“Having political opinions is not about having an ideology once and for all, it is about making right decisions in changing circumstances.” We owe these humble and salutary words, which contrast with the spirit of the times, to a great thinker of freedom during the Cold War, Raymond Aron. Professor, philosopher, journalist, unclassifiable liberal, Aron was, among other qualities, an editorial writer at L’Express from 1977 to 1983.
The GenerationLibre think tank is devoting a conference to it on Tuesday March 12 at the National Assembly, and it was natural for L’Express to be a partner. This is an opportunity to focus in this podcast on the life and work of Aron, whose writings remain relevant even 40 years after his death. There is an Aron paradox. Much cited, he is no longer read much and even less imitated, in the sense that the point of view he always insisted on adopting, that of the “engaged spectator”, tends to be replaced by indifference or commitment activist. Hence the theme of this great interview: what did it mean for Aron to be an engaged spectator? And how can we be today?
To discuss it, L’Express welcomes one of the French intellectuals who knows Raymond Aron best, Nicolas Baverez. Lawyer and essayist, the latter became known for his works denouncing the French economic decline, notably his bestseller published in 2003 France falling. A few years earlier, he had published one of the best bibliographies on Aron, Raymond Aron, a moralist in the age of ideologies (1997, reissued in 2006 by Perrin). In this interview, we discuss Aron’s life, the originality of his thought, his intellectual isolation and the relevance of liberalism.
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Deezer And Amazon Music.
The team: Laetitia Strauch-Bonart (presentation), Jules Krot (editing and direction) and Charlotte Baris (production)
Logo: Jérémy Cambour/L’Express
Image credit: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP
How to listen to a podcast? Follow the leader.
For further :
Nuclear: Europe would benefit from following the precepts of Raymond Aron
Raymond Aron: when the philosopher was already paying the price for “cancel culture”
1983: Raymond Aron by André Glucksmann