The Burden of Bad Ideas: How Modern Intellectuals Misshape Our Society

by Heather Mac Donald

Critics have attacked the foolishness of some of today's elite thought from many angles, but few have examined the real-world consequences of those ideas. In The Burden of Bad Ideas, Heather Mac Donald reports on their disastrous effects throughout our society. At a Brooklyn high school, students perfect their graffiti skills for academic credit. An Ivy League law professor urges blacks to steal from their employers. Washington bureaucrats regard theft by drug addicts as evidence of disability, thereby justifying benefits. Public health officials argue that racism and sexism cause women to get AIDS. America's premier monument to knowledge, the Smithsonian Institution, portrays science as white man's religion. Such absurdities, Ms. Mac Donald argues, grow out of a powerful set of ideas that have governed our public policy for decades, the product of university faculties and a professional elite who are convinced that America is a deeply unjust society. And while these beliefs have damaged the nation as a whole, she observes, they have hit the poor especially hard. Her reports trace the transformation of influential opinion-makers (such as the New York Times) and large philanthropic foundations from confident advocates of individual responsibility, opportunity, and learning into apologists for the welfare state. In a series of closely reported stories from the streets of New York to the seats of intellectual power, The Burden of Bad Ideas reveals an upside-down world and how it got that way.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Sociology, Economics, Cultural, Philosophy, Education

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a New York Times bestselling author. She is a recipient of the 2005 Bradley Prize. Mac Donald’s work at City Journal has covered a range of topics, including higher education, immigration, policing, homelessness and homeless advocacy, criminal-justice reform, and race relations. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Criterion. Mac Donald's newest book, The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture (2018), argues that toxic ideas first spread by higher education have undermined humanistic values, fueled intolerance, and widened divisions in our larger culture.

Mac Donald’s The War on Cops (2016), a New York Times bestseller, warns that raced-based attacks on the criminal-justice system, from the White House on down, are eroding the authority of law and putting lives at risk. Other previous works include The Burden of Bad Ideas (2001), a collection of Mac Donald’s City Journal essays, details the effects of the 1960s counterculture’s destructive march through America’s institutions. In The Immigration Solution: A Better Plan than Today’s (2007), coauthored with Victor Davis Hanson and Steven Malanga, she chronicles the effects of broken immigration laws and proposes a practical solution to securing the country’s porous borders. In Are Cops Racist? (2010), another City Journal anthology, Mac Donald investigates the workings of the police, the controversy over so-called racial profiling, and the anti-profiling lobby’s harmful effects on black Americans.

A nonpracticing lawyer, Mac Donald clerked for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and was an attorney-advisor in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a volunteer with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She has frequently testified before U.S. House and Senate Committees. In 1998, Mac Donald was appointed to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s task force on the City University of New York.

A frequent guest on Fox News and other TV and radio programs, Mac Donald holds a B.A. in English from Yale University, graduating with a Mellon Fellowship to Cambridge University, where she earned an M.A. in English and studied in Italy through a Clare College study grant. She holds a J.D. from Stanford University Law School.

At the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation's 2018 annual meeting in downtown Los Angeles, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called Mac Donald, “the greatest thinker on criminal justice in America today.”

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Mac Donald is an excellent journalist and researcher. The collection herein makes it one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read (I've read about 50-75 annually for 50+ years and am a professional author). It should be recommended reading for all sociology, history, legal, religious, education, gov, and poly-sci degree majors. Those who reported she was not a competent writer, or did not like the content, are likely part of the younger population that was force-feed the very bad ideas that she discusses and reviews therein; or the very people who have promoted them and thus are those she has cautioned us to avoid as harmful. The book now has some date on the factual examples as two decades have gone by, but I just re-read it (2015) and found it still pertinent.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

I mistakenly thought this book might attempt to engage the reader at some kind of intellectual level. Instead it turned out to be a thinly disguised, incoherently written, polemic screed.

