Disappearing intelligentsia in today’s transformations

Abstract

The idea of the status and place of intellectuals is changing in the modern world. Historically, with the appearance of universities intellectuals took an active part in formation on burghers’ culture of municipal centers of public life, formation of “the third state”, the atmosphere of common sense inherent in it. The legal status of intellectuals in Europe corresponded to the ideas of their autonomy. Such status being absent in Russian tradition, the accent was transferred to the social function of intelligentsia. The soviet Marxism has adopted this tradition in its own way and formed the soviet intelligentsia which favored later the destruction of the system which had created this class. In its previous sense, intelligentsia has really disappeared. Today the middle class with its high education level is the most powerful factor of social integrations, and thus it is not worth saying separately about the role of intelligentsia. But this enhances the responsibility of intellectuals for the state of values, their understanding in the society.