Jacques Maritain and Raymond Aron on machiavellianism (1934-1982): A French machiavellian moment

Authors

  • Jerónimo Molina Cano Universidad de Murcia
  • Jesús A. Guillamón Ayala Universidad de Murcia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.176.09

Keywords:

Jacques Maritain, Raymond Aron, machiavellianism, French machiavellian moment.

Abstract

In 1939, Jacques Maritain, catholic philosopher and theologian of politics, and Raymond Aron, secular philosopher and political sociologist, initiated a dispute regarding Machiavellianism that continued until the 1980s. The dispute constituted a highly significant episode in the so-called «French Machiavellian Moment». This article proposes an original reading of this controversy in the context of World War II. Our conclusion is that, despite appearances and widespread opinion, Maritain was not a mere anti-Machiavellist or hyper-moralist political thinker, but rather a covert Machiavellist political writer in keeping with the archetype of Catholic political writers of the Counter-Reformation. Similarly, Aron is not a neo-republican liberal, much less a neoliberal, but a political realist thinker who advocates a moderate Machiavellism. 

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Section

ARTICLES