Approaching French intellectual history from a novel perspective,
Judt (European Studies/New York Univ.; Past Imperfect: French
Intellectuals, 1944 - 1956, not reviewed) focuses on three leading
20th-century figures who had the courage to disagree with political
sensibilities that prevailed among their contemporaries. Leon Blum,
the leader of the French Socialist party and prime minister in the
interim government of December 1946, is remembered mainly for
introducing a 40-hour work week, wage increases, and paid vacation.
His actual contribution to French political thought, however, went
far beyond mere social reform. Blum was one of the first to warn
French communists against the dangers of Bolshevik-style
dictatorial terror. A literary critic, jurist, and politician, Blum
was "a mirror held up to his country," reflecting many of its
strengths and weaknesses. Judt's second subject, Albert Camus,
shared Blum's anti-Stalinist conviction and took every opportunity
to debunk revolutionary myths. In contrast to radical intellectuals
of the postwar period, Camus opted to defend absolute values in an
age of relativism and emphasized the ethical dimension of
contemporary dilemmas. A native of Algeria, Camus opposed the
independence of his homeland, advancing instead an idea of an
integrated Arab-European community. Finally, Raymond Aron, an
existential philosopher, journalist, and member of the academic
elite, echoed Blum and Camus in his polemic against the French
intelligentsia's Marxist leaning and in his firm opposition to
Soviet totalitarianism. While Aron did not recognize any moral debt
owed by the French to Arabs, he promoted Algerian independence for
the sake of order and stability in France itself. A realist above
all, Aron angered many Europeans by suggesting that a stable,
democratic Germany reconstituted on equal footing within the
European community was the best guarantee of security on the
continent. This story of three solitary thinkers provides
remarkable insight into the tensions that underlie political,
philosophical, and ideological currents in contemporary France.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Using the lives of three French intellectuals of the 20th century,
this text looks at how intellectuals can ignore political pressures
and demonstrate a heroic commitment to personal integrity
unfettered by the difficult exigencies of their time. The text
examines issues such as: antisemitism and the dilemma of Jewish
identity; political and moral idealism in public life; the Marxist
movement in French thought; the traumas of decolonization; the
disaffection of the intelligentsia; and the insidious quarrels
rending Right and Left. Particular emphasis is put on Leon Blum's
leadership of the Popular Front and his defiance of the Vichy
governments, on Albert Camus's part in the Resistance and Algerian
War, and on Raymond Aron's cultural commentary and opposition to
the facile acceptance by many French intellectuals of communism's
utopian promise.
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