2009’s alternative global thinkers similar to our hegemonic ones

The online magazine Pulse takes a shot at FP’s Global Thinkers list: We were naturally skeptical since the selection included Dick Cheney, General Petraeus, Larry Summers, Thomas Friedman, Bernard-Henri Lévy, David Kilcullen, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Salam Fayyad, The Kagan Family (yes, all of them) and Ahmed Rashid among others.  We don’t consider any of these people thinkers, let alone ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

The online magazine Pulse takes a shot at FP's Global Thinkers list:

The online magazine Pulse takes a shot at FP’s Global Thinkers list:

We were naturally skeptical since the selection included Dick Cheney, General Petraeus, Larry Summers, Thomas Friedman, Bernard-Henri Lévy, David Kilcullen, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Salam Fayyad, The Kagan Family (yes, all of them) and Ahmed Rashid among others.  We don’t consider any of these people thinkers, let alone having global significance, and we couldn’t help but notice that the main thrust of all their work aligns with the global military and economic agenda of the US government. 

So Pulse polled their writers and came up with own list, including left-of-center writers like Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein, Eduardo Galleano, and Tariq Ali. Their Top 20 also happened to include two thinkers — Amartya Sen and Tariq Ramadan — who were also on our list as well as another guy who writes for us from time to time.

Pulse’s honorable mentions featured even more doubles with our list, including Bill McKibben, James Hansen, Joseph Stiglitz, and Karen Armstrong. Despite our hegemonic capitalist agenda, we’ve even featured

Could it be that FP’s thinkers actually espouse a fairly wide diversity of opinions and not just "the global military and economic agenda of the US government"?

In the end, the whole point of the list — and all the many, many lists we run — is to start discussion. And to that end, Pulse’s list is very welcome addition to the conversation. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.