ABSTRACT
Even with Vietnam and Southeast Asia excluded from consideration, as they are in Table 24, it is evident that the concerns of intellectuals are radically different from those of the rest of the American elite. Again, it is true, as we mentioned above, that at the time of our interviews with leaders in 1971, the recession, inflation, and wage-price controls were among the major news stories of the time. Even so, examination of the table shows wide differences between intellectuals and the rest of the American elite, who also differ considerably among themselves. The economy is, after all, most talked about by those who are specialists - businessmen and labor leaders, with the latter feeling especially hard hit. Congress and the administration are next in their concern with the economy, since they are most responsive to the needs of labor and business. It is my judgment, based on the kinds of person in the intellectual sample, that interviews with them timed to coincide with the interviews of the rest of the American leadership, would at most have doubled the number of intellectuals concerned with economic issues, bringing the total to about 16 percent - still a relatively low figure. Since the mass media generally behave like the intellectuals, and since in 1971 only 13 percent chose to talk about the economy, this hypothetical figure of 16 percent for the intellectuals seems quite reasonable.