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst books I have tried to read in some time. The facts seem to be in order, albeit very selectively chosen to support a rigid, right-wing ideology. Her interpretation of the facts is where this book falls down. She often takes outrageous sounding events or quotes out of context, thus making them seem all that more outrageous. In most cases what she shares could easily be interpreted quite differently than she chooses to. Not only is she extremely biased, she also conveniently leaves out any facts that might refute, or weaken, her one-sided conclusions. After the introduction and one chapter I had to quit. I couldn't take any more. The only people who will likely enjoy this book are those who are already extremely conservative and close-minded.

[Michael Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of articles by one of the best reporters for City Journal, the main publication of the Manhattan Institute, a pro-capitalism think tank. The first chapter describes how philanthropy has changed over the years. Great capitalists, such as Andrew Carnegie. John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford originally used their wealth to support high culture: classical music, art museums, medical research, libraries and universities. But during the 1960s, many of these foundations shifted their funds towards left-wing advocacy groups, helping to spawn the welfare rights movement, affirmative action, bilingual education, public housing, sex education and ethnic studies depatments. A later chapter describes an effort in the 1990s to provide free housing to the homeless people in New York's Times Square. Almost all of them refused it. This disproves the assertion that the main reason the homeless are on the streets is because they have no where else to go. They are on the streets, because they want to live on the streets. They are provided with free food, clothing and medical care even if they choose to live on the streets. Homeless advocates have prevented enforcement of laws against public urination, vagrancy and camping on the streets, saying that the homeless are forced to do such things, because they have nowhere else to go. But when given somewhere else to go, the homeless still misbehave. Their real problems are mental illness and substance abuse.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

MacDonald is a journalist, and this book is simply a collection of her articles, with no effort made to tie them together (other than a quick six page introduction). The writing is unfortunately newspaper-like: jerky, top-heavy, and with overly condensed opinions. I didn't really trust her political sensibilities (too much Republican, not enough Christian), and her evidence was anecdotal, and thereby open to the (probably somewhat justified) charge of sensationalism and one-sidedness. It was like reading a badly written version of P.J. O'Rourke, but almost entirely devoid of humor (so, just depressing)

So I found myself agreeing with her, thinking she was saying something important, and not at all wanting to read the book. The lemon is the perfect symbol for the book. Reading it is like drinking lemonade that someone forgot to put sugar in.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is another not that great book. The author has some really strong feelings about stuff. Real strong. But I barely know what she is ranting about. The book is a series of articles on different topics, but I can't wade through them because she doesn't offer both viewpoints and then her opinion. She just offers a bunch of very profession-specific, damning "insights" that as readers, we have to agree with out of common sense. But I'm not learning anything and getting through every page is painful. I like to be presented with information to make my own conclusions and not be led down a path of criticism that reads like "and then another thing is____, and the other reason why this thought process is stupid is ______".

Did she publish this to be her own soap box?

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many of us look to government at all levels to cut spending and balance budgets, this reading points out a particularly fertile area for scrutiny. Social programs at state and federal levels are ripe with fraud and abuse as this author points out with many startling examples. Many well meaning social program generators and administrators enable bad behavior in folks who look to use the "system" to carry them through their lives. These lives are fraught with drug and alcohol abuse and multiple birthing with multiple males. Clearly there are those who need temporary help to get back on their feet, but this author documents far too many cases of lives being built on social programs of dubious or no value, while rewarding bad behavior with millions of dollars of taxpayers money. It is a short book well worth reading.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book because there are a lot of upsetting ideas that the author poses without footnotes backing up her position. I wanted to like the book as MacDonald has some salient points. However, when you make charges that certain very stupid policies are being implemented, those details should be documented. And then there was a certain whiny undertone that, combined with the lack of footnotes or bibliography, convinced me to seek a different source of indignity. I can't be more specific as it has been weeks since I returned the book to the library.

[Miriam "Mayang" Azurin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's very useful whether you're tilted toward the right or the left. It will provoke reflections on how we can better social change...but that's just about it...provoke. It's not a compelling thought to change the discourse of the current poverty discussions because at the end of each essay is a rightist paradigm cloaked in factual argumentation.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A conservative hunting for cherries. The less Donald grasps an issue, the stronger the convictions. Which is extremely human, hence uninteresting. The amusing part: how does Donald calls own convictions? Truth.

