Abstract
K. Mannheim's idea of “freischwebende Intelligenz” was the expression of ideal, 'man who is “gebildet” only can create world view and serve totality', which prevailed in Bildungsburgertum during the 19 th century and the beginning of the 20 th century in Germany. This ideal also played the role of ideology which legitimated the political and cultural predominance of this strata.
The pessimistic tone of Mannheim in “Ideolgie and Utopie” was not only the expression of his sense of crisis to the situation that modern utopia, which had created modern history in Europe, and man's will to history were disappearing, but also the one that Bildungsbürgertum was declining and that their ideal (and also their ideology) was becoming unreliable.
The change of Mannheim's theory after his exile to England seemed to result from his effort to solve this problem. He proposed 'planning for freedom' as the only method which can operate well democracy in mass society. For him, planning was another type of utopia, which was able to exist in the time when “modern utopia” could no more continue to be. At the same time, he also tried to create a new raison d'être (and a new legitimatizing ideology as well) for intellectuals by giving them the role of 'elite as a planner'.
