Books & ideas

A Tale of a Chinese Lawyer

Jean-Luc Domenach — 2015-01-01T09:00:00Z

Now a well-known Chinese lawyer of the democratic dissidence in China, Zhang Sizhi was once a young nationalist, a high-ranking official in the court of Beijing and a victim of anti-rightist repression. In his memoirs, he provides a detailed and fascinating description of the profession and China in the second half of the 20^th century.

World War I: Intellectuals and Enlisted Men

Stéphane Tison — 2014-11-10T09:06:00Z

Did French soldiers really experience a union sacrée (“sacred union”) in the trenches of the First World War, or did intellectuals simply erase their memories of the social distinctions they encountered at the front? Through an analysis of intellectuals' discourse about other social classes, Nicolas Mariot revisits the myth of the Great War as a patriotic melting pot—an analysis which merits further exploration, on the eve of the First Armistice's anniversary.

From Public Charity to Putting the Poor to Work

Jacques Rodriguez — 2014-10-02T08:00:00Z

The Speenhamland system, the early 19^th-century precursor of guaranteed minimum income wage, still fuels the debate over social protection. This article takes a look back at a controversial episode in British social history.

Muslim Castes in India

Rémy Delage — 2014-09-29T08:00:00Z

The key notion of caste often goes beyond the strict framework of Hinduism, in which it originated, to influence the social structures of other religious groups. Rémy Delage shows us the extent to which caste categories are important for understanding the social organization of Muslims in the region.

Kenzaburō Ōe: The Barbarism of Reality

Antonin Bechler — 2014-09-25T08:00:00Z

Kenzaburō Ōe, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is a controversial figure in Japan. And rightly so, for there are a great many contradictions in both his fictional and theoretical work. He is a fierce opponent of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and yet continues to celebrate the heroism of the soldier who finds glory through sacrifice.

To Be A World Citizen: Political Horizon or Abyss?

Michaël Foessel — 2014-09-11T08:00:00Z

The world is no longer a vague, indeterminate idea: our lives are so globalized that it is now a reality. Does cosmopolitanism have a future under such conditions? Michaël Fœssel explains the origin and meaning of this utopia, highlighting its transformations and reaffirming its political relevance.

A Self-Subversive Temperament

Cyrille Ferraton & Ludovic Frobert — 2014-07-23T07:30:00Z

One of Albert O. Hirschman's contributions to economic theory is a richer understanding of the concept of the “rational actor,” which, he demonstrated, possesses the deliberative capacities that democratic market societies require. This following is a profile of an economist who was also a dissident and an activist.

Wittgenstein, Russell, and Religion

Patrick Ducray — 2014-07-21T08:11:04Z

Jacques Bouveresse has written a book on religion in the thought of Russell and Wittgenstein. While the position of the atheist Russell on religion's obscurities is clear, Wittgenstein's is far more difficult to elucidate.

Comparing Success

Dominique Merllié — 2014-07-17T07:30:00Z

Through a comparative study of France, India and the United States, Jules Naudet's book shows how certain “instituted ideologies” specific to each country are either a barrier or a resource when it comes to moving from a dominated social situation to a dominant occupational position.

Women's Employment in Europe

Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière — 2014-05-26T07:30:00Z

What is the situation for women's employment in the different European countries and what are the latest developments? This study aims to identify the policies that seem most favourable to women's employment in the context of a “life cycle”, in other words taking into account the specific phase that is the potential birth and upbringing of very young children.