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Who are the world’s leading public intellectuals? Foreign Policy and Britain’s Prospect magazine selected their top 100, and invited readers to vote for their top twenty. Here was their selection criteria. Rankings are an inherently dangerous business. Whether offering a hierarchy of countries, cities, or colleges, any such list – at least any such list worth compiling – is likely to generate a fair amount of debate. In the last issue, when we asked readers to vote for their picks of the world’s top public intellectuals, we imagined many people would want to make their opinions known. But no one expected the avalanche of voters who came forward. During nearly four weeks of voting, more than 500,000 people came to ForeignPolicy.com to cast ballots. No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list. In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gí¼len. Within hours, votes in his favor began to pour in. His supporters – typically educated, upwardly mobile Muslims – were eager to cast ballots not only for their champion but for other Muslims in the Top 100. Thanks to this groundswell, the top 10 public intellectuals in this year’s reader poll are all Muslim. The ideas for which they are known, particularly concerning Islam, differ significantly. It’s clear that, in this case, identity politics carried the day. We tried to avoid the “box ticking” problem of having x Chinese, y economists and z under-50s. But we have also tried to give due weight to the important thinkers in all the main intellectual disciplines and centers of population. We also tried to ensure that all names on the list are influential in at least a few countries in their region, if not the entire globe. —Prospect and Foreign Policy The list appeared on June 16, 2008. More than 500,000 people voted in this poll. See results below.The Prospect/FP Top 20 Public Intellectuals Rank Name Occupation(s) Country 1. Fethullah Gülen Religious leader Turkey 2. Muhammad Yunus Microfinancier, activist Bangladesh 3. Yusuf al-Qaradawi Cleric Egypt/Qatar 4. Orhan Pamuk Novelist Turkey 5. Aitzaz Ahsan Lawyer, politician Pakistan 6. Amr Khaled Muslim televangelist Egypt 7. Abdolkarim Soroush Religious theorist Iran 8. Tariq Ramadan Philosopher, scholar of Islam Switzerland 9. Mahmood Mamdani Cultural anthropologist Uganda 10. Shirin Ebadi Lawyer, human rights activist Iran 11. Noam Chomsky Linguist, author, activist United States 12. Al Gore Climate change activist, politician United States 13. Bernard Lewis Historian Britain/United States 14. Umberto Eco Medievalist, semiologist, novelist Italy 15. Ayaan Hirsi Ali Activist, politician Somalia/Netherlands 16. Amartya Sen Development economist India 17. Fareed Zakaria Journalist, author United States 18. Garry Kasparov Democracy activist, chess grandmaster Russia 19. Richard Dawkins Biologist, author Britain 20. Mario Vargas Llosa Novelist, politician Peru
.com/spot/topintellectuals2.html
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Who are the world’s leading public intellectuals?
Foreign Policy and Britain’s Prospect magazine selected their top 100, and invited readers to vote for their top twenty. Here was their selection criteria.
Rankings are an inherently dangerous business. Whether offering a hierarchy of countries, cities, or colleges, any such list – at least any such list worth compiling – is likely to generate a fair amount of debate. In the last issue, when we asked readers to vote for their picks of the world’s top public intellectuals, we imagined many people would want to make their opinions known. But no one expected the avalanche of voters who came forward. During nearly four weeks of voting, more than 500,000 people came to ForeignPolicy.com to cast ballots.
No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list. In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gí¼len. Within hours, votes in his favor began to pour in. His supporters – typically educated, upwardly mobile Muslims – were eager to cast ballots not only for their champion but for other Muslims in the Top 100. Thanks to this groundswell, the top 10 public intellectuals in this year’s reader poll are all Muslim. The ideas for which they are known, particularly concerning Islam, differ significantly. It’s clear that, in this case, identity politics carried the day.
We tried to avoid the “box ticking” problem of having x Chinese, y economists and z under-50s. But we have also tried to give due weight to the important thinkers in all the main intellectual disciplines and centers of population. We also tried to ensure that all names on the list are influential in at least a few countries in their region, if not the entire globe.
The list appeared on June 16, 2008. More than 500,000 people voted in this poll. See results below.
.com/spot/topintellectuals2.html
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Our Common Sources
Our Common Sources
The Prospect/FP Top 100 Public Intellectuals
- The Prospect/FP Top 100 Public Intellectuals
TrendingHere are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Current Events This Week: January 2023
African Americans by the Numbers
Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
TrendingHere are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Current Events This Week: January 2023
African Americans by the Numbers
Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
- Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses
- Current Events This Week: January 2023
- African Americans by the Numbers
- Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
- The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
