The price of public intellectuals: Controversial ideas expressed for benefit of fellow citizens deserve to be heard.

In his new book, The Price of Public Intellectuals, Raphael Sassower surveys the range of roles assigned to public intellectuals throughout history and across societies. Today public intellectuals remain overshadowed by the financial prowess of billionaire agendas and the popular tides of anti-intellectualism have further limited these voices. The goal of his book is to wake us up to the need for gadflies and jesters, critics and translators, whose intellectual insights can benefit society as a whole.