Definition: “Intellectual”

DEFINITION: “INTELLECTUAL” (Idea Worker, Seller of Ideas)

—“Curt, define the term ‘intellectual’ pls.”— Francesco Principi

“Idea-workers that exercise influence on policy makers and public opinion, but are not directly accountable for the results.”

“Those whose careers are built on the creation and dissemination of ideas have played a role in many societies out of all proportion to their numbers. Whether that role has, on balance, made those around them better off or worse off is one of the key questions of our times.”

Empirically speaking it is very hard to argue that intellectuals in the 20th c have produced more harm than good.

See Thomas Sowell’s “Intellectuals and Society”.