Three Intellectuals in Politics

Three Intellectuals in Politics PDF Author: James Joll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description

Three Intellectuals in Politics

Three Intellectuals in Politics PDF Author: James Joll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description


Three Intellectuals in Politics: Blum, Rathenau, Marinetti

Three Intellectuals in Politics: Blum, Rathenau, Marinetti PDF Author: James Joll
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
“Léon Blum [1872-1950], Walther Rathenau [1867-1922] and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti [1876-1944] were all men who had made careers in other fields before they entered political life. They were all men who were aware that the development of machines and of mechanised industry had created a new age; and they were all concerned to come to terms with it. Moreover, they all belonged to a European intellectual and artistic world that was truly international, and, although they never met, they had friends and acquaintances in common. They were all men of ideas who were, in one way or another, compelled to go into politics because of the intellectual position they had reached. All three experienced the difficulties and frustrations which confront the man of theory in the world of practice; and all of them suffered as a result of becoming politicians. Entry into politics led to Rathenau’s death; it endangered Blum’s life and made nonsense of Marinetti’s... The careers of all three men raise the question of how far a man of intelligence or imagination, sensibility or originality, independence or scrupulousness can in fact stand up to the strain of the ruthless machine-politics of the twentieth century, and whether the intellectual in politics is not always going to be doomed to failure because of the nature of his own virtues... This book is... an attempt to give accounts of the character, ideas and influence of three Europeans, born into the apparently stable world of middle class commerce and industry in the second half of the nineteenth century, who realised that that world was changing, understood the nature of the changes and helped influence their course.” — James Joll, Introduction, Three Intellectuals in Politics “[E]ach individual study [is] an admirable vignette... Joll is a master of the — today — rarely practiced art of essay. He includes everything worth knowing about a man within a brief compass: he possesses an unerring eye for the telling detail along with the significant generalization; he combines subjective sympathy with objective criticism in dealing with very different types of men. He writes an excellent style and wears his scholarship lightly.” — Klaus Epstein, Jewish Social Studies “Each essay is in itself first-rate. This is the political generation that first came to grips with the advanced technology produced by the industrial revolution, that first st”ruggled with the social problems ensuing from this technology, that came to political maturity during the first great technological war of our era, and that lived on to see at least the shadow of a second. Furthermore, as intellectuals, these men are three unusually articulate representatives of that generation. Being, at the same time, three very diffèrent men — as different, Joll suggests, as the nations that produced them — they can be seen to constitute three aspects of European man encountering the twentieth century.” — Ronald Sanders, The New Leader “Professor Joll’s broad use of the words ‘politics’ and ‘intellectual’ is more than justified by the intrinsic interest of the lives of these three men and their usefulness as introductions to the political and cultural atmosphere of France, Germany, and Italy in the early twentieth century.” — John Ratte, Commonweal “Léon Blum, Walther Rathenau, and F. T. Marinetti are the subjects of separate biographic essays here. No matter what heights they reached in elective or appointive office, it is peculiar that none of these men was able to fulfill his socio-economic aspirations or influence his countrymen to do so during his lifetime... None of the three is remembered for what he considered his best achievements, and each suffered the humility of recognizing his own failure and impotence. This is not a book of hero stories... These essays are valuable principally for their historical perspective on the era between the wars.” — Kirkus Reviews

Intellectuals and the American Presidency

Intellectuals and the American Presidency PDF Author: Tevi Troy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742508255
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
This book examines the contact relationships between U.S. presidents and America's intellectuals since 1960.

The Responsibility of Intellectuals

The Responsibility of Intellectuals PDF Author: Noam Chomsky
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620973642
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Selected by Newsweek as one of “14 nonfiction books you’ll want to read this fall” Fifty years after it first appeared, one of Noam Chomsky’s greatest essays will be published for the first time as a timely stand-alone book, with a new preface by the author As a nineteen-year-old undergraduate in 1947, Noam Chomsky was deeply affected by articles about the responsibility of intellectuals written by Dwight Macdonald, an editor of Partisan Review and then of Politics. Twenty years later, as the Vietnam War was escalating, Chomsky turned to the question himself, noting that "intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments" and to analyze their "often hidden intentions." Originally published in the New York Review of Books, Chomsky's essay eviscerated the "hypocritical moralism of the past" (such as when Woodrow Wilson set out to teach Latin Americans "the art of good government") and exposed the shameful policies in Vietnam and the role of intellectuals in justifying it. Also included in this volume is the brilliant "The Responsibility of Intellectuals Redux," written on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, which makes the case for using privilege to challenge the state. As relevant now as it was in 1967, The Responsibility of Intellectuals reminds us that "privilege yields opportunity and opportunity confers responsibilities." All of us have choices, even in desperate times.

