Brained reign

The Prospect/Foreign Policy poll to choose the "Top 100 Intellectuals" is over, and the results are in.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to see Noam Chomsky in the top spot, and well ahead of the pack. It continues to amaze me that an alleged anarchist who favors conscription (yes, really -- see here and here) and victim disarmament can be taken so seriously by so many as an "intellectual."

On the bright side, several thinkers of various pro-freedom stripes make the list, including Hernando De Soto, Camille Paglia, Mario Vargas Llosa ... hey, go through the list yourself. Mileage varies, but in my opinion there are some high points.

In the "bonus ball" category -- independent nominations of individuals not included on the "ballot" -- Milton Friedman topped the charts, and did sufficiently well that he would have made the top 100 had he been one of the selections. Thomas Sowell shows up too, as does Gore Vidal.

Sadly, a committee oversight resulted in my name being left off the ballot, and you people were too lazy to write it in. Maybe next time.