Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century
  • Cited by 9
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      October 2019
      November 2019
      ISBN:
      9781108695879
      9781108484442
      9781108735865
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108695879
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.57kg, 316 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (229 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.464kg, 318 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Political Theory, History of Ideas, History, Politics and International Relations, History of Ideas and Intellectual History
      Series:
      Ideas in Context (124)
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Political Theory, History of Ideas, History, Politics and International Relations, History of Ideas and Intellectual History
    Series:
    Ideas in Context (124)
    Information

    Book description

    Raymond Aron is widely regarded as the most important figure in the history of twentieth-century French liberalism. Yet his status within the history of liberal thought has been more often proclaimed than explained. Though he is frequently lauded as the inheritor of France's liberal tradition, Aron's formative influences were mostly non-French and often radically anti-liberal thinkers. This book explains how, why, and with what consequences he belatedly defined and aligned himself with a French liberal tradition. It also situates Aron within the larger histories of Cold War liberalism and decolonization, re-evaluating his contribution to debates over totalitarianism, the end of ideology, and the Algerian War. By exposing the enduring importance of Aron's student political engagements for the development of his thought, Iain Stewart challenges the prevailing view of Aron's early intellectual trajectory as a journey from naïve socialist idealism to mature liberal realism, offering a new critical perspective on one of the twentieth century's most influential intellectuals.

    Awards

    Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2020, Choice Reviews.

    Winner, 2023 Constance Blackwell Prize, International Society for Intellectual History

    Reviews

    ‘This thoroughly researched book is essential for anyone seeking to understand political theory in France during the 20th century. In addition to explaining the evolution of philosopher Raymond Aron’s thought, the book situates his work in critical moments of French political history.’

    P. R. Babbitt Source: Choice

    'Iain Stewart has given us a lucidly written densely contextualized intellectual biography … I have nothing but praise for this engaging study. It is a pathbreaking book about Raymond Aron’s intellectual development as a 'liberal.' It is the careful historical study of the stages and continuities of this dimension of his thought that we have long needed.'

    K. Steven Vincent Source: The European Legacy

    ‘a fruitful starting point.’

    Bryan-Paul Frost Source: Journal of Contemporary History

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.