Public Intellects Who are Shaping 2012

When having to consider who I think are 2012’s significant public intellectuals there are several names that come to mind. The first two are actually married, but I believe they are both significant and important public intellectuals as individuals.

1.)   Hillary Rodham Clinton

        2.)   Bill Clinton

I do not feel that either are error prone necessarily but that isn’t to say that they don’t make mistakes. Of course, as Posner clearly pointed out, the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency wasn’t his finest moments but nonetheless I am considering Bill & Hillary Clinton as to their current role in our society. Hillary, currently our Secretary of State, holds one of the most important roles in our entire government. She is our nation’s most travelled Secretary of State and has visited nations where other past diplomats wouldn’t have dreamed of going. She has met with women in Yemen, spoken up for the people who have no voice, and made dramatic but important statements that have helped to shape a dynamic and successful foreign policy. She is a public intellectual who is most certainly held accountable for her words and actions because of her role not only in our society, but the entire world.

Bill Clinton has truly taken an honorable and respectable path since finishing his term as our nation’s president. He, like Hillary, really takes into account society’s concern and tries to not only educate the public but make a positive difference. He brings awareness to countries that have been devastated by natural disasters and has created the Clinton Global Initiative to help those who are in real need. Since he is such an important and respected (by most) public intellect, he is not one to say things that are reckless because he has nothing to gain from that. He has already been President of the United States, he has spent enough time in the limelight and wants to use the rest helping those who need it and be their voice.

       3.) Samuel Huntington

Maybe it’s my inner political science geek but I find Samuel Huntington and his work he contributed to the foreign policy and political science forum to be incredibly fascinating. Although he has since passed, I believe that his contributions will not be forgotten. Since he is someone who holds significance throughout the world, from what I know of – he would not be one to be careless or not hold himself accountable. His ideas and theories are still mentioned and talked about currently when trying to determine how to solve a certain problem in the world. He brought ideas, albeit some controversial, that really had the political science world excited and by gaining that power he used it to further expand the field and enrich it, rather than abuse it. Prominent political scientists in the field today, can and continue to thank him for his contributions which continues to make him relevant and incredibly important in the incredibly globalized world we are living in.

4.) Angela Merkel

Alright, maybe my bias is coming out a bit here but nonetheless Germany’s chancellor is one powerful woman. She is respected by men in places who often think of women as second class citizens. She, like Hillary, uses her power to the fullest strength by being since and not leading the public with dishonest remarks (for the most part). Rather she holds herself (as do the citizens of Germany) accountable because the European Union is looking at her to help them in the current financial mess that they face. Being such a powerful public intellect, she uses it to see how she can help to make lives better rather than exploiting it for her own personal good.

Although I do find of course that there are many other significant and important public intellectuals that are considered to be important in our society- these four have not only helped others in a positive way but they have looked as to how they can make their field/predicament, etc. better rather than just be mediocre and I applaud them for that. Is it too early to say Hillary 2016?