Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, sociologist,

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his 1955 book '' The Opium of the Intellectuals'', the title of which inverts

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's claim that religion was the

opium of the people The opium of the people (or opium of the masses) (german: Opium des Volkes) is a dictum used in reference to religion, derived from a frequently paraphrased statement of German sociologist and economic theorist Karl Marx: "Religion is the opium ...

; he argues that

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

was the opium of the

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

s in post-war France. In the book, Aron chastised French intellectuals for what he described as their harsh criticism of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

and

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

and their simultaneous defense of Marxist oppression, atrocities and intolerance. Critic

Roger Kimball Roger Kimball (born 1953) is an American art critic and conservative social commentator. He is the editor and publisher of ''The New Criterion'' and the publisher of Encounter Books. Kimball first gained notice in the early 1990s with the public ...

suggests that ''Opium'' is "a seminal book of the twentieth century". Aron is also known for his lifelong friendship, sometimes fractious, with philosopher

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

. The saying "Better be wrong with Sartre than right with Aron." became popular among French intellectuals. As a voice of moderation in politics, Aron had many disciples on both the political left and right, but he remarked that he personally was "more of a left-wing Aronian than a right-wing one." However, he is generally referred to as a conservative liberal (or right-liberal). Aron wrote extensively on a wide range of other topics. Citing the breadth and quality of Aron's writings, historian James R. Garland suggests, "Though he may be little known in America, Raymond Aron arguably stood as the preeminent example of French intellectualism for much of the twentieth century".Garland, James R. "Raymond Aron and the Intellectuals: Arguments Supportive of Libertarianism." ''

Journal of Libertarian Studies Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). It wa ...

'', Vol. 21, No. 3 (Fall 2007).

Life and career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, the son of a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

, Aron studied at the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

, where he met

, who became his friend and later his lifelong intellectual opponent. He was a rational humanist, and a leader among those who did not embrace

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and val ...

.Carruth, Gorton (1993) ''The Encyclopedia of World Facts and Dates'', p.

932 Year 932 ( CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Provence ...

. Aron took first place in the ''

agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''profe ...

'' of philosophy in 1928, the year Sartre failed the same exam. In 1930, he received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in the

philosophy of history Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...

from the

. He had been teaching

social philosophy Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...

at the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

for only a few weeks when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

began; he joined the

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

. When France was defeated, he left for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to join the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

forces, editing the newspaper, ''

France Libre Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

'' (Free France). When the war ended Aron returned to

to teach

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

at the

École Nationale d'Administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...

and

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university'' Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

. From 1955 to 1968, he taught at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, and after 1970 at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

as well as the

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

(EHESS). In 1953, he befriended the young American philosopher

Allan Bloom Allan David Bloom (September 14, 1930 – October 7, 1992) was an American philosopher, classicist, and academician. He studied under David Grene, Leo Strauss, Richard McKeon, and Alexandre Kojève. He subsequently taught at Cornell Unive ...

, who was teaching at the Sorbonne. A lifelong

, Aron in 1947 became an influential

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

for ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', a position he held for thirty years until he joined ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', where he wrote a political column up to his death. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1960 and an International member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1966. In 1978 he founded ''

Commentaire ''Commentaire'' is a French quarterly magazine, created in 1978 by Raymond Aron and Jean-Claude Casanova. Aron's previous journal venture, started in 1970 and titled ''Contrepoint'', had been terminated in 1976 following disagreements among its f ...

'', a quarterly journal of ideas and debate, together with

Jean-Claude Casanova Jean-Claude Casanova (born 11 June 1934 in Ajaccio) is a French economist, educator and public intellectual with a lifetime involvement in French civic life. He was the chairman of the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques between 2007 an ...

who was the venture's founding director. Aron died of a heart attack in Paris on 17 October 1983.

Political commitment

In Berlin, Aron witnessed the rise to power of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

and developed an aversion to all totalitarian systems. In 1938, he participated in the

Colloque Walter Lippmann The Colloque Walter Lippmann ( English: Walter Lippmann Colloquium), was a conference of intellectuals organized in Paris in August 1938 by French philosopher Louis Rougier. After interest in classical liberalism had declined in the 1920s and 19 ...

in Paris. By the 1950s, he had grown very critical of the

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian scho ...

and described their obsession with private property as an "inverted Marxism". Aron always promoted an "immoderately moderate" form of liberalism which accepted a mixed economy as the normal economic model of the age.

Political thought

Aron is the author of books on

and on

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...

. In ''Peace and War'', he set out a theory of

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...

. He argues that

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas p ...

