Intellectual life is not a title, but a responsibility.
And democracy is not preserved by slogans, but by judgment, memory, and courage.
When memory becomes merchandise and speech turns into an instrument of power,
silence becomes complicity.
Civic responsibility begins where propaganda ends.
Current Affairs Notes:
Recent developments do not allow us the luxury of extended thematic analysis. Today we briefly present our own views — along with Diotima’s — on the following highly significant issues of our time:
1. On the debate surrounding the “200 of Kaisariani” photographs (iefimerida.gr).
Two “fabricated historians,” Nikos Marantzidis and Stathis Kalyvas, speak and write not only about historical matters but also about the most critical issues of contemporary history, openly promoting the ideological fixations and dogmas of the political parties they serve.
The problem today is not merely what they say, but who says it and under what academic authority. These supposedly promising figures are not historians. They impersonate historians. They do not possess such academic credentials. They self-appoint themselves as historians in order to more easily disseminate their propaganda.
We have denounced them for years, yet in a “banana republic” democracy such as Greece’s, no one seems to care — not even those who have long used them as party advisors, such as Alexis Tsipras, who still does not hesitate to keep Marantzidis by his side, a man circulating in the commercial and systemic arena with dubious credentials.
As for the other — an extreme right-wing figure, equally quackish as his friend — Stathis Kalyvas has taken upon himself the task of desecrating and metaphorically exhuming dead heroes.
Well deserved, then, are their systemic and generous salaries.
2. On Eleni Glykatzi-Ahrweiler’s Statement
“When the rich go bankrupt, the poor will not become rich. But when the incompetent govern, the competent are to blame. At this moment Kyriakos Mitsotakis is a gift to Greece.”
An intellectual is not defined by diplomas and titles — even academic ones. Nor does formal education automatically make one “cultivated.” Intellectual life must have an anthropocentric foundation, critical judgment, and vision.
Eleni Glykatzi-Ahrweiler has never been an intellectual in that sense. Unlike other Greek thinkers who distinguished themselves in France — most notably Nikos Poulantzas and Cornelius Castoriadis — she never embodied that tradition.
She served as Rector of the Sorbonne, but that alone does not make one an intellectual.
One does not describe as a “capable politician,” let alone a “gift,” a Prime Minister such as Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who:
– Through his migration policies is responsible for the daily suffering and deaths of the “wretched of the earth,” and appoints as minister the son of Konstantinos Plevris, a figure associated with neo-Nazi ideology.
– Presided over a state that allowed the Tempi train disaster, in which 57 passengers lost their lives, after EU railway safety funds were allegedly diverted to partisan clientele.
– Pushes 80% of the Greek population toward poverty while spending tens of billions on unnecessary military equipment.
– Leads an economic policy that is driving the country toward a second bankruptcy, once the grace period on EFSF loan interest expires.
Let us stop here, though these represent only a fraction of what we consider the crimes of this allegedly “capable” politician, according to the “clear historical judgment” of the Byzantinist Eleni Glykatzi-Ahrweiler.
3. On Donald Trump’s Speech to Congress
“Our country is back. The United States is better, richer and stronger than ever… Our borders are secure… We want to preserve our achievements… We are the most attractive country in the world.”
In Greece we have a popular saying:
“Either the shore is crooked or we are sailing crooked.”
Since the harbor stands fixed and does not move, then the American captain is either severely misguided or has steered the ship far to the right, heading straight for the rocks.
Demagoguery, populism, and distortion are hallmarks of a democracy that is slowly dying under a vain and ruthless president.
That is today’s America.
🔹
Diotima’s Commentary
Your text is passionate, sharp, and clearly positioned. It does not conceal anger. And anger has political function — especially when one believes that memory is being distorted or social reality degraded.
Let us examine three levels:
1. Historical Authority and Public Intervention
The question of who is entitled to speak as a historian is serious and institutional.
History is not a title — it is a method.
If someone lacks formal academic credentials, this may be pointed out with evidence. However, when critique shifts into personal denunciation, we move from scientific rebuttal to moral condemnation.
The struggle over the memory of the 1940s is not won by accusation; it is won through sources, argumentation, and methodology.
2. Intellectual Life and Political Judgment
You raise a valid question: What defines an intellectual?
I agree that titles are insufficient. Intellectual responsibility requires autonomy of thought and an anthropocentric perspective.
However, calling a politician “capable” or a “gift” is a political judgment — not a scientific proposition. It may be misguided, but it remains a legitimate expression of opinion.
Critique gains strength when it dismantles arguments rather than persons.
3. Demagoguery and Democracy
Rhetoric about a nation being “stronger than ever” is a classic political communication device. Hyperbole is a tool of mobilization.
The essential question is not whether a leader exaggerates — most do.
The real question is:
– Do institutions function?
– Is there opposition?
– Is information free?
– Is power held accountable?
A democracy does not die from inflated rhetoric.
It dies when citizens abandon their critical capacity.
⚖ Final Reflection
Your intervention expresses indignation toward: – the politicization of History,
– intellectual submission to power,
– and demagoguery in public life.
These are legitimate fields of critique.
Yet the strength of your platform lies in cold, documented, relentless argument — not in emotional eruption.
History, Politics, and Democracy require clarity of mind.
And you possess that clarity.