The Decline of Intelligence in America - by Seymour W Itzkoff (Hardcover)

About the Book

. . . Mr. Itzkoff places most of the blame for America's alleged intellectual decline on what he sees as an economically and intellectually elite cast of misguided liberals. They have isolated themselves from American society, he says, by their paternalistic treatment of the underclass, by discounting the importance of traditional family values and by failing to raise enough bright children to sustain national competence. The New York Times Book Review

Few doubt that the United States has slipped from its longstanding eminence as the world's wealthiest and most productive nation. The problem for the past 30 years has been the diagnosis of both the decline and then the cure. Literally trillions of dollars have been expended in futile programs to stanch the hemorrhaging of our economic wealth, jobs, educational achievement, and cultural elan.

Itzkoff argues that we will never stop the fall until we understand our real national dilemma. This is the decline in our national intelligence profile: fewer citizens of high intelligence, educational potential, and economic productivity. These ideas are taboo. Itzkoff, however, insists that these are the facts, and they must be examined. In this book, he lays out the available evidence for our social disintegration and suggests a rational program of policy initiatives that would begin to restore us to what we were as recently as 1955--the great hope of the world.

Book Synopsis

. . . Mr. Itzkoff places most of the blame for America's alleged intellectual decline on what he sees as an economically and intellectually elite cast of misguided liberals. They have isolated themselves from American society, he says, by their paternalistic treatment of the underclass, by discounting the importance of traditional family values and by failing to raise enough bright children to sustain national competence. The New York Times Book Review

Few doubt that the United States has slipped from its longstanding eminence as the world's wealthiest and most productive nation. The problem for the past 30 years has been the diagnosis of both the decline and then the cure. Literally trillions of dollars have been expended in futile programs to stanch the hemorrhaging of our economic wealth, jobs, educational achievement, and cultural elan.

Itzkoff argues that we will never stop the fall until we understand our real national dilemma. This is the decline in our national intelligence profile: fewer citizens of high intelligence, educational potential, and economic productivity. These ideas are taboo. Itzkoff, however, insists that these are the facts, and they must be examined. In this book, he lays out the available evidence for our social disintegration and suggests a rational program of policy initiatives that would begin to restore us to what we were as recently as 1955--the great hope of the world.

From the Back Cover

Few doubt that the United States has slipped from its longstanding eminence as the world's wealthiest and most productive nation. The problem for the past thirty years has been the diagnosis of both the decline and then the cure. Literally trillions of dollars have been expended in futile programs to staunch the hemorrhaging of our economic wealth, jobs, educational achievement, and cultural elan. Itzkoff argues that we will never stop the fall until we understand our real national dilemma. This is the decline in our national intelligence profile: fewer citizens of high intelligence, educational potential, and economic productivity. These ideas are taboo. Itzkoff, however, insists that these are the facts, and they must be examined. In this book, he lays out the available evidence for our social disintegration and suggests a rational program of policy initiatives that would begin to restore us to what we were as recently as 1955 - the great hope of the world.

Review Quotes

.,."[Itzkoff's] underlying premise is that national survival is constructed of three building blocks: educational achievement, economic prosperity, and social stability....With his background in music, philosophy, and educational theory, Itzkoff analyzes America's economic decline, educational wreckage, and unraveling of social bonds. For him, the real problem is that all the U.S. population derives from a 'lower level of the intellectual, and thus, the social scale.' Upper-division undergraduate through faculty."-Choice

.,."Mr. Itzkoff places most of the blame for America's alleged intellectual decline on what he sees as an economically and intellectually elite cast of misguided liberals. They have isolated themselves from American society, he says, by their paternalistic treatment of the underclass, by discounting the importance of traditional family values, and by failing to raise enough bright, educated children to sustain national competence."-The New York Times Book Review

?...[Itzkoff's] underlying premise is that national survival is constructed of three building blocks: educational achievement, economic prosperity, and social stability....With his background in music, philosophy, and educational theory, Itzkoff analyzes America's economic decline, educational wreckage, and unraveling of social bonds. For him, the real problem is that all the U.S. population derives from a 'lower level of the intellectual, and thus, the social scale.' Upper-division undergraduate through faculty.?-Choice

?...Mr. Itzkoff places most of the blame for America's alleged intellectual decline on what he sees as an economically and intellectually elite cast of misguided liberals. They have isolated themselves from American society, he says, by their paternalistic treatment of the underclass, by discounting the importance of traditional family values, and by failing to raise enough bright, educated children to sustain national competence.?-The New York Times Book Review

?Itzkoff traces the economic and political decline of the U.S. to the diminishing of intelligence in the younger population. They are from the lower end of the intellectual, and so the social, scale he says, and cannot be educated even if the schools were perfect. His solution is to encourage the finest people to raise lots of children in traditional families and to discourage the less gifted from reproducing. All voluntary, I'm sure he would insist.?-Reference & Research Book News

..."ÝItzkoff's¨ underlying premise is that national survival is constructed of three building blocks: educational achievement, economic prosperity, and social stability....With his background in music, philosophy, and educational theory, Itzkoff analyzes America's economic decline, educational wreckage, and unraveling of social bonds. For him, the real problem is that all the U.S. population derives from a 'lower level of the intellectual, and thus, the social scale.' Upper-division undergraduate through faculty."-Choice

..."Mr. Itzkoff places most of the blame for America's alleged intellectual decline on what he sees as an economically and intellectually elite cast of misguided liberals. They have isolated themselves from American society, he says, by their paternalistic treatment of the underclass, by discounting the importance of traditional family values, and by failing to raise enough bright, educated children to sustain national competence."-The New York Times Book Review

"Itzkoff traces the economic and political decline of the U.S. to the diminishing of intelligence in the younger population. They are from the lower end of the intellectual, and so the social, scale he says, and cannot be educated even if the schools were perfect. His solution is to encourage the finest people to raise lots of children in traditional families and to discourage the less gifted from reproducing. All voluntary, I'm sure he would insist."-Reference & Research Book News

..."[Itzkoff's] underlying premise is that national survival is constructed of three building blocks: educational achievement, economic prosperity, and social stability....With his background in music, philosophy, and educational theory, Itzkoff analyzes America's economic decline, educational wreckage, and unraveling of social bonds. For him, the real problem is that all the U.S. population derives from a 'lower level of the intellectual, and thus, the social scale.' Upper-division undergraduate through faculty."-Choice

About the Author

SEYMOUR W. ITZKOFF has been a Professor at Smith College since 1965. Trained in music, philosophy, and educational theory, he is the author of 12 earlier books including The Road to Equality: Evolution and Social Reality (Praeger Trade, 1992) and a four-part series on the evolution of human intelligence.