“Speaking Justice to Power”: Everett Mendelsohn as an International Public Intellectual

Abstract

The international public intellectual functions as an outsider deriving authority in given local situations from faith in universal moral principles that are expected to impose some limits on the actions of states, nations and individuals. As such an international public intellectual, Everett Mendelsohn has negotiated between conflicting forces and ideologies both in the United States (in protests against the Vietnam War) and in the Middle East (in the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict). A “moral realist”, Everett has been particularly effective in buttressing moral arguments with supportive facts. His faith and hope in human beings became a major contribution to discussions between opposing sides in the international public sphere.

Unlike national public intellectuals, international intellectuals are basically outsiders who derive their authority from faith in the existence of some universal, moral principles which are expected to impose limits on the actions of states, nations and individuals everywhere. Since this belief in universal moral principles and their superior authority over particular values such as national greatness, political hegemony, economic interests and the like, is not universal, those who claim to represent such principles and insist on their application in any particular context, are likely to be exposed, resisted, abused, insulted or ignored. In addition to their other skills, therefore, such international intellectuals must have a kind of stubbornness and toughness which allows them to persist in pursuing their goals under fire.