It's only in recent centuries that intuition was relegated to the sidelines. In ancient times, wars were fought, religions founded and empires rose and fell because of the visions of a few. Many Ni or Ne-dominant types with a proven track record became highly respected members of society purely for their intuitive gifts alone, whereas today it would be because of their perceived concrete accomplishments.
Just because intuition is largely discounted in our current rational society (though there are numerous indications that this is starting to change) does not discount the power of Ni or Ne to change society. In fact, it may even enhance the effect, since repressed functions tend to go underground and gain much in the way of pure force in the process. However, repressed functions are also highly dangerous because they get mixed up with the Shadow-side of human nature.
Some examples of Shadow-Ni might include the invention of the Atomic Bomb on the INTJ side of the spectrum, or the rise in pseudo-gurus, magical thinking and weird cults at the INFJ end.
Ne has an easier time of it (for ENTPs at least) since it has numerous applications in sport (did you know that many top tennis players are ENTPs because of their intuitive ability to guess where the ball is going?), business (see "The Apprentice" TV show for numerous examples of yet more ENTPs) and politics (Barack Obama also fits the profile of a well-deveoloped ENTP).
[Hmm, not sure where all this stuff is coming from, but the recent threads I've been part of seem to have stimulated a sort of Ni-driven stream-of-consciousness in me.]
All this probably makes Ni the most repressed of all the type functions in modern Western society (the East knows better). Very dangerous indeed, since Ni probably has the greatest power of all to change society for good or ill. Ni-types have a hard enough time adapting to the world even when we are more-or-less accepted. Under repression, many INJs inevitably fall into dysfunction or even psychosis, with all the consequences that entails.
For those of us who haven't succumbed in that way, it is still incredibly frustrating to be gifted with vision and insight and yet to have those abilities constantly discounted, dismissed or sidelined throughout our lives. The pursuits, careers and goals we are "supposed" to aspire to in the West just do not cut it for us. Sadly, I suspect it will be long after I am gone before the pendulum swings the other way and Ni can once again take its appropriate place in an enlightened society.
Phew, that was quite a rant! Are we done now? Yes? OK, goodnight everyone!