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 is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.