Define first — then vote

Via Tyler Cowen, I see that the UK’s Prospect magazine and Foreign Policy would like you to vote for the world’s top public intellectuals. Glancing at the list, I kept thinking that some of these names did not belong with others. Foreign Policy‘s explication of the criteria doesn’t make me feel any more sanguine: What ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Via Tyler Cowen, I see that the UK's Prospect magazine and Foreign Policy would like you to vote for the world's top public intellectuals. Glancing at the list, I kept thinking that some of these names did not belong with others. Foreign Policy's explication of the criteria doesn't make me feel any more sanguine:

Via Tyler Cowen, I see that the UK’s Prospect magazine and Foreign Policy would like you to vote for the world’s top public intellectuals. Glancing at the list, I kept thinking that some of these names did not belong with others. Foreign Policy‘s explication of the criteria doesn’t make me feel any more sanguine:

What is a public intellectual? Someone who has shown distinction in their own field along with the ability to communicate ideas and influence debate outside of it. Candidates must have been alive, and still active in public life (though many on this list are past their prime). Such criteria ruled out the likes of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Milton Friedman, who would have been automatic inclusions 20 or so years ago. This list is about public influence, not intrinsic achievement.

Is it my imagination, or do the underlined portions fail to completely agree with each other? Doesn’t the first underlined section imply public influence and intrinsic achievement? To be fair, this can be like arguing about the Most Valuable Player award in baseball. But, using both influence and achievement as my criteria — and picking those closer to my intellectual predilections in case of a tie — here are my five:

Francis Fukuyama J?rgen Habermas Richard Posner Amartya Sen Zheng Bijian

If you’re wondering who the heck Zheng is, click here. There’s no question that the U.S. government is familiar with him. Commenters are encouraged to report back on their choices.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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