The First Top 100 Public Intellectuals of the World
Foreign Policy and Britain’s Prospect magazine selected their top 100
Public Intellectuals, and invited readers to vote for their top 100.The majority of the names that I recognized in their top 100 list are lefties. However there is a criterion for writing in a candidate. The criteria are: “Although the men and women on this list are some of the world’s most sophisticated thinkers, the criteria to make the list could not be simpler. Candidates must be living and still active in public life. They must have shown distinction in their particular field as well as an ability to influence wider debate, often far beyond the borders of their own country.” This list is about public influence, not intrinsic achievement. And that is where things get really tricky. Judging influence is hard enough inside one’s own culture, but when you are peering across cultures and languages, the problem becomes far harder. 
clipped from: www.egodevelopment.com