Non-conformists of the 1930s

Non-conformists of the 1930s

The Non-Conformists of the 1930s refers to a nebula of groups and individuals during the inter-war period in France which was looking for new solutions to face the political, economical and social crisis. The name was coined in 1969 by the historian Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle to describe a movement which revolved around Emmanuel Mounier's personalism. Locating themselves rather on the right-wing of the political spectrum, they attempted to find a "Third Way" between socialism and capitalism, and opposed liberalism, parliamentarism, democracy and fascism.[1]

Contents

Main currents

Three main currents of non-conformists may be distinguished:

  • The review Esprit, founded in 1931 by Emmanuel Mounier and which was the main mouthpiece of personalism.
  • The Ordre nouveau (New Order) group, created by Alexandre Marc and influenced by Robert Aron and Arnaud Dandieu's works. Charles de Gaulle would have some contacts with them between the end of 1934 and the beginning of 1935 [1]. Jean Coutrot, who became during the Popular Front vice-president of the Committee of Scientific Organisation of Labour of the Minister Charles Spinasse, participated to the technical reunions of Ordre nouveau [2].
  • The Jeune Droite (Young Right — a term coined by Mounier) which gathered young intellectuals who had more or less broke with the monarchist Action française, including Jean de Fabrègues, Jean-Pierre Maxence, Thierry Maulnier, Maurice Blanchot, as well as the journals Les Cahiers, Réaction pour l'ordre, La Revue française or La Revue du Siècle.

These young intellectuals (most were about 25 years old) all considered that France was confronted by a "civilisation crisis" and opposed, despite their differences, what Mounier called the "established disorder" (le désordre établi). The latter was represented by capitalism, individualism, economic liberalism and materialism. Opposed both to Fascism and to Communism (qualified for the first as a "false Fascist-spiritualism [3]" and for the latter as plain materialism), they aimed at creating the conditions of a "spiritual revolution" which would simultaneously transform Man and things. They called for a "New Order," beyond individualism and collectivism, oriented towards a "federalist," "communautary and personalist" organisation of social relations.

The Non-Conformists were influenced both by French Socialism, in particular by Proudhonism (an important influence of Ordre nouveau) and by Social Catholicism, which permeated Esprit and the Jeune Droite. They inherited from both currents a form of scepticism towards politics, which explains some anti-statism stances, and renewed interest in social and economical transformations [4]. Foreign influences were more restricted, and were limited to the discovery of the "precursors of existentialism" (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Max Scheler) and contacts between Ordre nouveau and several members of the German Conservative Revolution movement [5]. They were in favor of decentralization, underscored the importance of intermediary bodies, and opposed finance capitalism [6].

The movement was close to liberalism in the attention given to civil society and in its distrust of the state; but it also criticized liberal individualism and its negligence of "intermediate bodies" (family, village, etc. [7] — the reactionary writer Maurice Barrès also insisted on the latter). They were characterized by the will to find a "Third Way" between Socialism and Capitalism, individualism and collectivism, idealism and materialism and the left-right distinction in politics [8].

After the February 6, 1934 riots organized by far-right leagues, the Non-Conformists split toward various directions. Bertrand de Jouvenel made the link between the Non-Conformists and the supporters of planisme, a new economical theory invented by the Belgian Henri de Man, as well as with the technocratic Groupe X-Crise. They influenced both Vichy's Révolution nationale (Jeune France, Ecole des cadres d'Uriage, etc.) and political programs of the Resistance (Combat, Défense de la France, OCM, etc.) In November 1941, René Vincent, in charge of Vichy censorship services, created the journal Idées (1941-44) which gathered the Non-Conformists who supported Marshal Philippe Pétain's regime [9].

Post-war legacy

After World War II, many of these Non-Conformists (Robert Aron, Daniel-Rops, Jean de Fabrègues, Alexandre Marc, Thierry Maulnier) became activists of European federalist movements. The founder of Ordre nouveau, Alexandre Marc, became in 1946 the first secretary of the Union of European Federalists [10]. He would then create the Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE) in 1954, which lives on to this day.

Breaking with part of its legacy, Esprit involved itself in New Left movements and would also influence in the 1970s the "Second Left," gathered around the Unified Socialist Party (PSU).

After May '68, some environmentalist movements renewed with this "spirit of the 1930s" (in particular Denis de Rougemont or Jacques Ellul). They have also influenced Christian Democracy.

Abroad, the Non-Conformists found an audience in Quebec between the 1930s to the 1970s or among Eastern Europe dissidents, and would also influence Catholic circles in the second half of the 20th century.

