I hate the term “thought leaders”, perhaps because most of those considered such are lightweights.  Be that as it may, hearing the term for the n-th time the other day got me thinking about whose writing has been most influential on my thinking.  In no particular order:  Christopher Lasch, Noam Chomsky, Hunter S. Thompson, and Robert Adams.

I read a lot of Lasch 20-25 years ago.  His critiques of materialism and the liberal notion progress were spot on.  They remain so.  Agree or disagree with Chomsky’s politics, he sets an example for how to think critically about political power and its application.  Thompson got greed and the darker side of human behavior.  He’s a good complement to Chomsky in terms calling out both subtle and unsubtle uses of power for nefarious ends.  “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72” is one of the best books I’ve ever read.  Robert Adams makes the list for articulating an aesthetic sensibility in “Beauty in Photography”.