nuclear weapons, toxic waste,
and global warming).
Egghead intellectuals and scientists are treated as aliens. They are
not loved - they are feared. Underpaying them is one way of reducing
them to size and controlling their potentially pernicious or
subversive activities.
The penury of the intellect is guaranteed by the anti-capitalistic
ethos of science. Scientific knowledge and discoveries must be
instantly and selflessly shared with colleagues and the world at
large. The fruits of science belong to the community, not to the
scholar who labored to yield them. It is a self-interested corporate
sham, of course. Firms and universities own patents and benefit from
them financially - but these benefits rarely accrue to individual
researchers.
Additionally, modern technology has rendered intellectual property a
public good. Books, other texts, and scholarly papers are non- rivalrous (can be consumed numerous time without diminishing or
altering) and non-exclusive. The concept of "original" or "one time
phenomenon" vanishes with reproducibility. After all, what is the
difference between the first copy of a treatise and the millionth
one?
Attempts to reverse these developments (for example, by extending
copyright laws or litigating against pirates) - usually come to
naught. Not only do scientists and intellectuals subsist on low
wages - they cannot even augment their income by selling books or
other forms of intellectual property.
Thus impoverished and lacking in future prospects, their numbers are
in steep decline. We are descending into a dark age of diminishing
innovation and pulp "culture". The media's attention is equally
divided between sports, politics, music, and films.
One is hard pressed to find even a mention of the sciences,
literature, or philosophy anywhere but on dedicated channels
and "supplements". Intellectually challenging programming is shunned
by both the print and the electronic media as a matter of policy.
Literacy has plummeted even in the industrial and rich West.
In the horror movie that our world had become, economic development
policy is decided by Bob Geldof, the US Presidency is entrusted to
the B-movies actor Ronald Reagan , our reading tastes are dictated
by Oprah, and California's future is steered by Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
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AUTHOR BIO (must be included with the article)
Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant
Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West
Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review,
PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International
(UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health
and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and
Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government
of Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com