Where does ‘mainstream thought’ come from? Who decides what conventional wisdom is? Why was the work of Van Gogh only widely appreciated after his death? Why is it that when trying to come up with solutions to the global economic downturn, heterodox economists don’t get the same kind of media attention as mainstream ones? What does the structure of today’s market for ideas look like and what does it take to get your ideas, good, bad or ugly, heard?

In some circumstances, the answers are dead simple. If I suggest to you that the concept of gravity is all wrong and that what goes up stays up, it doesn’t take too much to set up a quick experiment that disproves my hypothesis. Fair enough. But what about ideas that don’t lend themselves to testing as easily as the force of gravity? And going back to gravity, who would bother to even set up an experiment to prove its existence? We are all so familiar with some ideas that we instantly dismiss new ones that challenge them, sometimes without even thinking about it. What if a social concept which is as readily accepted as gravity is wrong? How does the person who comes up with the ‘right answer’ convince us otherwise?

I am working on a book on the structure of the world’s market of ideas. As things stand, I plan on (somehow) tracking down and interviewing Aaron McGruder, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Thabo Mbeki and others. I also plan to investigate closely the works of Antonio Gramsci and Michael Foucault. This project will include an examination of the publishing industry, the film industry, as well as the news media industry.

If you are an expert in any of the above, if you know any of the people I have mentioned or others who may be helpful, or if you are in a position to facilitate or give an interview, I would be most grateful. If you have any other ideas, suggestions or contributions to this exercise, please leave a comment below or email me using the form on the ‘contact’ page.

Thank you.