Politics, Intellectuals, and Faith

Politics, Intellectuals, and Faith PDF Author: Matthew Feldman
Publisher: Ibidem Press
ISBN: 9783838209869
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This wide-ranging collection of essays examines modern intellectuals and ideologues. Matthew Feldman calls attention to the substantial role played in post-Great War Europe and the United States by religions--both familiar monotheisms like Christianity and secular 'political faiths'--over the last century of upheaval.

China's Intellectuals and the State

China's Intellectuals and the State PDF Author: Merle Goldman
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 1684171091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
"Today’s intellectuals in China inherit a mixed tradition in terms of their relationship to the state. Some follow the Confucian literati watchdog role of criticizing abuses of political power. Marxist intellectuals judge the state’s practices on the basis of Communist ideals. Others prefer the May Fourth spirit, dedicated to the principles of free scholarly and artistic expression. The Chinese government, for its part, has undulated in its treatment of intellectuals, applying restraints when free expression threatened to get “out of control,” relaxing controls when state policies required the cooperation, good will, and expertise of intellectuals. In this stimulating work, twelve China scholars examine that troubled and changing relationship. They focus primarily on the post-Mao years when bitter memories of the Cultural Revolution and China’s renewed quest for modernization have at times allowed intellectuals increased leeway in expression and more influence in policy-making. Specialists examine the situation with respect to economists, lawyers, scientists and technocrats, writers, and humanist scholars in the climate of Deng Xiaoping’s policies, and speculate about future developments. This book will be a valuable source of information for anyone interested in the changing scene in contemporary China and in its relations with the outside world."

Italian Intellectuals and International Politics, 1945–1992

Italian Intellectuals and International Politics, 1945–1992 PDF Author: Alessandra Tarquini
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030249387
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Italian intellectuals played an important role in the shaping of international politics during the Cold War. The visions of the world that they promulgated, their influence on public opinion and their ability to shape collective speech, whether in agreement with or in opposition to those in power, have been underestimated and understudied. This volume marks one of the first serious attempts to assess how Italian intellectuals understood and influenced Italy’s place in the post–World War II world. The protagonists represent the three key post-war political cultures: Catholic, Marxist and Liberal Democratic. Together, these essays uncover the role of such intellectuals in institutional networks, their impact on the national and transnational circulation of ideas and the relationships they established with a variety of international associations and movements.

Russia and the Idea of the West

Russia and the Idea of the West PDF Author: Robert D. English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231110594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
In most analyses of the Cold War's end the ideological aspects of Gorbachev's "new thinking" are treated largely as incidental to the broader considerations of power. English demonstrates that Gorbachev's foreign policy was the result of an intellectual revolution. He analyzes the rise of a liberal policy-academic elite and its impact on the Cold War's end.

The Intellectuals and the Flag

The Intellectuals and the Flag PDF Author: Todd Gitlin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231510357
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
"The tragedy of the left is that, having achieved an unprecedented victory in helping stop an appalling war, it then proceeded to commit suicide." So writes Todd Gitlin about the aftermath of the Vietnam War in this collection of writings that calls upon intellectuals on the left to once again engage American public life and resist the trappings of knee-jerk negativism, intellectual fads, and political orthodoxy. Gitlin argues for a renewed sense of patriotism based on the ideals of sacrifice, tough-minded criticism, and a willingness to look anew at the global role of the United States in the aftermath of 9/11. Merely criticizing and resisting the Bush administration will not do—the left must also imagine and propose an America reformed. Where then can the left turn? Gitlin celebrates the work of three prominent postwar intellectuals: David Riesman, C. Wright Mills, and Irving Howe. Their ambitious, assertive, and clearly written works serve as models for an intellectual engagement that forcefully addresses social issues and remains affirmative and comprehensive. Sharing many of the qualities of these thinkers' works, Todd Gitlin's blunt, frank analysis of the current state of the left and his willingness to challenge orthodoxies pave the way for a revival in leftist thought and a new liberal patriotism.

Blind Oracles

Blind Oracles PDF Author: Bruce Kuklick
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691133875
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
In this trenchant analysis, historian Bruce Kuklick examines the role of intellectuals in foreign policymaking. He recounts the history of the development of ideas about strategy and foreign policy during a critical period in American history: the era of the nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. The book looks at how the country's foremost thinkers advanced their ideas during this time of United States expansionism, a period that culminated in the Vietnam War and détente with the Soviets. Beginning with George Kennan after World War II, and concluding with Henry Kissinger and the Vietnam War, Kuklick examines the role of both institutional policymakers such as those at The Rand Corporation and Harvard's Kennedy School, and individual thinkers including Paul Nitze, McGeorge Bundy, and Walt Rostow. Kuklick contends that the figures having the most influence on American strategy--Kissinger, for example--clearly understood the way politics and the exercise of power affects policymaking. Other brilliant thinkers, on the other hand, often played a minor role, providing, at best, a rationale for policies adopted for political reasons. At a time when the role of the neoconservatives' influence over American foreign policy is a subject of intense debate, this book offers important insight into the function of intellectuals in foreign policymaking.