What intellectuals can and cannot do

I was recently asked:Hey, Kamil, does anyone in Tatarstan’s government listening to you?I think it is a very good question. And not only regarding me, personally, but like, generally speaking. A good question to start a discussion on what a public intellectual can, and cannot do. On the limits of their capabilitiesBecause the answer is of course notObviously, not, but it is still worth explaining why the answer is necessarily negative.When you are imagining a government, you must understand that it is led by the people who are quite old. Most of its leading figures are in their 60s, or 70s, or sometimes even older. Which means: their personalities have been fully formed, and formed like decades ago. By this point, they became very & very rigid, and are not going to update their worldview. That is simply not going to happenThat is one reason. Another reason would be: people in government, are very, very busy. Once you are in power, 99% of your effort and attention will be focused on…