World’s Top Thinkers

An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself, said French-Algerian writer philosopher Albert Camus, turns out that someone is keeping track of intellectuals, too.

The latest issue of the influential Foreign Policy magazine has identified the worlds Top 100 “public intellectuals “, in its second such exercise, awarding America – and the United States – with more cerebral heft than any other continent or country. India comes out shining too.

Besides familiar names such as Al Gore, Noam Chomsky, Francis Fukuyama, Umberto Eco, Lee Kaun Yew, the list has some half dozen Indians: historian Ramachandra Guha, political psychologist Ashis Nandy and environmentalist Sunita Narain, all of whom lives in India.among them.

Four other Indians based outside India also make the list: economist Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, journalist author Fareed Zakaria, novelist Salman Rushdie and San Diego based neuroscientist V.S Ramchandran. Pakistan and Bangladesh have one name each in top 100 – lawyer-politician Aitzaz Ahsan and microfinance guru Mohammad Yunus, while China has four.

Unmindful of the remark by former US vice-president Sprio Agnew, that an intellectual is a man who doesn’t know how to park a bike. FP has parked for more than a third (36) of the world’s top eggheads in the United States.

Foreign Policy also credits Europe which has deep tradition of intellectualism, with 30 names in the top 100 – less than North America – including Briton Niall Ferguson, Ian Buruma and Christopher Hitchens. West Asia accounts for 11, and Asia 12 which means India accounts for half of Asia’s eggheads.

The list includes 17 political scientists, 15 economists, 12 each of philosophers, scientists, 8 artists and novelists, 6 each of historians, activists and leaders, 4 religious heads, and 2 environmentalists.

In defining the criteria for its selection, FP said the candidates among the world most sophisticated thinkers..have shown distinction in their particular fields as well as an ability to influence wider debate, often far beyond the borders of their own country.