Intellectuals, Intelligentsia, Experts In Krytyka, No. 1–2 (75–76), 2004, pp. 28–29.

Iryna Kuchma’s article is devoted to the problem of the transformation of the role of intellectuals in contemporary society and media culture. The author analyzes the transition from the classical image of the intellectual – as a bearer of universal values and a civic critic to the figure of the expert, whose competence becomes commercialized and used to legitimize power discourses. The study also demonstrates how intellectuals lose their autonomy, becoming dependent on political and economic elites, which leads either to their marginalization or subordination to the interests of power. Particular attention is paid to the Ukrainian context, where the crisis of intellectuals is deepened by the lack of a public sphere, the weakness of university institutions, and the absence of organic intellectuals capable of combining scholarly, civic, and political activity. The article concludes that the significance of the intellectual today is determined by their ability to resist dominant ideologies, uphold the autonomy of knowledge, and defend their own values.