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

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, sociologist,

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

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 species; as well as the ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, 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 Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

's claim that religion was the

opium of the people The opium of the people or opium of the masses () is a dictum used in reference to religion, derived from a frequently paraphrased partial statement of German revolutionary and critic of political economy Karl Marx: "Religion is the opium of the ...

; he argues that

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

was the opium of the

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

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 use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

and their simultaneous defense of the actions of the communist governments of the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

. Critic Roger Kimball 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 a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

. The saying "Better be wrong with Sartre than right with Aron" became popular among French intellectuals. Considered by many as a voice of moderation in politics, Aron had many disciples on both the political left and right; he remarked that he personally was "more of a left-wing Aronian than a right-wing one". 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'', Vol. 21, No. 3 (Fall 2007).

Life and career

Born in Paris, the son of a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, Aron studied at the

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

, 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 family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

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

932 Year 932 (Roman numerals, CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Alberic II of Spoleto, Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Italy, Hu ...

. Aron took first place in the ''

agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

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

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in the

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

from the

. He had been teaching

social philosophy Social philosophy is the study and interpretation of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social contexts for political, legal, moral and cultur ...

at the University of Toulouse for only a few weeks when

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began; he joined the

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

. When France was defeated, he left for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to join the

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

forces, editing the newspaper, '' France Libre'' (Free France). When the war ended Aron returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to teach

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the

École Nationale d'Administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

and

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

. From 1955 to 1968, he taught at the Sorbonne, and after 1970 at the Collège de France as well as the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (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 Un ...

, 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. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

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

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'', 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 (The Academy) 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, and other ...

in 1960 and an International member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

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 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 ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and developed an aversion to all totalitarian systems. In 1938, he participated in the Colloque Walter Lippmann in Paris. By the 1950s, he had grown very critical of the

Austrian School The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...

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 Gottlieb von Clausewitz ( , ; born Carl Philipp Gottlieb Clauswitz; 1 July 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian general and Military theory, military theorist who stressed the "moral" (in modern terms meani ...

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

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. He argues that

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

's claim that the state has a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force 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 nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

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

Honours

* Officier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) * Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) * Commander of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

(France) * Medal

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

(Germany)

Works

A prolific author, he "wrote several thousand editorials and several hundred academic articles, essays, and comments, as well as about forty books", 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 Telos (; ) is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of human art. ''Telos'' is the root of the modern term teleology, the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims, ...

'' 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 Jean-Claude Casanova, 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 * Colquhoun, Robert. ''Raymond Aron.'' Volume I: ''The Philosopher in History 1905–1955.'' Volume II: ''The Sociologist in Society 1955–1983''. London: Sage, 1986. * 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, 2009 * Forneris, Elias
"Raymond Aron's War: A 'History of the Present' (1940–1944)"
''The Tocqueville Review/La revue Tocqueville'' 43, no.2 (2022): 7-38. doibr>10.3138/ttr.43.2.7
* Forneris, Elias, "Raymond Aron's Sociology of Collaborators (1940–1944)", ''International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society'' (2024): 1-23. * 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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aron, Raymond 1905 births 1983 deaths Writers from Paris Lycée Condorcet alumni Lycée Hoche alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Sciences Po alumni Academic staff of the Collège de France Academic staff of the University of Toulouse French columnists French sociologists French political scientists French political philosophers Scholars of Marxism 20th-century French philosophers French Section of the Workers' International politicians Rally of the French People politicians French secular Jews French agnostics French humanists Rationalists Jewish philosophers Jewish sociologists French anti-communists French military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French male writers Philosophers of war Hudson Institute Continental philosophers Utopian studies scholars International members of the American Philosophical Society Jewish anti-communists