Intellectuals and politics
Bernhard Giesen
ABSTRACT. By imagining their audiences, intellectuals invented and constructed the collective identities of nations transnational communities like Europe or humankind. Four ideal types are outlined by describing them in relation to politics: intellectual as cosmopolitan ascetic; enlightened legislator; revolutionary; voice a traumatic memory. These change over time response focus attention mode communication. Because changes media (from handwritten printed books) written language Latin French Italian, further vernacular languages), were able views on past, present future times. Today, they involved (civic) resistance but rarely politics per se. renewing tension sacred profane – so-called axial-age revolution contemporary Eastern decoupled from direct political power.
Nations and Nationalism