Dick Pels (Amsterdam, 26 February 1948) was Professor of Sociology at Brunel University (West London), and is currently working as a free-lance writer and political commentator in the Netherlands. Previously, he has held teaching and research appointments at the universities of Amsterdam, Groningen, Harvard, and Cape Town. Among his books are Property and Power. A Study in Intellectual Rivalry (Routledge, 1998), The Intellectual as Stranger. Studies in Spokespersonship (Routledge, 2000), Media and the Restyling of Politics. Consumerism, Celebrity, and Cynicism (Sage, 2003, co-edited with John Corner), and Unhastening Science. Autonomy and Reflexivity in the Social Theory of Knowledge (Liverpool University Press, 2003). His book on the Dutch populist agitator Pim Fortuyn ( De geest van Pim. Het gedachtegoed van een politieke dandy, Anthos, 2003) was widely discussed in the Dutch press, as was his book on ‘weak’ Dutch identity (Een zwak voor Nederland, Anthos, 2005). In 2007 he published a book on honour, money and merit (De economie van de eer. Een nieuwe visie op verdienste en beloning, Ambo), and in 2008 a book on religion and politics (Opium van het volk. Over religie en politiek in seculier Nederland. He is currently preparing a book on the challenges of populism (Het volk bestaat niet. Leiderschap en populisme in de mediademocratie (forthcoming Spring 2010). Pels's current research and writing focus upon populism and democracy; the rise of celebrity culture; the role of religion in a secularizing culture; the future of Europe; and the ideal of meritocracy. From 2006-2010 he chaired the left-liberal thinktank Waterland. Since 1st January 2010 he is the director of the scientific bureau of the Green Left Party.
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Dick Pels lives with his partner Baukje Prins in an Amsterdan canal on board a classical motor yacht called Nymphaea . He has a daughter, Zita Pels (b. 26 April 1986).