Superior is Superior

Suppose over recent decades, there has been a significant decline in the social status of a broadly factual outlook plus a decline in curiosity about the real world. Suppose whole classes of superior persons are rising above the factual strata of the industrial revolution. Not a wildly unreasonable supposition perhaps.

Taking it further, we are seeing a particularly damaging development for the technical, factual culture we inherited – in many important areas, social superiority now carries more weight than truth.

It always did of course, but upper classes willingly promoted and absorbed the science, engineering, discoveries, inventions and wealth which went with the industrial revolution. Now the social value of it all has levelled off, socially superior classes have as much as they need and the weight of social superiority has reasserted itself. To be superior has more social value than veracity.

The Superior person does not search for better explanations of how the world works, the superior person merely asserts explanations consistent with superiority. Some narratives supporting superior explanations are difficult for practical folk to digest because they are nonsense. This does not undermine superior explanations, it enhances their superior credentials. 

Superior explanations rely on social credentials, not supporting evidence. Not that this is a drastic change, but now life has become exceedingly comfortable for elites, it has become advantageous to reassert the value of social credentials over facts. The technical stuff is done, superior people have enough of that thank you very much.