Raymond Aron – författare

»Det är bättre att ha fel med Sartre än att ha rätt med Aron«. Så löd ett populärt uttryck i Paris intellektuella cirklar under 1950-talet.

Men det är Arons idéer som har stått emot tidens tand. Hans klassiska uppgörelse med marxismen De intellektuellas opium har översatts och kommit ut i ständigt nya upplagor världen över. Nu publiceras boken för första gången på svenska. I översättning av Bo Gustavsson.

»De intellektuellas opium är en av de stora klassikerna från tiden när stalinismen av många intellektuella på allvar sågs som ett alternativ, och därtill rentav många gånger bättre, än den västerländska demokratin.«

Torbjörn Elensky i bokens förord

RAYMOND ARON (1905 1983) var en fransk författare, skribent och filosof, ständigt redo att ta strid mot totalitära idéer.

An invaluable reflection on the essence of liberal democracy—and an ideal introduction to the work of political philosopher Raymond AronLiberty and Equality is the first English translation of the last lecture delivered at the Collège de France by Raymond Aron, one of the most influential political and social thinkers of the twentieth century. In this important work, the most prominent French liberal intellectual of the Cold War era presents his views on the core values of liberal democracy: liberty and equality. At the same time, he provides an ideal introduction to key aspects of his thought.Ranging from Soviet ideology to Watergate, Aron reflects on root concepts of democracy and representative government, articulates a notion of liberty or freedom as equal right as distinct from equal outcome, and discusses different kinds of liberties: personal, political, religious, and social. In search of a common truth or at least a common good, and analyzing what he perceives as the crisis of liberal democracies, Aron opens a space for reexamining the relation between liberty and equality.

In this edition, originally published in 1983, the late Professor Raymond Aron, one of France’s most distinguished social scientists, presented a major re-evaluation of Carl von Clausewitz, ‘the genius of war’. He sees in Clausewitz a political philosopher of major importance, whose impact and significance permeate many facets of modern society. Yet Clausewitz’s reputation was entirely posthumous, for his great work, On War, was published after his death, and in his lifetime he achieved only a limited reputation as a military thinker and planner. Even today he is more often quoted than closely read.

Aron begins by elucidating the complexity of Clausewitz’s thought and by describing his main ideas. He gives an account of the successive phases in the development of On War, and traces the different interpretations of Clausewitz’s doctrine in Germany, in France and in Soviet Russia. Finally, Aron analyses many aspects of the present world using the concepts of Clausewitz, and is therefore able to examine such modern phenomena as the theory of the nuclear deterrent and ‘total war’ in Clausewitzian terms.

This is a book of piercing insights by a writer of world-wide reputation, who used the Clausewitz world-view as a means of political analysis. It is thus still of great importance and interest to contemporary historians and to all who are concerned with military and political affairs.

In this edition, originally published in 1983, the late Professor Raymond Aron, one of France’s most distinguished social scientists, presented a major re-evaluation of Carl von Clausewitz, ‘the genius of war’. He sees in Clausewitz a political philosopher of major importance, whose impact and significance permeate many facets of modern society. Yet Clausewitz’s reputation was entirely posthumous, for his great work, On War, was published after his death, and in his lifetime he achieved only a limited reputation as a military thinker and planner. Even today he is more often quoted than closely read.

Aron begins by elucidating the complexity of Clausewitz’s thought and by describing his main ideas. He gives an account of the successive phases in the development of On War, and traces the different interpretations of Clausewitz’s doctrine in Germany, in France and in Soviet Russia. Finally, Aron analyses many aspects of the present world using the concepts of Clausewitz, and is therefore able to examine such modern phenomena as the theory of the nuclear deterrent and ‘total war’ in Clausewitzian terms.

This is a book of piercing insights by a writer of world-wide reputation, who used the Clausewitz world-view as a means of political analysis. It is thus still of great importance and interest to contemporary historians and to all who are concerned with military and political affairs.

Thinking Politically brings together a series of remarkable interviews with Raymond Arn that form a political history of our time. Ranging over an entire lifetime, from his youthful experience with the rise of Nazi totalitarianism in Berlin to the dénouement of the cold war. Aron mediates on the threats to liberty and reason in the bloody twentieth century. Originally published as The Committed Observer, this volume provides one of the fullest accounts available of the dramatic events of the "short century," which began with the pistol shot in Saravejo in 1914 and ended with the collapse of the ideological monsters whose deadly nature Aron had ruthlessly exposed for a half-century. In addition to the interviews published in the original edition. Thinking Politically incorporates three interviews never before published in book form. This supplemental material clarifies Aron''s role as a voice of prudential reason in an unreasonable age and allows unparalled access to the principal influences on Aron''s thought. The volume concludes with ''Democratic States and Totalitarian States," an address by Aron to the French Philosophical Society as well as the accompanying debate with Jacques Maritain, Victor Basch, and other intellectuals. Thinking Politically serves as an ideal gateway into Aron''s reflections, and offers a superb single-volume introduction to the major events and conflicts of the twentieth century. It will be a welcome addition to the libraries of political theorists, historians, sociologists, philosophers, and citizens wishing to understand the political and intellectual currents of the age.

