Marxism and Islamism : intellectual conformity in Aron’s time and our own
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Classical Sociology
Publication Date
5-2011
Volume
11
Issue
2
First Page
173
Last Page
190
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Keywords
Aron, Bolshevism, conundrum of specificity, fear, Islamophobia, lawfare
Abstract
We celebrate great writers not only by reconstructing their ideas but also by thinking in their spirit. Many aspects of Raymond Aron’s legacy could, today, be exploited by writers of an Aronian turn of mind. They might draw on his philosophy of history; his defense of the specificity of politics; his acute awareness of the burdens of responsibility imposed on great powers. In this article, I flag a different topic: Aron’s concern with the impact of regimes and local cultures on political discussion. Of special interest to him were state-sponsored ideology and self-induced groupthink (the ‘opium of the intellectuals’). After briefly describing Aron’s views of both of these phenomena within the context of official and unofficial Marxism, I examine two modalities of communicative inhibition that have emerged since his death. Both turn on the emergence of Islamism as a major modern political ideology; both entail impediments to free speech: the vilification of political disagreement as ‘phobic’ and, relatedly, the political use of law (‘lawfare’) to halt debate on matters sensitive to Islamists.
DOI
10.1177/1468795X10396272
Print ISSN
1468795X
E-ISSN
17412897
Publisher Statement
Copyright © SAGE Publications
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Baehr, P. (2011). Marxism and Islamism: Intellectual conformity in Aron’s time and our own. Journal of Classical Sociology, 11(2), 173-190. doi: 10.1177/1468795X10396272