Voltaire's Bastards

Why it’s on the list: Saul’s attack on rule by technical expertise — the argument that the Enlightenment’s reason became a self-justifying managerial method detached from the ends it was supposed to serve.

Where I heard about it

• Replies to @SpencrGreenberg — named in the thread answering “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?”, June 2025. Full list: A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Connections

• Enlightenment — The inheritance Saul says was misused.
• Institutions — The managerial class he is aiming at.
• Ideology — The book’s real subject.
• Governance — Where the argument lands.
• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.