"The problem is that the simple trappings of deliberation make academics think that they've
reached an opinion through reasoned debate -- instead of, in part, through an irrational social
dynamic. The opinion takes on the status of a norm. Extreme views appear to be logical
extensions of principles that everyone more or less shares, and extremists gain a larger
influence than their numbers merit. If participants left the enclave, their beliefs would
moderate, and they would be more open to the beliefs of others. But with the conferences,
quarterlies, and committee meetings suffused with extreme positions, they're stuck with abiding
by the convictions of their most passionate brethren.
"The phenomenon that I have described is not so much a political matter as a social dynamic; any
political position that dominates an institution without dissent deterioriates into smugness,
complacency, and blindness. The solution is an intellectual climate in which the worst
tendencies of group psychology are neutralized."