Actually, he was saying exactly that in his original quotation AND his explanation. And now he's getting pilloried for suggesting that we aren't "choosing" our values like the enlightened individuals we believe ourselves to be but are instead very much linked to our social and economic context.

In addition to being a snob, he's also being called a marxist and a nihilist.

Americans aren't prepared to have anyone tell them that they are products of their society.