Recently someone posted this editorial about how everyone's a critic now. The basic idea of the article is now that social media has taken off, more people are critics.
I fail to see how people thinking more is a bad thing. This is not to say that everyone who posts their ideas on Facebook or Twitter (or, you know, blogs) is expressing a reasoned, thoughtful set of ideas, but writing these things down, especially on a regular basis, fosters exactly those kinds of thoughts. And thinking critically isn't a bad thing. Ever. Expressing critical thoughts, especially well-argued ones? Not bad either. Even if apparently no one is listening/reading or especially if people are listening/reading.
Plato himself believed that the best kind of democracy was one where the populace was educated. Here is an elite complaining about the masses self-educating through dialogues (which, incidentally, Plato's mentor, hero and mouthpiece Socrates would have appreciated), taking the time to reason and consider multiple points of view. That is extraordinary and wonderful, and I am happy for the change.
This article is a mess. If this author is holding him or herself up to be a representative of the apparently great work critics do, then no wonder people are turning elsewhere. The pedigree of a writer is unimportant in comparison to what they say and how they say it.
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