W. E. B DuBois and Irving Babbitt: A Comparative Evaluation of Their Views on Education, Leadership, and Society

A comparison of the lives and thoughts of W. E. B. Du Bois and Irving Babbitt yields a remarkable set of similarities between these two important figures in American intellectual history. Both were born and attended Harvard University as students around the same time. Each went on to a successful career as a professor and writer whose ideas contemporaries coalesced around and whose influence continues to this day. Perhaps even more remarkable is the similarity of their ideas. Du Bois and Babbitt held in common a view of the importance of liberal education and society’s need for an educated leadership elite. Despite these similarities in biography and outlook, however, Du Bois and Babbitt are rarely mentioned together because of their divergent spheres of influence. Whereas Babbitt’s influence has been largely on American conservatives, Du Bois has been most influential among those on the left of the American political spectrum. This paper attempts to bridge that gap between Babbitt and Du Bois as well as their respective spheres of influence. It begins by highlighting and exploring areas of similarity, especially in Babbitt’s and Du Bois’s thoughts on education and leadership as well as their respective critiques of American capitalism. After this exploration of similarities, it moves on to a discussion of important differences in their respective ideas, especially evident in Babbitt’s racial blind spot. Through highlighting these similarities and differences between Du Bois and Babbitt, this paper expands upon previous scholarly work that has sought to establish and explore the historical and cultural contexts of Du Bois’s thought.