The opium of the intellectuals
by Raymond Aron · first published 1962
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5HN commenters
2020–2023first – last mentioned
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…Judt, Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals, 1944-1956 Tony Judt, The Burden of Responsibility: Blum, Camus, Aron, and the French Twentieth Century Czesław Miłosz, The Captive Mind Raymond Aron, The Opium of the Intellectuals Those books taught me that there are quite a few secular religions to be beware of, with all the associated dangers and indeed opium for the mind. They were written with the example of Marxism, but this…
on “Ask HN: Are there any books that changed your life during college or school?” ↗…the SCOTUS within the Republic. Also recommended, to see both his pen and intellect in action, are his opinions in Korematsu v. United States and West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. The Opium of the Intellectuals - Aron, 1955 Amazon does a better job of summarizing than I could off the top of my head, so here you go: "Raymond Aron's 1955 masterpiece The Opium of the Intellectuals, is one of the great works of…
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗While I have not read the Hayek work you mention, it is probably drawn from the same philosophical waters as a work that I recommend to anyone with an interest in this sort of thinking: "The Opium of the Intellectuals" by Raymond Aron. Aron was a French philosopher who contemplated the Intellectuals' fascination and infatuation with socialism and, at the time and place of writing (1950's France), Communism.
on “The Two Middle Classes” ↗Marxism has many religion-like qualities. It's been written about in: Raymond Aron, The Opium of the Intellectuals Czesław Miłosz, The Captive Mind
on “Be like the Silkworm: Marx's Style” ↗It is not the first time that certain ideologies were seen having characteristics often associated with religious faith. There this French intellectual named Raymond Aron who wrote a book called "The Opium of the Intellectuals" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Opium_of_the_Intellectuals). He also used to be a schoolmate of Sarte. He goes in very great details (although this is hard to read even for me as a native French…
on “As religious faith has declined, ideological intensity has risen” ↗I've not read The Opium of the Intellectuals, but was it talking about postwar French Marxism or Soviet Leninism/Stalinism?
on “The Opium of the Intellectuals” ↗