Thinking Politically brings together a series of remarkable interviews with Raymond Arn that form a political history of our time. Ranging over an entire lifetime, from his youthful experience with the rise of Nazi totalitarianism in Berlin to the dénouement of the cold war. Aron mediates on the threats to liberty and reason in the bloody twentieth century. Originally published as The Committed Observer, this volume provides one of the fullest accounts available of the dramatic events of the "short century," which began with the pistol shot in Saravejo in 1914 and ended with the collapse of the ideological monsters whose deadly nature Aron had ruthlessly exposed for a half-century. In addition to the interviews published in the original edition. Thinking Politically incorporates three interviews never before published in book form. This supplemental material clarifies Aron''s role as a voice of prudential reason in an unreasonable age and allows unparalled access to the principal influences on Aron''s thought. The volume concludes with ''Democratic States and Totalitarian States," an address by Aron to the French Philosophical Society as well as the accompanying debate with Jacques Maritain, Victor Basch, and other intellectuals. Thinking Politically serves as an ideal gateway into Aron''s reflections, and offers a superb single-volume introduction to the major events and conflicts of the twentieth century. It will be a welcome addition to the libraries of political theorists, historians, sociologists, philosophers, and citizens wishing to understand the political and intellectual currents of the age.

Raymond Aron''s In Defense of Decadent Europe was first conceived at a time of great uncertainty for the Western democracies. The postwar economic boom had been interrupted by "stagflation," while communist and socialist parties in Italy and France were powerful factors in Europe''s political landscape. Aron''s book has a threefold purpose: the analysis of the Soviet Russian regime and its Marxist-Leninist theoretical foundation; the detailed empirical comparison between liberal democracies and collectivist regimes of the East; and, above all, the exploration of what might be termed the "problem" of democracy the tendency of democratic regimes to undermine themselves unless checked in their most extreme tendencies.

Aron denounces the clash between democracy and the Marxist-Leninist mystification and explains how Marxism leads to Soviet-style ideology. The second part of the book constitutes a defense of liberal Europe. The author makes comparisons in terms of productivity, technical innovation, living standards, scientific progress, and human freedom. But Aron also notes there are important ways in which the West must put her house in order by cultivating authority in the church, in universities, in business, and even in the army. This paradox is conveyed by the title of the book, the juxtaposition of the words In Defense of and Decadent Europe.

In the new introduction, Daniel Mahoney and Brian Anderson discuss the disenchanted conservative liberalism of Raymond Aron that set him apart. Among the topics they cover are: the challenge of ideocracy, the decadence of democracy, and Aron as a civic philosopher. In Defense of Decadent Europe combines ideological debate with economic and social analysis. Its thorough examination of Western freedom versus the Eastern communism of the recent past extends well beyond parochial debates into a basic vision of Western societies. The book will be compelling for historians, political scientists, economists, and philosophers.

Raymond Aron''s In Defense of Decadent Europe was first conceived at a time of great uncertainty for the Western democracies. The postwar economic boom had been interrupted by "stagflation," while communist and socialist parties in Italy and France were powerful factors in Europe''s political landscape. Aron''s book has a threefold purpose: the analysis of the Soviet Russian regime and its Marxist-Leninist theoretical foundation; the detailed empirical comparison between liberal democracies and collectivist regimes of the East; and, above all, the exploration of what might be termed the "problem" of democracy the tendency of democratic regimes to undermine themselves unless checked in their most extreme tendencies.

Aron denounces the clash between democracy and the Marxist-Leninist mystification and explains how Marxism leads to Soviet-style ideology. The second part of the book constitutes a defense of liberal Europe. The author makes comparisons in terms of productivity, technical innovation, living standards, scientific progress, and human freedom. But Aron also notes there are important ways in which the West must put her house in order by cultivating authority in the church, in universities, in business, and even in the army. This paradox is conveyed by the title of the book, the juxtaposition of the words In Defense of and Decadent Europe.

In the new introduction, Daniel Mahoney and Brian Anderson discuss the disenchanted conservative liberalism of Raymond Aron that set him apart. Among the topics they cover are: the challenge of ideocracy, the decadence of democracy, and Aron as a civic philosopher. In Defense of Decadent Europe combines ideological debate with economic and social analysis. Its thorough examination of Western freedom versus the Eastern communism of the recent past extends well beyond parochial debates into a basic vision of Western societies. The book will be compelling for historians, political scientists, economists, and philosophers.