The Committed Observer (review)

A series of interviews accorded by Raymond Aron in 1980 to French television appear in this readable and captivating volume. Aron offers an analysis of the political and economic crises sweeping France during the past fifty years as well as a defense of the positions he took on specific issues. His discussions of the diplomatic failures to bridle Hitler's Germany, the economic weaknesses of the Popular Front's program, the Algerian conflict, and Prague Spring are particularly interesting. Following the war, Aron embarked on a double career as an editorialist and professor of sociology. Journalism permitted him to participate in the nation's political reconstruction and thus interpret history in the making, while academics provided the environment for the intellectual development of his political philosophy. An analyst and interpreter of events, Aron frequently found himself in disagreement with the French intelligentsia of the 1950s and 1960s. Considered an intellectual of the right while espousing a liberal conception of society, Aron cannot be readily categorized. His political attitudes emerged from a relativist approach to history, empirical analysis, and a liberal philosophy favoring pluralism. He appreciated the distinctions between general idealism and political realism. This volume serves as a useful introduction to the study of the political philosophy of one of France's great intellectuals.