A farmer’s product might be wheat; a builder’s, a house; and so on. But for the intellectual class — e.g., journalists, lawyers, politicians — their very product is words. That is why, in the news media, concrete acts matter less than what people say, and beliefs are more important than truth. Hence, the discussion is primarily about who said what, what terms were used, how quickly did he say it, and the like. This class is entirely nominalist and has taken the place vacated by an ineffectual spiritual caste. Continue reading →