[Eric Sondermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her first chapter, "The billions of dollars that made things worse," is particularly strong and important.

[Ryan Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Mac Donald shows with great flare how ideas that sound good or have good intentions might not always lead to good results. Many policies on housing and welfare have actually made life harder for poor Americans. The concepts in this book have only become more true as time passes.

[Jason Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays is somewhat dated (most were written in the mid- to late-nineties), but still highly relevant to our era, especially as I write this review in summer 2020.

Mac Donald takes on numerous liberal pet programs with data, first-hand observation, and a critical mindset seemingly wholly absent in the do-gooders who believe the answer to any societal ill is money and a government program. Entirely absent from the liberal mindset is the understanding of human nature as basically sinful and selfish, with the concomitant realization that when it comes to welfare programs, you inevitably get more of what you subsidize.

Mac Donald's essays cover:

- The billions of foundation dollars (Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford...) that no longer support the foundations' (and their founders') stated purposes, and often militate expressly against original intent, making the objects of their charity worse off than in their absence
- The evolution of the NY Times Hundred Neediest Cases over its 100+ year history, and the associated change in public perception of poverty
- The quackery masquerading as public health
- The idiocy in the teacher schools that explains clearly why Johnny can't read
- And several more, including forays into homelessness, foster care, law schools, the Smithsonian, and a NYC secondary school that teaches inner city youth to express themselves using graffiti

Nothing is easier to observe than the utter failure of the welfare state, nor so sacred to advocates. Mac Donald is not their favorite resource.

[minhhai · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of criticisms against insane American ideologies in late 20th century by the fearless voice Heather Mac Donald. The topics under attack are victimology, identity politics, welfare state and police brutality. All of them belong to the Radical Left supported by the Democratic Party.

As always, Mac Donald's writing is strong, direct and at the same time humorous. She points out huge consequences from the authorities' blindly following those extremist ideals. For example, giving too much support for the poor without imposing personal responsibility leads to their dependence on welfare that prevents them from exiting poverty; or lowering law standards to support diversity leads to confused jurisprudence; or overreacting to police misconduct can increase police-citizen tension that in turns makes the situation even worse.

It might have been taken a lot of courage to write these essays. They are more than a breath of fresh air amid our cultural turmoil, but a cold shower. The book was finished before 2000, but 20 years later, things have not changed in a positive way. The George Floyd case is just a replay of Amadou Diallo's. NYC and LA are still full of homeless. Museums have increasingly consumed by identity politics. We need more books like Mac Donald's to wake ourselves up.

[Elynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some things I did not agree with, and she may have been "stretching" the data from studies she used, but I found much of it very insightful. I enjoyed it at the same time as much of the content made me upset and the bureaucracy of systems.

Each chapter is a different essay on various institutions: welfare system, education, teachers colleges, law school, etc. and she discusses how they have been shaped by modern ideals and have removed accountability from the system. Most of it is based on observations in New York, but definitely has relevance to all other areas.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like social programs, you'll hate this book. If you hate social programs, you'll like this book. :)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Government folly. It surrounds all of us. Heather MacDonald has done an excellent job of illuminating the lunacy and its impact upon all of us.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read

[Amy Mossoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's worthwhile reading, but not inspiring. I love Heather Mac Donald but I just don't think this compilation of essays shows her at her best.

[Stephen Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of powerfully trenchant, well-researched essays on a host of hot button issues in the U.S.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough book to read. It is dense and thought-provoking. Each chapter is a different topic, often from headline news in the late 1990's. Ms. Mac Donald backs up her analysis with data and tries to present multiple perspectives on how she reaches her conclusions. Some ideas surprised me, while others made me anxious about how such things could have happened. Sadly, many of those ideas are still being re-packaged today.

