L’Erreur et l’orgueil

Dans cette synthèse majeure, Roger Scruton passe au crible les travaux des penseurs qui ont le plus influencé la gauche depuis 1945. De Sartre à Foucault en passant par Thompson, Habermas, Hobsbawm, Derrida ou Badiou : aucun des grands intellectuels de la gauche de l’après-guerre n’est oublié. L’ouvrage offre non seulement une évaluation complète de leurs contributions philosophiques mais il retrace aussi leur parcours et leurs engagements politiques les plus significatifs.Il fallait le talent d’un Scruton, figure reconnue du conservatisme britannique, pour plonger ainsi dans ce bouillon de concepts tortueux et en démontrer les errances. Et une fois parvenu au bout de cette initiation, s’interroger : que reste-t-il de cette gauche aujourd’hui ? Depuis 1989 et la chute de l’Union soviétique, un transfert des revendications s’est opéré de la classe ouvrière aux femmes, aux homosexuels et aux immigrés. Cette mutation a brouillé les contours de l’égalitarisme radical au point d’en rendre les luttes parfois indéchiffrables. Avec un brio sans pareil, Scruton dénonce d’un côté l’orgueil de ces intellectuels qui refusèrent toujours la remise en cause, et de l’autre les erreurs de cohérence doctrinale, celles-là mêmes qui ont conduit la gauche moderne vers l’impasse. The thinkers who have been most influential on the attitudes of the New Left are examined in this study by one of the leading critics of leftist orientations in modern Western civilization. Scruton begins with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concludes with a critique of the key strands in its thinking. He conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as: E.P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R.D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Zizek, Ralph Milliband and Eric Hobsbawm. In addition to assessments of these thinkers' philosophical and political contributions, the book contains a biographical and bibliographical section summarizing their careers and most important writings. In Thinkers of the New Left Scruton asks, what does the Left look like today and as it has evolved since 1989? He charts the transfer of grievances from the working class to women, gays and immigrants, asks what can we put in the place of radical egalitarianism, and what explains the continued dominance of antinomian attitudes in the intellectual world? Can there be any foundation for resistance to the leftist agenda without religious faith? Scruton's exploration of these important issues is written with skill, perception and at all times with pellucid clarity. The result is a devastating critique of modern left-wing thinking From one of the leading critics of leftist orientations comes a study of the thinkers who have most influenced the attitudes of the New Left. Beginning with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concluding with a critique of the key strands in its thinking, Roger Scruton conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as E. P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R. D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj iek, Ralph Milliband, and Eric Hobsbawm. In addition to assessments of these thinkers' philosophical and political contributions, the book contains a biographical and bibliographical section summarizing their careers and most important writings. In Fools, Frauds and Firebrands Scruton asks, What does the Left look like today, and how has it evolved? He charts the transfer of grievances, from the working class to women, gays, and immigrants, asks what we can put in the place of radical egalitarianism, and what explains the continued dominance of antinomian attitudes in the intellectual world. Can there be any foundation for resistance to the leftist agenda without religious faith? Writing with great clarity, Scruton delivers a devastating critique of modern left-wing thinking. In A Previous Book Published In 1985 As 'thinkers Of The New Left,' [the Author] Brought Together A Series Of Articles From The Salisbury Review. [he Has] Reworked The Original Articles, Cutting Out [some] Writers, ... And Including Substantial New Material Devoted To Developments That Are Increasingly Influential--introduction. In A Reworking Of A Book First Published In 1985, Scruton Begins With A Ruthless Analysis Of New Leftism And Concludes With A Critique Of The Key Strands In Its Thinking. He Questions What The Left Looks Like Today, Examines How Has It Evolved, And Considers Whether There Be Any Foundation For Resistance To The Leftist Agenda Without Religious Faith. What Is Left? -- Resentment In Britain : Hobsbawm And Thompson -- Disdain In America : Galbraith And Dworkin -- Liberation In France : Sartre And Foucault -- Tedium In Germany : Downhill To Habermas -- Nonsense In Paris : Althusser, Lacan And Deleuze -- Culture Wars Worldwide : The New Left From Gramsci To Said -- The Kraken Wakes : Badiou And Žižek -- What Is Right? Roger Scruton. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.