The Opium of the Intellectuals / Edition 1

by Raymond Aron

Overview

Raymond Aron's 1955 masterpiece The Opium of the Intellectuals, is one of the great works of twentieth- century political reflection. Aron shows how noble ideas can slide into the tyranny of "secular religion" and emphasizes how political thought has the profound responsibility of telling the truth about social and political reality-in all its mundane imperfections and tragic complexities.

Aron explodes the three "myths" of radical thought: the Left, the Revolution, and the Proletariat. Each of these ideas, Aron shows, are ideological, mystifying rather than illuminating. He also provides a fascinating sociology of intellectual life and a powerful critique of historical determinism in the classically restrained prose for which he is justly famous.

For this new edition, prepared by Daniel J. Mahoney and Brian C. Anderson as part of Transaction's ongoing "Aron Project," political scientist Harvey Mansfield provides a luminous introduction that underscores the permanent relevance of Aron's work. The new edition also includes as an appendix "Fanaticism, Prudence, and Faith," a remarkable essay that Aron wrote to defend Opium from its critics and to explain further his view of the proper role of political thinking. The book will be of interest to all students of political theory, history, and sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765807007
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	01/31/2001
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Raymond Aron (1905-1983) was the foremost political and social theorist of post-World War II France known for his skeptical analyses of leftist ideologies. was well known in both the United States and United Kingdom, serving as Andrew D. White Professor-At-Large at Cornell University. He also taught at Columbia and Oxford. He authored more than forty books, including Main Currents in Sociological Thought, The Opium of the Intellectuals, and The Imperial Republic, all published in new editions by Transaction.

Table of Contents

PART ONE POLITICAL MYTHS CHAPTER I. THE MYTH OF THE LEFT CHAPTER II. THE MYTH OF THE REVOLUTION CHAPTER III. THE MYTH OF THE PROLETARIAT PART TWO THE IDOLATRY OF HISTORY CHAPTER IV. CHURCHMEN AND THE FAITHFUL CHAPTER VI. THE ILLUSION OF NECESSITY PART THREE THE ALIENATION OF THE INTELLECTUALS CHAPTER VII. THE INTELLECTUALS AND THEIR HOMELAND CHAPTER VIII. THE INTELLECTUALS AND THEIR IDEOLOGIES CHAPTER IX. THE INTELLECTUALS IN SEARCH OF A RELIGION, CONCLUSION THE END OF THE IDEOLOGICAL AGE?

Editorial Reviews

-Raymond Aron's analysis of French intellectual culture of the 1940s and 1950s retains its relevance inot the 21st century, helping to illuminate the minds of intellectuals so that we can understand their penchant for irrational utopianism. Althought the particular controversies have changed somewhat, our modern intellectuals partake of the same opium.-

- Ideas on Liberty

"Raymond Aron's analysis of French intellectual culture of the 1940s and 1950s retains its relevance inot the 21st century, helping to illuminate the minds of intellectuals so that we can understand their penchant for irrational utopianism. Althought the particular controversies have changed somewhat, our modern intellectuals partake of the same opium."

- Ideas on Liberty

"Raymond Aron's analysis of French intellectual culture of the 1940s and 1950s retains its relevance inot the 21st century, helping to illuminate the minds of intellectuals so that we can understand their penchant for irrational utopianism. Althought the particular controversies have changed somewhat, our modern intellectuals partake of the same opium."

- "Ideas on Liberty"

"Raymond Aron's analysis of French intellectual culture of the 1940s and 1950s retains its relevance inot the 21st century, helping to illuminate the minds of intellectuals so that we can understand their penchant for irrational utopianism. Althought the particular controversies have changed somewhat, our modern intellectuals partake of the same opium."

- "Ideas on Liberty"

From the Publisher

Aron (b. 1905) was a prominent political and social theorist in France after World War II. In his 1955 , published by Calmann L<'e>vy, he identifies three myths of radical thought as the Left, the Revolution, and the Proletariat. Appended is his 1956 defense of the work, Fanaticism, Prudence, and Faith, modified slightly from the translation that appeared in (Simon and Schuster, 1970). There is no index or bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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