The Problem with Stupid: Ignorance, Intellectuals, Post-Truth and Resistance

By Tom Grimwood

In the past two decades, the rise of a particular commonplace in public debate has emerged on both the Left and the Right: the threat of 'the stupid.' Far from a throwaway ad hominem, stupidity has become a key trope for both explaining and criticising the election results, culture wars and the advances of post-truth. But how do we negotiate 'the stupid' in a meaningful way? Does critique and resistance depend on the mobilisation of intellect, and what does the prevalence of stupidity as a commonplace suggest about the risks of such a mobilisation? What are the resources to work through it outside of condemnation or insult? Taking 'the stupid' as a primary figure in today's cultural rhetoric, Tom Grimwood uses internet memes, film and media, alongside philosophical inquiry, to present a series of interventions in the assumptions of what makes 'the stupid' dangerous and how to move beyond these assumptions into effective resistance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1803410760
• ISBN13: 9781803410760
• Release Date: June 2023
• Publisher: Zer0 Books
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.4"