Gracchi at Westminster Wisdom asks What is a public intellectual? In Australian political discourse it is media pontificators and entrenched academics. Both get easy access to the wider mainstream media and are assumed to be specialists on any topic they are asked or tackle.
There was recently the 2020 Summit in Australia which seemed to have the express interest in democratising what the notion of a public intellectual was; however of the blogosphere participants who specialise in aspects of political discourse, only the established academics and those that had been involved in politics were invited. There wasn't a widening of the public intellectual franchise.
Which is odd, as modern human organisation; both social, economic and political, is defined by increasing specialisation. I am sure for every topic discussed a citizen specialist could be found rather than relying on the views and training of established economists. Then again the purpose of the summit was most likely political; and that is for the government to give a public display of democratic and public openness to policy.
