William A. Henry III Quotes

• One's worth and self-regard ought to come from individual competitive performance, not from group identity. Pride based on clan or tribal connections is atavistic. It appeals to people who fear they cannot succeed as individuals, and by diverting their energies it all but ensures they will not succeed as individuals.

  William A. Henry III

  Pride, Self, People

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.106, Anchor

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• Ultimately it is the yearning to believe that anyone can be brought up to college level that has brought colleges down to everyone's level.

  William A. Henry III

  Believe, College, Levels

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.188, Anchor

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• The fact is that some people are better than others - smarter, harder working, more learned, more productive, harder to replace.

  William A. Henry III

  People, Facts, Harder

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.23, Anchor

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• Opportunity does not need to be exactly equal. It needs only to exist. For the talented and motivated, that will be enough...The vital thing is not to maximize everyone's performance, but to ensure maximal performance from the most talented, the ones who can make a difference.

  William A. Henry III

  Opportunity, Differences, Making A Difference

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.29, Anchor

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• Where a generation ago people felt entitled to a chance at education, they now feel entitled to the credential affirming that they have completed a course of study regardless of their actual mastery.

  William A. Henry III

  People, Mastery, Generations

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.48, Anchor

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• The very essence of school is elitism. Schools exist to teach, to test, to rank hierarchically to promote the idea that knowing and understanding more is better than knowing and understanding less.

  William A. Henry III

  School, Essence, Ideas

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.71, Anchor

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• No longer a mark of distinction or proof of achievement, a college education is these days a mere rite of passage, a capstone to adolescent party time.

  William A. Henry III

  Party, College, Achievement

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.169, Anchor

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• In the unexamined American Dream rhetoric promoting mass higher education in the nation of my youth, the implicit vision was that one day everyone, or at least practically everyone, would be a manager or a professional. We would use the most elitist of all means, scholarship, toward the most egalitarian of ends. We would all become chiefs; hardly anyone would be left a mere Indian.

  William A. Henry III

  Dream, Mean, Vision

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• The dominant mood of contemporary American culture is the self-celebration of the peasantry.

  William A. Henry III

  Self, Culture, Celebration

  "In Defense of Elitism". Book by William A. Henry III, 1994.

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• Any departure from fact is the first step on a slippery slope toward unbelievability.

  William A. Henry III

  Departure, Slippery Slope, Firsts

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• In my mind, partial failure is always better than delusory success.

  William A. Henry III

  Mind

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.149, Anchor

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• It is a commonplace observation that liberals believe in the perfectibility of man while conservatives believe in the endurance of original sin. Superficially, that would suggest that conservatives take a more understanding and indulgent view of individual lapses, while liberals take a more harshly judgmental one. In fact, we know, quite the opposite is the case.

  William A. Henry III

  Believe, Men, Views

  William A. Henry, III (2015). “In Defense of Elitism”, p.157, Anchor

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• A poet laureate of adolescent sexuality and middle-age longing.

  William A. Henry III

  Age, Poetic, Longing

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