References

  1. ^ a b Account of Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle's book in the Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions n°118, on the EHESS website (French)
  2. ^ Biographical notice of Jean Coutrot, Centre d'histoire de Sciences-Po (French)
  3. ^ Prospectus de présentation de la revue "Esprit", presented by Alain-Gérard Slama, on-line course of Sciences-Po, 18 May 2007 (French)
  4. ^ Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, A 2001 Interview (p.3) in the Revue Jibrile (French)
  5. ^ Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, A 2001 Interview (p.4) in the Revue Jibrile (French)
  6. ^ Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, A 2001 Interview (p.4) in the Revue Jibrile (French)
  7. ^ Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, A 2001 Interview (p.5) in the Revue Jibrile (French)
  8. ^ Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, A 2001 Interview (p.6) in the Revue Jibrile (French)
  9. ^ Antoine Guyader (preface by Pascal Ory), La Revue Idées — Des Non-Conformistes en Révolution Nationale, L'Harmattan, ISBN 2296010385 (French)
  10. ^ Janpier Dutrieux 2006 Personnaliste et fédéraliste, le monde d’Alexandre Marc (French)

Bibliography

  • Robert Aron, Décadence de la nation française (1931)
  • Arnaud Dandieu, Le Cancer américain (1931)
  • Daniel-Rops, Les Années tournantes (1932) and Le Monde sans âme
  • Alexandre Marc, Jeune Europe (1933)
  • Aron & Dandieu, La Révolution nécessaire (1933)
  • Denis de Rougemont, Politique de la personne (1934) [1]

Further reading

  • Pierre Andreu, Révoltes de l'esprit.Les revues des années 30, Kime, 1999
  • Michel Berges,Vichy contre Mounier. Les non-conformistes face aux années 40, Economica, 1997
  • Jean-Louis Loubet del Bayle, Les non-conformistes des années 30. Une trentative de renouvellement de la pensée politique française, Seuil, 1969 (Points, Seuil, 2001) ISBN 978-2020487016
  • Christophe Le Dréau,« L’Europe des non-conformistes des années 30 : les idées européistes de New Britain et New Europe», in Olivier Dard & Etienne Deschamps (sous la dir.), Les nouvelles relèves en Europe, Bruxelles, Peter Lang, 2005, pp.311-330.
  • Jean Touchard, "L'Esprit des années 1930: Une Tentative de renouvellement de la pensée politique française," in Tendances politiques de la vie française depuis 1789 (Paris: Hachette, 1960), 89-118

See also

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • France in the twentieth century — For specific information on today s France, see France and Portal:France. The History of France from 1914 to the present includes: the later years of the Third Republic (1871–1941) World War I (1914–18) World War II (1939–45) the Fourth Republic… …   Wikipedia

  • Nonconformism — Non conformists redirects here. For the 1930s French movement, see Non conformists of the 1930s. This article refers to Protestant Nonconformity. For the general meaning of term, see Wiktionary:nonconformity Nonconformity (usually capitalized) is …   Wikipedia

  • Great Depression in France — The Great Depression affected France from about 1931 through the remainder of the decade. The depression had drastic effects on the local economy, which can partly explain the February 6, 1934 riots and even more the formation of the Popular… …   Wikipedia

  • Groupe X-Crise — The Groupe X Crise (or X Crise ) was a French technocratic movement created in 1931 as an aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the Great Depression. Formed by former students of the École Polytechnique (nicknamed X ), it… …   Wikipedia

  • Esprit (magazine) — Esprit is a French literary magazine. Founded in October 1932 by Emmanuel Mounier, it was the personalist review . From 1957 to 1976, it was directed by Jean Marie Domenach. Paul Thibaud directed it for some time. The philosopher Paul Ricoeur… …   Wikipedia

  • Far right leagues — ( Ligues d extrême droite ) gathered several French far right movements opposed to parliamentarism, which mainly dedicated themselves to military parades, street brawls, demonstrations and riots. The term ligue was often used in the 1930s to… …   Wikipedia

  • Daniel-Rops — Born Henri Jules Charles Petiot January 19, 1901 Épinal, Vosges Died July 27, 1965 Aix les Bains, Savoie Pen name Daniel Rops, Henri Daniel Rops Occupation Author …   Wikipedia

  • Jacques Ellul — Infobox Philosopher region = Western Philosophy era = 20th century philosophy color = #B0C4DE |thumb|260px|frame image caption = photograph courtesy of flag.blackened.net name = Jacques Ellul birth = January 6, 1912 Bordeaux, France death = May… …   Wikipedia

  • Claude Chevalley — Y.Akizuki, C.Chevalley and A.Kobori Born February 11, 1909 …   Wikipedia

  • Denis de Rougemont — (September 8, 1906, Couvet – December 6, 1985) was a Swiss writer, who wrote in French. He studied at the University of Neuchâtel, and then moved to Paris in 1930. There he wrote for and edited various publications, associating with the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”