Niall Ferguson: The Treason of the Intellectuals

Niall Ferguson argues that anyone who naively believes higher education instills morality has not studied the history of German universities under the Third Reich. The piece draws on Julien Benda's 1927 book *La trahison des clercs*, which condemned European intellectuals' descent into extreme nationalism and racism. At that time Benito Mussolini had been in power in Italy for five years, and Adolf Hitler was still six years from power in Germany.