For an Intellectual Revival

By Dardan Velija
Kosovo is going through a deep transition phase. The Kosovar society has never in the history undergone a bigger transformation than the one during these eight years, since the entrance of NATO tropes. The passage from transition to some sort of freedom and from communism to some sort of democracy has touched every level of life in Kosovo. This has disoriented the society and has shaken the value system. Never in the history was the need so great for an agenda shaped by the intellectuals.
During these past years, the intellectual voice was not heard much. The intellectuals of the eighties and nineties still dominate on the surface, but on a deeper level there is a clear dominance of mediocre gossipers, that in fact decide the agenda. Lack of public debates between intellectuals has allowed for gossiping to become the medium in the creation of policies. We now live in a time when mediocrity is the norm. Even worse, to call mediocre the developments in many sectors, it would be overestimation. The gossipers have become so strong that they have managed to silence the intellectual. Philosophers have written about the dangers that a society runs, when ruled by mediocrity. The connection between the mediocres is a strong instinctual bond for survival. This makes their alliance extremely powerful. Hayek has said that although on the surface intellectuals do not rule, their ideas are spread without their control. This doesn’t seem to be happening in our country.
During these past twenty years there was very little intellectual debate. Kosovo was facing the risk of extinction and this naturally led to the homogenisation of the society, where debate was considered divisive. The only debate then was that whether Kosovo could be liberated through peaceful resistance or through taking up guns. After the war, there were a few attempts to debate, one about the national/linguistic identity of the people of Kosovo and another half debate on the religious identity of the Kosovars. Forum 2015 in these past years, among others has asked whether it is worth to build a new power plant. The Selfdetermination movement has attempted to initiate debate whether Kosovo should become independent by following the internationally led negotiation process or through the exercise of the right for Selfdetermination of the people of Kosovo. But it can be said that in all these years there was no deep intellectual debate. Even a few intellectual sparks, it seems have become extinct either due to lack of an intellectual opposition, or due to continuous attacks of mediocres against the intellectual.
Clearly there is lack of a universalist intellectual approach that analyses the developments and options for direction. The intellectual is in spirit universalist and analyses the developments by passing them through the test of the historic achievements of humankind. She focuses on analysing the idea, less on the actions and far less on the evaluation of the individual. Unfortunately there is something universal about mediocrity. It universially deals nearly exclusively with the human and not with the idea or the issue. In Kosovo, as in Switzerland or Bangladesh, mediocrity deals with the individual and dehumanizes it. While the intellectual is an advocate of the human. She loves the human and defends her, thus has a humanistic soul. When the intellectual evaluates the actions of the human, he sees them with a humanistic eye. Mediocrity, on the other side, hates the human. It tries to transfigure it, so is in spirit dehumanising.
When a mediocre debates with the intellectual, it is always the former that wins as he attacks the debater and not the issue. While the intellectuals deals with the ideas and not the opponent.
Mediocres do not debate among themselves as debate between them is conflict and the war between them is unfair. When they gather, they evaluate, judge and execute individuals that are not there. That is why mediocres feel the need to be as much as possible with each other so as not to fall pray of their colleagues. That is why, medicores spend all day in cafes, the most active forums of Kosovo.
A distinction between mediocrity here and in the West lies in that there, mediocres deal with the celebrities and less with the highest levels of policy-making (king or Prime Minister) and not with the intellectual. In the West, intellectuals live in their world where they debate freely and in that way define the ways of the development of the society. Gossipers find them boring to deal with. But here, in the peak of its rule, mediocrity has captured the governance, the civil society, the educational system and has monopolised the contacts with the internationals. Mediocres make each other’s lives miserable but unify only when they see an intellectual spark. It seems as if there were a pact among them against the intellectual.
There is need for an intellectual rebirth to project a European Kosovo. The intellectual thinking changes in time. Sometimes the intellectuals too make mistakes, but there is a great need for intellectual courage to start dealing with the issues that the, what someone has called ‘macchiato subculture’ debates through stigmatising individuals. There should be no taboos in public life. Kosovo is too small for big secrets. Until there are no intellectual debates, the mediocrity will keep ruling.
There needs to be a moral pact among intellectuals. Enough with the human! Let’s start debating ideas. Let’s deal with ideas and debate them. The debates should be made in public, in our media. No doubt there will be mistakes. No doubt, the members of, what someone has called the “macchiato subculture” will stand waiting to put horns and tails on intellectuals every time they make mistakes. But even if they don’t make mistakes, they will have horns and tails put on them because mediocres do not deal with ideas but humans. But this is the mission of the intellectual
If there is no courage now, the intellectuals will be recruited by mediocrity. They will be forced to enter little ridiculous wars that will consume them intellectually and spiritually. After a while, they will see themselves gossiping. The intellectual will have transformed into a gossiper. What a tragedy! And when this enormous transition chapter is over, our country will look differently. It will have been formed by mediocrity. This should not be allowed to happen!