If I had to summarize the various accounts presented here, I would say that the bottom line problem amounts to lack of accountability. Without accountability, there is no modification or revision to actually improve these examples, just sit back and watch as things continue to deteriorate.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of articles. Topics still interesting, but some are not as newsworthy as they once were.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have looked at the publication date - interesting topicals, but outdated stats for current conversations. (Published 2000)

[Verminicious Knid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d been hoping for a more coherent book than a collection of essays. The quality varies between each one, but the effective ones are evergreen.

[Or Elsewhere · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by Karen for Karens.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

In publishing this book, the world learned that journalist and think tank fellow Heather MacDonald has reached that status in which old, recycled articles from other publications are deemed worthy enough to appear in book form. Those looking for an original work, as I was, will be disappointed.

Because I hadn't read any of these articles, though, the disappointment was mild. Most of them appeared in City Journal throughout the 1990s. I don't read the City Journal, never have, probably never will. I don't have anything against the magazine. There is only so much time during the day, and I already struggle to stay current with the magazines I do read.

I don't have a lot to say about this book. The articles are dated and could have used some editing. For example, when MacDonald mentions dates like "next March" and "late 1995," it's a bit jarring. You'd think the editor could have cleaned up some of those references to make the article seem less old.

Most of the essays are standard conservative fare - Mac Donald shows government programs to help the poor are inefficient and wasteful, not to mention harmful to those who are supposed to benefit. Little in this book is surprising to most conservatives and libertarians.

There are a few original stories, though. Perhaps the most interesting was MacDonald's inspection of the New York Times Hundred Neediest Cases. She explains how it began during the Depression and then changed into something barely recognizable in subsequent decades. The Times, for example, used to distinguish between the "deserving" poor and those who were poor because of their own irresponsible behavior. Not anymore - now all behavior is coddled or excused, no matter how tragic the consequences. Few attempts are made anymore to encourage irresponsible people to change their ways.

MacDonald also examines how liberal endowments like the Ford Foundation have corrupted American society with their grants and feel-good programs.

Other than that, the book is a standard conservative/libertarian critique of much of the hot-button social issues of the 1990s, like political correctness and the Smithsonian and government subsidies to drug dealers. For those readers not familiar with these issues, you'll probably be surprised and dismayed at how your tax dollars are wasted.

Heather MacDonald is a fine writer and deserves credit for reporting these stories. I just wish this book had been an original work rather than recycled work.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a breath of fresh in the area of political debate. It is a conservative book that uses clear logic to base its arguments on. It traces public policy that has been made over the last 40 years. With most of the focus on problems with public policy that ignores personal responsibility. It is very critical of research that shows causality between race and poverty. The problem this book argues is that correlation does not mean causality. The author makes the case that most public policies undermine personal responsibility and by so doing undermines the original goal of the policy.

I wish conservatives could articulate as well as this book instead of the hate radio hosts that use yelling, belittling, and cutting off opposite points of view. This seems to be the face of the conservative movement in the US.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conservative essays on how Marxist, feminist, and cultural ideals have the effect of taking substance out of learning institutions and fostering dependency on governmental programs.

This was an easy read while I was ill with the flu--Mac Donald makes some very good points in entertaining short essays. Many of her concerns with education echo Alan Bloom's Closing of the American Mind. However, she ends her long tirades laden with individual examples, with very quick, don't-look-at-me solutions. Unfortunately, some of these "solutions" are very worrisome, and some do not truly address the problems she lays out. Overall, though her criticisms are worth investigating, I don't think these answers are very meaningful.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one will certainly offend some readers, but it is hard to argue with some of her arguments. To Quote a couple of other columnists: "One of the best of our urban journalists considers the upside-down world of public policy and the entrenchment of foolish ideas in closely reported stories from the streets of New York to the seats of intellectual power. Insightful and articulate...entertaining and provocative." --Richard Lamm, Wall Street Journal. "Spirited, stimulating, eloquent essays...vivid and devastating....The Burden of Bad Ideas is social, cultural, and political criticism of the first order." --Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
I would have to agree.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find my review at The Rogue Administrator