André Glucksmann, successor to Voltaire

Who is Andre Glucksmann?

André Glucksmann (June 19, 1937, Boulogne-Billancourt–November 9, 2015, Paris) began to stand out in the 1970s as a member of (or rather presiding over) the ranks of the group of so-called nouveaux philosophes, young thinkers disenchanted with the Marxism that reflected deeply and starkly on politics, ideological commitment and its social consequences, not hesitating to denounce and criticize both right-wing and left-wing totalitarianism.

From that time there are two interesting books that arise from Glucksmann's pen: The Cook and the Man-Eater (1976) and The Master Thinkers (1978). In these works, the author delves into the roots of the crimes committed in the name of ideologies and the ideas in whose shadow barbarities such as the Soviet gulag are forged. The metaphysics of domination and ideological violence go back to master thinkers such as Hegel, Fichte, Marx or Nietzsche.

 

Later came other decisive works. In 1982, his Cynicism and Passion, an examination of the exercise of philosophy in times of crisis, was published in our language. In 1983, La fuerza del vertigo, a lucid look at the tragedy of a relative world peace based on the deterrence of nuclear weapons.

 

In 1993, The Eleventh Commandment, an analysis of moral behavior before the announced end of history, where classical humanism gives way to a modern humanist ethic that is not afraid to denounce evil from the dark revelation: «That nothing that is inhuman be strange to you." In 2002, Dostoevsky in Manhattan, an invitation to rethink nihilistic violence and the collapse of values in the light of great literary works.

 

This last mentioned work was André Glucksmann's response to the destruction of the American Twin Towers. It already announces in these pages the brutal power of universal nihilistic terrorism. He writes:

 

 

"The almost invisible violence of the 'forgotten' wars and the one that hits the heart of New York spectacularly are the manifestation of a single and identical hubris without borders. At the base, he eradicates with the submachine gun the fragile possibility of guaranteeing a minimum of rights to each individual on the globe; at the top, he programs the brutal annihilation of the democratic city; At both ends of the chain, he launches his deadly challenge to the 21st century, substituting, as soon as he can, the risks and fortunes of a free existence for the law of the thug ».

 

André Glucksmann belonged to the nouveaux philosophes, young thinkers disenchanted with Marxism who reflected deeply and starkly on politics, ideological commitment and its social consequences.

 

Voltaire's influence

Voltaire has been a constantly present figure in the thought of André Glucksmann. He dedicates his last book to him: Voltaire Strikes Back . He presents it as the most current and revolutionary example of the European Enlightenment spirit against the threats, more present than ever, of destructive fanaticism, recurrent totalitarianism and the temptation of a defenseless and accommodating languor in the face of them.

 

Voltaire Strikes Back, by André Glucksmann

According to Glucksmann, the lesson of Voltair's thought is the active defense of tolerance in the face of devastating barbarism. Thus, he does not hesitate to state: "Europe will be Voltairean or it will not be." The West is faced with dangers that it cannot even identify: identitarian and xenophobic nationalisms, theocratic fanaticisms that seek a return to the Middle Ages, nihilistic and fatalistic nightmares. Faced with these infamies, some injections of Voltairean illustration can serve to recover our senses, our author tells us.

 

Candide or optimism, by Voltaire, is for Glucksmann the manifesto of our time. He invites us to read this work that describes the world as it is and not as it is said to be. In its pages are the lessons that the West must remember. Cándido is a bomb for the fanatics and the intolerant, for the infamous of our time: «Since the deflagration, to Cándido, the devotees, whatever their church, cross or crescent, sickle and hammer, the embroiderers of the ideal did not they doubt: they detest it».

 

Glucksmann also says of this Voltairian work:

 

«Delighting in Voltaire does not mean dividing humanity in two —the good on one side, the bad on the other— nor does it mean reducing all issues to a single question that prevails over the others —profane enlightenment against sacred illumination, capitalism against socialism…—, but it does mean dealing with aporias and questions as they arise, with 'good judgment', without the help of extraordinary revelations, always keeping 'the simplest mind'. Following Montaigne, he learns 'more by the contrary than by example'. A man of reason —therefore of doubt, therefore of criticism—, far from the souls entangled in the dark threads of a first creation and a final judgment, Cándido learns the truth by discovering the false».

 

Glucksmann pushes us with his example and his books - and especially with the last one - to have the audacity to say in public, whatever the cost, what citizens consider true and fair. Today silence is not the option. "The crime of indifference," he scuffles in our conscience, "is the first and necessary condition for the work of assassins." And he gives us two quotes: “A scream causes the avalanche”, by Solzhenitzin, and “Shout and let them scream!”, by Voltaire.