Raymond Aron
French thinker who critiqued Marxism and defended moderation.
Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron was a French thinker who worked across philosophy, sociology, political science, history, and journalism, and is widely seen as one of the country's major intellectual figures of the 1900s. His most famous work, *The Opium of the Intellectuals* (1955), flipped Karl Marx’s idea that religion was the people’s opium, instead claiming that Marxism itself had become the intellectual’s opium in post-war France. In it, he took aim at French intellectuals for their fierce attacks on capitalism and democracy while defending the actions of communist governments in the East. Critic Roger Kimball called the book a seminal work of the twentieth century. Aron also had a long, sometimes tense friendship with Jean-Paul Sartre, and the saying “Better be wrong with Sartre than right with Aron” became common among French intellectuals.
Seen by many as a moderate political voice, Aron attracted followers on both the left and right, though he described himself as “more of a left-wing Aronian than a right-wing one.” He wrote extensively on many subjects. Historian James R. Garland noted that, despite being little known in America, Aron was arguably the leading example of French intellectualism for much of the twentieth century.
Born in Paris on 14 March 1905 to Gustave Aron, a secular Jewish lawyer, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure, where he met Sartre—later both a friend and intellectual rival. A rational humanist, Aron stood apart from existentialists. He placed first in the philosophy agrégation in 1928, the same year Sartre also passed (having failed in 1927). In 1938, he earned a doctorate in the philosophy of history from the University of Paris.
He had just started teaching social philosophy at the University of Toulouse when World War II broke out; he joined the French Air Force. After France’s defeat, he went to London to serve with the Free French forces, editing the newspaper *France Libre*. After the war, he returned to Paris to teach sociology at the École Nationale d’Administration and Sciences Po. From 1955 to 1968, he taught at the University of Paris, and after 1970 at the Collège de France and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. In 1953, he befriended the young American philosopher Allan Bloom, then teaching at the Sorbonne.
A lifelong journalist, Aron became a leading columnist for *Le Figaro* in 1947, a
- born
- 14 March 1905
- died
- 17 October 1983
- field
- Philosophy, sociology, political science, history, journalism
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- The Opium of the Intellectuals (1955), critique of Marxism, friendship with Jean-Paul Sartre
Lore & Background
Raymond Aron was born in Paris on 14 March 1905 to Gustave Aron, a secular Jewish lawyer. He studied at the École Normale Supérieure, where he met Jean-Paul Sartre, who became his friend and later his lifelong intellectual opponent. Aron took first place in the agrégation of philosophy in 1928, the same year Sartre also passed (having failed in 1927). He received a doctorate in the philosophy of history from the University of Paris in 1938. During World War II, he joined the Armée de l'Air and later left for London to join the Free French forces, editing the newspaper *France Libre*. After the war, he taught sociology at the École Nationale d'Administration and Sciences Po, and from 1955 to 1968 at the University of Paris, later at the Collège de France and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales.
Reader's Guide
Raymond Aron's significance lies in his role as a voice of moderation in French intellectual life, challenging the dominance of Marxism among post-war intellectuals. His book *The Opium of the Intellectuals* criticized French intellectuals for their harsh attacks on capitalism and democracy while defending communist governments. Aron's work spanned philosophy, sociology, political science, and international relations; in *Peace and War*, he argued that Max Weber's concept of the state's monopoly on legitimate force does not apply between states. He also hypothesized that a 'nuclear taboo' would maintain the need for conventional military forces. Aron had disciples on both the political left and right, and he remarked that he was 'more of a left-wing Aronian than a right-wing one.' Historian James R. Garland suggested that Aron 'arguably stood as the preeminent example of French intellectualism for much of the twentieth century,' though he is little known in America. His legacy includes a prolific output of thousands of editorials, hundreds of academic articles, and about forty books.
Did You Know?
- Aron took first place in the agrégation of philosophy in 1928, the year Jean-Paul Sartre failed the same exam.
- He witnessed the rise of the Nazi Party in Berlin and developed an aversion to all totalitarian systems.
- Aron founded the quarterly journal *Commentaire* in 1978 with Jean-Claude Casanova.
- He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1960.
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