The Betrayal of the Intellectuals A Critical Review on the Book "Intellectuals and Politics"

The book "Intellectuals and Politics" by Mark L. deals with the relationship between politics and intellectuals. More than anything, this book claims that in the subside era of grand metanarrative, enlightenment has ended, and intellectuals cannot be pioneers in changes such as in the past. Layla claims that the leading causes of the rise of totalitarian regimes, ruinous wars in the west, and philosophy politicization is the intellectuals' betrayal. Intellectuals who had great aspirations, but did not reach the desired results. They were mostly involved in hidden aspects of their life, which influenced their thinking and led to the combination of philosophy and practical politics. Thinkers whom Layla accuses are Heidegger, Arendt, Kojève, Benjamin, Foucault, and Derrida. The strength of the book is contextualism, and the weakness is the ethical critique of thinkers rather than a critique of their works.