The Need for the Intellectual in an Age of Upheaval

The last five years have been nothing short of turbulent. A global pandemic that froze the world in place. The re-emergence of Cold War dynamics. The grinding war in Ukraine. The visible cracks in the liberal democratic model. And the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, which has become both a moral and political fault line. These crises remind us of something we had begun to forget: societies need their intellectuals.

In calmer times, intellectuals are easily dismissed—cast as dreamers, academics in ivory towers, or critics shouting from the margins. Politicians and generals, by contrast, pride themselves on decisiveness and “realism.” Yet when the storm clouds gather and compasses fail, the figure who was once mocked suddenly becomes indispensable. For just as a ship in calm waters can sail without a telescope, a vessel caught in fog and storm cannot hope to survive without one.

The Classical Vision: Interpreters, Critics, Guides

The modern idea of the intellectual has deep roots. The French utopian thinker Saint-Simon entrusted scientists and philosophers with the task of remaking the world and gave us the very term intellectuel. Auguste Comte, the father of sociology, saw the intellectual’s role as threefold: to understand the world, to change it, and to anticipate where it is headed. Karl Marx sharpened this vision, insisting that it was not enough for philosophers to interpret the world—the task was to transform it.

The West took this mission seriously. Intellectuals were at the heart of political and cultural battles, shaping narratives that fueled revolutions, social movements, and ideological struggles. Their words lit fires. Their ideas redrew maps.

The Arab world was no exception. Thinkers played central roles in the rise of Arab nationalism, socialism, and liberation movements. Writers, poets, and philosophers were not just commentators; they were catalysts. But in the late 20th century, as neoliberalism swept across the globe and the market triumphed over ideology, the intellectual’s voice grew quieter—drowned out by new claimants to authority.

The New Rivals: Experts, Preachers, Influencers

Today the intellectual shares the stage with figures who often command more immediate influence: the technical “expert” who provides neat answers rather than troubling questions; the television pundit, often beholden to power or capital; the religious preacher, armed with absolute truths; the activist with slogans ready-made; and, most recently, the “influencer,” whose credibility lies not in depth of thought but in the size of their following.

This shift is especially stark in the Arab world, where politics is increasingly dominated by security agencies and oligarchies. Traditional spaces for intellectual life—parties, unions, and civic associations—have withered. The only unpredictable actor that remains is “the street,” volatile and easily swayed.

What Kind of Intellectual Do We Need?

This predicament has sparked a debate: what kind of intellectual does our time demand?

• The expert intellectual, as Michel Foucault once suggested—someone who contributes precise, technical knowledge?

• The organic intellectual, in Antonio Gramsci’s sense—rooted in the struggles of ordinary people, giving voice to their aspirations?

• The committed intellectual of Jean-Paul Sartre’s imagination, unafraid to take sides?

• Or the critical intellectual of Émile Zola and Edward Said—those who confront power with uncomfortable truths, refusing silence in the face of injustice?

The answer, of course, depends on context. Intellectuals, like poets, are children of their environment. Their function is shaped by the particular challenges of their society. But one thread runs through all traditions: the intellectual must retain the ability to see beyond the immediate, to anticipate where currents are leading, and to preserve the ethical dimension of public life.

Sentinels in the Dark

Perhaps the best metaphor is that of the suraat—the desert guides who, in the dead of night, read the stars so that the caravan can find its way. Without them, travelers stumble blindly. An old Arab poet put it plainly:

People cannot prosper in chaos without guides,
Nor can guides prevail if ignorance dominates.

We are, undeniably, in a long night of storms. The unipolar world is giving way to a messy multipolar order. Western dominance is challenged, while within societies, sectarianism and identity conflicts pull communities apart. In much of the Arab world, restless waves of young people face closed horizons: unemployment, inequality, and blocked dreams. Meanwhile, the Middle East is being reshaped without its own peoples’ voices in the room.

In such conditions, the intellectual is not a luxury but a necessity.

Beyond Machines: The Human Gift of Foresight

The task is not simply to analyze or interpret—algorithms and artificial intelligence can already process data faster than any human. What machines cannot do, however, is what makes the intellectual irreplaceable: the capacity for intuition, for moral imagination, for connecting dots that others overlook. The intellectual is the sentinel who stands on the hilltop, scanning the horizon for dangers invisible to those in the valley.

History offers reminders of this gift. Dostoevsky foresaw the dangers of totalitarianism. Nietzsche warned that the “superman” could degenerate into grotesque parody. In our own heritage, Abu al-‘Ala al-Ma‘arri acknowledged that intellectuals may err, but their mistakes are not born of ignorance; rather, they are warnings, cautionary beacons that can spare society from disaster:

I marvel at myself: how do I always err,
Though I am among the most knowing of men about men?

The Courage to Err

Silence is far more dangerous than error. When intellectuals speak—even imperfectly—they spark debate, challenge complacency, and awaken the public imagination. In times of upheaval, this function is priceless. What is needed is not infallibility, but vision and courage—the willingness to look beyond the moment, and to insist on meaning when the world tempts us with cynicism and despair.

As our societies stumble through fog and storm, the figure of the intellectual must be reclaimed—not as a relic of the past, but as a guide for the future.

👉 Do you want me to pitch this article’s tone and length for something like a New Yorker feature (narrative, lyrical, ~5,000 words) or more in line with a policy-oriented magazine like Foreign Affairs (analytical, ~3,000 words, with references and data)?