Raymond Aron

[[File:Raymond Aron (1966) by Erling Mandelmann.jpg|thumb|215px|Raymond Aron, 1966. (left)]]{{philosophy|1}}
'''Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron''' {{lived|1905|1983}} was a [[French]] [[Liberalism|liberal]] intellectual who was active in the turbulent 20<sup>th</sup> century. He is considered one of the greatest intellectuals in France in the 20<small>th</small> century, and is the pride of the [[Liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]] journalist ''Le Figaro''.

==Political position==
After [[World War II]], the French intellectual community divided into two groups: left-wing pro-[[communist]] [[socialists]](ex. Jean-Paul Sartre) and center-right anti-communist liberals who criticized them.{{efn|Even now in France, "liberalism" is used in a different sense than "liberalism" in the United States. In the United States, "liberalism" mainly means [[social liberalism]], but in France, "liberalism" mainly means [[classical liberalism]] and is often used by conservatives, unlike in the United States.}}

Aron was an avid anti-communist and advocate of liberalism and the free world. He received much support from American [[capitalist]]s such as the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.<ref>Iain Stewart (2019). ''Raymond Aron and Liberal Thought in the Twentieth Century''. Cambridge University Press</ref>

He believed that communism necessarily brought [[totalitarianism]], that it should be viewed as [[fascism]], and he consequently took an anti-totalitarian stance. This position was criticized by many college students and left-wing intellectuals, as Marxism was popular in the French intellectual community at that time.

==Totalitarianism==
In his book ''Democracy and Totalitarianism'' (1967), Aaron listed what he believed to be the five main elements of totalitarianism:<ref>Aron, Raymond; Ionescu, Valence (1968), ''Democracy and Totalitarianism'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pages 193-94</ref> 
* The totalitarian phenomenon occurs in a one-party system regime.
* The monopolistic party is animated or armed with an [[ideology]] it confers absolute authority on as the official truth of the state. 
* To impose this official truth, the state reserves for itself, in turn, a double monopoly, the monopoly of the means of coercion and the means of persuasion. The means of communication, [[radio]], television, press, are directed and commanded by the state and its representatives. 
* Most [[economic]] and professional activities are subject to the state and become, in a way, part of the state itself. As the state is inseparable from its ideology, these activities become colored with the official truth. 
* As all activity is subject to the state ideology, errors in these fields are ideological faults. There is a politicization and ideological transfiguration of every possible crime of individuals and in the police and ideological terrorism.

==Relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre==
Raymond Arron and Jean-Paul Sartre were born in 1905 and graduated from the same "Grandes écoles" university. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in the then left-wing daily ''Libération'', while Raymond Arron wrote in the liberal-conservative daily ''Le Figaro''. He is best known as Jean-Paul Sartre's intellectual opponent.

==His main books==
* Introduction à la philosophie de l'histoire (1938)
* Le Grand schisme (1948)
* L'Opium des intellectuels (1957)
* Démocratie et totalitarisme (1965)
* Le spectateur engagé (1981)

==See also==
* [[Liberalism]]
* Anti-[[authoritarianism]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|Journalism}}

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[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Sociology-related stubs]]
[[Category:Sociologists]]

Categories: Journalists, Liberals, Philosophers, Right-wing activists, Sociology-related stubs, Sociologists