Articles

Multifaceted Crisis of the West: No Choice but to Rise

In a profoundly transformed global context, the West, which has considered and presented itself since the Enlightenment as the ultimate beacon of Humanity, finds itself at a worrying crossroads, confronted with challenges and contestations that touch its intellectual, political, economic, moral, and demographic foundations. As emerging powers such as China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and India increasingly challenge Western dominance, we are witnessing a slow but inexorable decline of this imperium that has shaped the modern world for several centuries. Intellectual Decay: The Era of Post-Truth The Western public discourse has undergone a dramatic transformation with the advent of "post-truth," a concept describing an era where emotions and personal beliefs take precedence over objective facts. This trend is fueled by declining trust in political, media, and academic institutions. The rise of far-right ideologies, as well as far-left movements, has also contributed to this intelle...
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Crise multiforme de l'Occident : pas d'autre choix que le sursaut

Dans un contexte mondial profondément transformé, l’Occident, qui s'est pensé et présenté depuis le siècle des Lumières comme le phare ultime d'Humanité , se retrouve à un carrefour inquiétant , confronté à des défis et à des contestations qui touchent à ses fondements intellectuels, politiques, économiques, moraux et démographiques. Alors que les puissances émergentes telle la Chine, la Russie, l'Iran, la Turquie et l'Inde contestent de plus en plus la domination occidentale, on assiste à une lente mais inexorable déliquescence de cet imperium qui a façonné le monde moderne depuis plusieurs siècles. Décrépitude intellectuelle : L'ère de la post-vérité Le discours public occidental a subi une transformation dramatique avec l’avènement de la « post-vérité », un concept qui décrit une époque où les émotions et croyances personnelles prennent le pas sur les faits objectifs. Cette tendance est alimentée par une confiance déclinante dans les institutions politiques, mé...
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What is a Just Society?

Introduction After briefly addressing the issues of inequalities in the French education system and the revolt of the British and American people against the feeling of being abandoned on the path to equity and progress by the elites, it seems appropriate to take a step back and consider the sentiment that seems to be most shared by the marginalized in the French school system on the one hand, and the English and American losers of globalization: social injustice. Relevance of Social Justice The theme of social justice seems particularly relevant to address as important elections approach in France and Germany, where this theme will undoubtedly be the subject of heated debates. It often hides behind a wide range of political proposals that may initially seem purely "technical": tax reform, universal income, reduction of public deficits, reform of the school system, health system, migrant reception, urban planning, support for agriculture, digital transformation and job insecu...
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Rationality and Political Passions: Does Technocracy Oppose Democracy?

Introduction Modern political history alternates between, on the one hand, citizens' distrust of the partisan political system and its representatives (the elected officials), increasingly perceived as a source of impotence, particularly in the face of globalization, and seeming to find merits in a technocracy imbued with a sense of public good and freed from political contingencies, and, on the other hand, the rejection or even "democratic revolt" against technocratic elites accused of undermining democracy by imposing an order beyond the control of elected bodies, as recently demonstrated by the example of Brexit. The Emergence of Technocracy Today, a negatively connoted term, technocracy emerged as an idea in the 19th century with Auguste Comte's positivism: "technocracy is a scientific government aimed at the flourishing of each citizen." The term itself appeared in the 1920s and in the 1930s referred to a political movement led mainly by American engine...
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Democracy in Peril: The Decline of Institutions and the Rise of Populism

Western democracies are experiencing a profound crisis. The institutions that forged prosperity are crumbling, leaving the field open to populist sirens from all sides. How did they get here? Acemoglu and Robinson demonstrated in their major work "Why Nations Fail" that the key to Western success lies in its inclusive political and economic institutions. By broadly distributing political power and economic opportunities, they created a virtuous circle of progress and innovation. Prosperity is not the result of chance, but of a subtle balance between state and market, between freedom and regulation. This balance was broken by the ultra-liberal turn of the 1980s. Under the guise of freeing market energies, counter-powers were weakened, and wealth and influence were concentrated in the hands of an elite that snubs national borders and tax jurisdictions. The concentration of capital and the increasing financialization of the economy perfectly illustrate this drift. The S&P 50...
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The Market: An Amoral Institution?

Introduction One of the oldest controversies in political philosophy concerns an essential attribute of the Market: whether or not it is confined within the moral sphere of human behavior. This seemingly "metaphysical" question has extremely important implications not only in the field of political philosophy but also in a much more down-to-earth way in economic theories and political programs that ultimately govern many aspects of our lives (economic activity, work, justice, etc.). It therefore deserves attention, especially since the global economic and financial crisis of 2008 brought it to the heart of political debate. Historical Retrospective of Liberal Thought To properly frame the terms of the debate as it has been presented in political circles since the 2008 crisis, it is necessary to provide a brief historical retrospective of liberal thought. Foundations of Economic Liberalism If economic liberalism is the school of economic thought that places central importance ...
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Attack on the Elites: Why Meritocracy is Under Siege

  With the powerful expansion of liberalism that the world has experienced since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wave of increasingly virulent criticism of globalized economic, political, and media elites within Western democracies suddenly began to transform into a global tsunami with the advent of Brexit, the election of Trump, and the rise of a populist "demagoguery" fueled by anti-elite resentment in many European countries. Perplexity of the Elites The reaction of the elites thus singled out oscillates between perplexity and total incomprehension, infantilizing the angry people deemed incapable of understanding and choosing what is good for them by opting for irresponsible demagogues over their duly graduated and "necessarily" more trustworthy peers. The Paradox of Meritocracy Their perplexity is legitimate: how is it that at a time when the complexity of the world suggests calling on the best graduates, we entrust the reins of power to individuals who openly ...
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