's claim that the state has a

monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force In political philosophy, a monopoly on violence or monopoly on the legal use of force is the property of a polity that is the only entity in its jurisdiction to legitimately use force, and thus the supreme authority of that area. While the mon ...

does not apply to the relationship between states. In the field of

in the 1950s, Aron hypothesized that despite the advent of

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

, nations would still require conventional military forces. The usefulness of such forces would be made necessary by what he called a "nuclear taboo."

Works

A prolific author, he "wrote several thousand editorials and several hundred academic articles, essays, and comments, as well as about forty books",Henrik Østergaard Breitenbauch, "Aron, Raymond" in Christopher John Murray (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Modern French Thought'', Routledge (2013), pp. 18–19. which include: * ''La Sociologie allemande contemporaine'', Paris: Alcan, 1935; ''German Sociology'', London: Heinemann, 1957 * ''Introduction à la philosophie de l'histoire. Essai sur les limites de l'objectivité historique'', Paris: Gallimard, 1938; ''Introduction to the Philosophy of History: An Essay on the Limits of Historical Objectivity'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1948 * ''Essai sur la théorie de l'histoire dans l'Allemagne contemporaine. La philosophie critique de l'histoire'', Paris: Vrin, 1938 * ''L'Homme contre les tyrans'', New York, Editions de la Maison française, 1944 * ''De l'armistice à l'insurrection nationale'', Paris: Gallimard, 1945 * ''L'Âge des empires et l'Avenir de la France'', Paris: Défense de la France, 1945 * ''Le Grand Schisme'', Paris: Gallimard, 1948 * ''Les Guerres en Chaîne'', Paris: Gallimard, 1951; ''The Century of Total War'', London: Derek Verschayle, 1954 * ''La Coexistence pacifique. Essai d'analyse'', Paris: Editions Monde nouveau, 1953 (under the pseudonym François Houtisse, with Boris Souvarine) * '' L'Opium des intellectuels'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1955; ''The Opium of the Intellectuals'', London: Secker & Warburg, 1957 * ''Polémiques'', Paris: Gallimard, 1955 * ''La Tragédie algérienne'', Paris: Plon, 1957 * ''Espoir et peur du siècle. Essais non partisans'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1957 (partially translated in, ''On War: atomic weapons & global diplomacy'', London, Secker & Warburg, 1958) * ''L'Algérie et la République'', Paris: Plon, 1958 * ''La Société industrielle et la Guerre'', suivi d'un ''Tableau de la diplomatie mondiale en 1958'', Paris: Plon, 1959 * ''Immuable et changeante. De la IVe à la Ve République'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1959 ; ''France, Steadfast and Changing: The Fourth to the Fifth Republic'', Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press, 1960. * ''Introduction. Classes et conflits de classes dans la société industrielle (Ralph Dahrendorf), Paris: Mouton Éditeur, 1959 * ''Dimensions de la conscience historique'', Paris: Plon, 1961 * ''Paix et guerre entre les nations'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1962; ''Peace and War'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966 * ''Le Grand Débat. Initiation à la stratégie atomique'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1963, ''The Great Debate'', New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965 * ''Dix-huit leçons sur la société industrielle'', Paris: Gallimard, 1963; ''Eighteen Lectures on Industrial Society'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1967 * ''La Lutte des classes'', Paris: Gallimard, 1964 * ''Essai sur les libertés'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1965 * '' Démocratie et totalitarisme'', Paris: Gallimard, 1965; ''Democracy and totalitarianism'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968 * ''Trois essais sur l'âge industriel'', Paris: Plon, 1966; ''The Industrial Society. Three Essays on Ideology and Development'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1967 * ''Les Étapes de la pensée sociologique'', Paris: Gallimard, 1967; ''Main Currents in Sociological Thought'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1965 * ''De Gaulle, Israël et les Juifs'', Paris: Plon, 1968; ''De Gaulle, Israel and the Jews'', Praeger, 1969 * ''La Révolution introuvable. Réflexions sur les événements de mai'', Paris: Fayard, 1968 * ''Les Désillusions du progrès'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1969; ''Progress and Disillusion: The Dialectics of Modern Society'', Pall Mall Press, 1968 * ''D'une sainte famille à l'autre. Essai sur le marxisme imaginaire'', Paris: Gallimard, 1969 * ''De la condition historique du sociologue'', Paris: Gallimard, 1971 * ''Études politiques'', Paris: Gallimard, 1972 * ''République impériale. Les États-unis dans le monde (1945–1972)'', Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1973; ''The Imperial Republic: The United States and the World 1945–1973'', Little Brown & Company 1974 * ''Histoire et dialectique de la violence'', Paris: Gallimard, 1973; ''History and the Dialectic of Violence: Analysis of Sartre's'' Critique de la raison dialectique, Oxford: Blackwell, 1979 * ''Penser la guerre, Clausewitz'', Paris: Gallimard, 1976; ''Clausewitz: Philosopher of War'', London: Routledge, 1983 * ''Plaidoyer pour l'Europe décadente'', Paris: Laffont, 1977; ''In Defense of Decadent Europe'', South Bend IN: Regnery, 1977 * with Andre Glucksman and Benny Levy. "Sartre's Errors: A Discussion". ''TELOS'' 44 (Summer 1980). New York: Telos Press * ''Le Spectateur engagé'', Paris: Julliard, 1981 (interviews) * ''Mémoires'', Paris: Julliard, 1983 * ''Les dernières années du siècle'', Paris: Julliard, 1984 * ''Ueber Deutschland und den Nationalsozialismus''. Fruehe politische Schriften 1930–1939, Joachim Stark, ed. and pref., Opladen: Leske & Budrich, 1993 * ''Le Marxisme de Marx'', Paris: Éditions de Fallois, 2002 * ''De Giscard à Mitterrand: 1977–1983'' (editorials from ''L'Express''), with preface by

