French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Badiou, In Praise of Politics
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Alain Badiou
In Praise of Politics
In collaboration with Aude Lancelin
Flammarion, Café Voltaire collection
Published: 18/10/2017
144 pp.
EAN: 9782081352483
ISBN: 9782081352483
“Machiavelli largely defined politics as the supreme art of deception. Yet it must be something else: a society's capacity to take charge of its own destiny, to invent a just order, and to place itself under the imperative of the common good.”
In this concise volume, contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou, in collaboration with journalist and author Aude Lancelin, offers a vital intervention in modern political philosophy. Published in Flammarion's Café Voltaire collection, the work aligns with a long French tradition of accessible yet rigorous intellectual dialogues aimed at a broader public. Badiou, a major figure in continental philosophy, distances himself from pragmatic or technocratic views of governance. Instead, he situates his thought within a radical tradition that seeks to rescue the concept of the political from mere state management and electoral strategy.
The book addresses a fundamental question: how can society reclaim its collective agency in an era dominated by political disillusionment? By challenging the Machiavellian view of politics as the art of deception, Badiou and Lancelin urge readers to conceptualize political engagement as an ethical pursuit of justice and the common good. This text is highly relevant for students of philosophy, political theory, and sociology, as well as general readers looking for a philosophical framework to understand contemporary systemic crises and the possibilities of genuine democratic renewal.