Abstract

The digital revolution poses a special focus on the figure of the intellectual in the contemporary age. The crisis of representative democracies is often combined with the crisis of (cultural) authority. In this line, the crisis of the public function of intellectuals represents a crucial point of reflection. This review article offers a critical reading of three volumes recently published – «Gli intellettuali» (by Sabino Cassese), «Abbiamo ancora bisogno degli intellettuali? La crisi dell’autorità culturale» (by Franco Brevini) and «Voci della democrazia. Il futuro del dibattito pubblico» (by Sara Bentivegna and Giovanni Boccia Artieri) – following the fil rouge of the recent social and political transformations. Moving from different perspectives of study, the three books address the «challenged» role of Intellectuals within both the democratic framework and the digital ecosystem. Public debate, political participation, government, and political disintermediation are, indeed, all issues closely related to that of cultural authority. Therefore, this contribution aims to offer a reflection on Intellectuals along with the current challenges in an era of social distrust and (mass) individualism.