Abstrakt
Using the example of two Czech intellectuals, the philosopher Tomáš G. Masaryk and the writer Josef S.
Machar, the study approaches the process of tje struggle for influence in the public space. The end of the nineteenth century, in the broader context of modernity,, also brought a final clash between intellectuals and professional politicians, or more precisely between the advocates of independence and the followers of structured (party) authorit.