Sartre at the Twilight of Liberal Democracy as We Have Known It

in Sartre Studies International
Author:
William L. McBride

Search for other papers by William L. McBride in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

From the very beginning of his explicitly political thinking until the end of his life, Jean-Paul Sartre was always cognizant of the fact that the typical electoral system, whether dominated by two or by several "parties," that is to be found in Western countries and that is vaunted as the pinnacle of real democracy amounted to a profound mystification. That is why, at the time of the centenary of his birth, he is owed a renewed respect for his ideas in this area. I do not intend to examine here the evolution of Sartre?s political thought, or even his views with respect to the Eastern European countries, the "socialism" of which, as he eventually discovered, was scarcely more real than their "democracy." Rather, I shall confine myself to recalling certain elements, especially certain iconoclastic elements, of that thought. I shall do so with a view to taking a clear-headed look at a possible future in which those icons will have disappeared.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

Sartre Studies International

An Interdisciplinary Journal of Existentialism and Contemporary Culture

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 43 18 7
Full Text Views 3 1 0
PDF Downloads 5 2 0