Thanks for reminding us of the importance of Raymond Aron. I had the privilege of auditing his seminar at the Sorbonne in 1960. I recall his listening to students, encouraging their participation, which was not typical of profs in that era.
What we are looking at now in terms of what type of political order is dominant, is not liberal democracy but a regressive illiberal authoritarianism. The social conceptions and frameworks hailed by liberals as progressive are in fact regressive and illiberal. To say we are living in liberal democracies in the West is a failure to recognize liberalism has been replaced by illiberalism.
I have a comment on Schmidt. The idea of sovereing as who define the state of exception probably was suggested to Schmidt by the Roman concept of “Senatus consultum ultimum”: an open Senate declaration legimazing ilegal action:
Thanks for reminding us of the importance of Raymond Aron. I had the privilege of auditing his seminar at the Sorbonne in 1960. I recall his listening to students, encouraging their participation, which was not typical of profs in that era.
What we are looking at now in terms of what type of political order is dominant, is not liberal democracy but a regressive illiberal authoritarianism. The social conceptions and frameworks hailed by liberals as progressive are in fact regressive and illiberal. To say we are living in liberal democracies in the West is a failure to recognize liberalism has been replaced by illiberalism.
Schmitt may be the most relevant political philosopher for our time - and I say that not liking him very much: https://tempo.substack.com/p/with-friends-like-these
Will check out Aron.
The embrace of Nazis like Schmitt and Heidegger by many on the left was bound to come back to bite us in the end, and it has done so now.
I have a comment on Schmidt. The idea of sovereing as who define the state of exception probably was suggested to Schmidt by the Roman concept of “Senatus consultum ultimum”: an open Senate declaration legimazing ilegal action:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatus_consultum_ultimum
I think that his theory was not personalist. If I am rigth, the state of exception defines the locus of soveragnity. In Rome it was not a person.