, Paris: Éditions de Fallois, 2005

Other media

* ''Raymond Aron, spectateur engagé''. Entretiens avec Raymond Aron. (Duration: 160 mins.), DVD, Éditions Montparnasse, 2005

References

Sources

* Anderson, Brian C., ''Raymond Aron: The Recovery of the Political'', Rowman & Littlefield, 1998 * Craiutu, Aurelian, "Raymond Aron and the tradition of political moderation in France", ''French Liberalism from Montesquieu to the Present Day'', Cambridge University Press, 2012. * Davis, Reed M. ''A Politics of Understanding: The International Thought of Raymond Aron''. Baton Rouge LA.:

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univ ...

, 2009 * Gagliano, Giuseppe ''La nuova sinistra americana e il movimento del maggio francese nelle interpretazioni di Raymon Aron e Herbert Marcuse''. Uniservice, 2011 * Launay, Stephen, ''La Pensée politique de Raymond Aron'', Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1995 * Mahoney, Daniel and Bryan-Paul Frost (eds.), ''Political Reason in the Age of Ideology: Essays in Honor of Raymond Aron'', New Brunswick/London: Transaction Publishers, 2006 * Molina, Jerónimo, ''Raymond Aron, realista político. Del maquiavelismo a la crítica de las religiones seculares'', Madrid: Sequitur, 2013 * Stark, Joachim, Das unvollendete Abenteuer. Geschichte, Gesellschaft und Politik im Werk Raymond Arons, Wuerzburg: Koenigshausen und Neumann, 1986 * Stark, Joachim, Raymond Aron (1905–1983), in ''Dirk Kaesler, Klassiker der Soziologie'', Vol. II: Von Talcott Parsons bis Anthony Giddens, Munich: Beck, 5th ed., 2007, 105–129 * Bavaj, Riccardo
Ideologierausch und Realitaetsblindheit
Raymond Arons Kritik am Intellektuellen ''franzoesischen Typs'', Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History 5 (2008), No. 2, 332–338, * Oppermann, Matthias, Raymond Aron und Deutschland. Die Verteidigung der Freiheit und das Problem des Totalitarismus, Ostfildern: Thorbecke Verlag 2008. * Oppermann, Matthias (Ed.), Im Kampf gegen die modernen Tyranneien. Ein Raymond-Aron-Brevier, Zurich: NZZ Libro 2011. * Stark, Joachim, "Das unvollendete Abenteuer. Geschichte, Gesellschaft und Politik im Werk Raymond Arons", Wuerzburg: Koenigshausen und Neumann, 1986 * Stark, Joachim, "Raymond Aron (1905–1983)", in Dirk Kaesler, Klassiker der Soziologie, Vol. II: Von Talcott Parsons bis Anthony Giddens, Munich: Beck, 5th ed., 2007, 105–129 * Stewart, Iain, ''Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century'' (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aron, Raymond 1905 births 1983 deaths 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French philosophers Aphorists Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Collège de France faculty Continental philosophers Critical theorists Critics of Marxism Critics of religions Cultural critics École Normale Supérieure alumni Epistemologists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences French agnostics French anti-communists French anti-fascists French columnists French ethicists French humanists 20th-century French Jews French conservative liberals French male non-fiction writers French male writers French military personnel of World War II French political philosophers French political scientists French Section of the Workers' International politicians French sociologists Hudson Institute Lycée Condorcet alumni Lycée Hoche alumni Liberalism in France Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Metaphysicians Moral philosophers Ontologists Philosophers of culture Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of history Philosophers of war Political philosophers Rally of the French People politicians Rationalists Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Scholars of Marxism Sciences Po alumni French social commentators Social critics Social philosophers Theorists on Western civilization University of Toulouse faculty Writers from Paris Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Le Figaro people Members of the American Philosophical Society Member of the Mont Pelerin Society