Arguing revolution

For thirty years after the Second World War, the French intellectual Left dominated cultural and political life in France as well as achieving immense influence and prestige internationally. Yet during the 1970s, a remarkable change occurred: Marxist and Leftist arguments dramatically collapsed; France's intellectuals, after veering sharply to the Right, arrived at a new understanding of liberalism and, abandoning Marxism and the idea of revolution, sought ways to govern the Republic. In this original and challenging book, Sunil Khilnani examines how and why this massive shift in intellectual…