Democracy without Trust: Rhetoric, Responsibility, and Root Causes of Social Conflict: Notes on Bruno Retailleau

Bruno Retailleau represents the Vendée in the French Senate, where he has been serving as President of The Republican group since 2014. His comments prompted by the storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6 provide a useful European perspective, an alternative to the polarized discourse that has predominated in the United States. In addition to a pointed evaluation of the events themselves, his remarks also offer insight into political positioning in France in advance of the 2022 presidential election: as we are on the eve of the post-Merkel era in Germany, a post-Macron France may be approaching as well. More importantly, however, Retailleau reminds us that what happened in Washington is indicative of tendencies that are not exclusively American. He describes root causes of some contemporary social conflict, treating the Washington riot as symptomatic of tensions as present in France as in the United States, as well as across the West. At stake is more than Trump’s rhetoric, the impeachment debate, or the response to the 2020 presidential election outcome. The issues that fueled the populism of the past four years have not disappeared. Retailleau shows why.

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Avoiding Civil War, in France and in the United States

These remarks were published in Le Figaro on January 8, 2021, and appear here with permission of the author. Translated by Russell A. Berman. Footnotes have been added for clarification by the translator, whose introductory comments are here.

In a democracy, liberty always goes hand in hand with responsibility. Donald Trump’s responsibility for the outbreak of violence on Capitol Hill is clear. Minimizing that responsibility, as Marine Le Pen did by asserting that the American president did not “gauge the impact of his words” is the false politics: Because it ignores that in our agitated democracies, facing an exhausted people, moderating one’s words constitutes the premier obligation of responsible politicians. It is more than a matter of civility; it is an urgent civic necessity, if we do not want to see the battle of tweets degenerate into a war of all against all.

Yet indignation is not enough. We also have to understand. What do we see on the other side of the Atlantic? An ailing democracy, to be sure. Ailing from an epidemic of anger, of which the violence at the Capitol was by no means the first wave, nor is America the only “cluster” of this epidemic, since it has already spread across the rest of the Western world.

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The Telos Press Podcast: Aryeh Botwinick on Negative Theology, Power, and the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

In today’s episode of the Telos Press Podcast, Camelia Raghinaru talks with Aryeh Botwinick about his article “Negative Theology, Power, and the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict,” from Telos 192 (Fall 2020). An excerpt of the article appears here. If your university has an online subscription to Telos, you can read the full article at the Telos Online website. For non-subscribers, learn how your university can begin a subscription to Telos at our library recommendation page. Purchase a print copy of Telos 192 in our online store.

Listen to the podcast here.

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The Telos Press Podcast: Menachem Fisch on the Tragic Paradox of Political Zionism

In today’s episode of the Telos Press Podcast, Camelia Raghinaru talks with Menachem Fisch about his article “The Tragic Paradox of Political Zionism,” from Telos 192 (Fall 2020). An excerpt of the article appears here. If your university has an online subscription to Telos, you can read the full article at the Telos Online website. For non-subscribers, learn how your university can begin a subscription to Telos at our library recommendation page. Purchase a print copy of Telos 192 in our online store.

Listen to the podcast here.

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The Telos Press Podcast: Kenneth Johnson on Black Lives Matter and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Save 30% on Telos 182 (Spring 2018): Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fifty Years On, a special issue dedicated to King’s life and thought, in our store. Offer expires 1/24/21.

In commemoration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., today’s episode of the Telos Press Podcast features a wide-ranging interview with Kenneth D. Johnson by Telos editor David Pan. Their discussion covers a variety of topics, including the influence of King on the Black Lives Matter movement, the different approaches to political activism and civil disobedience, the call to defund the police, the nature and effects of systemic racism, the role of education in expanding opportunities for the Black community, the role of government in addressing social and economic inequalities, and the question of how a universal basic income might help alleviate these problems.

In addition to being a member of Telos‘s editorial board, Ken Johnson edited Telos 182 (Spring 2018): Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fifty Years On, a special issue dedicated to King’s life and thought. We are now offering a 30% discount on Telos 182 when you purchase your copy in our store. With ten in-depth articles on King’s intellectual and political legacy, as well as an interview with King scholar David Garrow, Telos 182 is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how Martin Luther King Jr. continues to influence us today. Read the introduction to Telos 182 here.

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The Telos Press Podcast: Annabel Herzog on Jewish Identity in Hannah Arendt’s Thought

In today’s episode of the Telos Press Podcast, Camelia Raghinaru talks with Annabel Herzog about her article “When Arendt Said ‘We’: Jewish Identity in Hannah Arendt’s Thought,” from Telos 192 (Fall 2020). An excerpt of the article appears here. If your university has an online subscription to Telos, you can read the full article at the Telos Online website. For non-subscribers, learn how your university can begin a subscription to Telos at our library recommendation page. Purchase a print copy of Telos 192 in our online store.

Listen to the podcast here.

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