11 April, 1906
Alain
The French philosopher known as Alain (born Emile-Auguste Chartier) (1868-1951) lived in Mortagne in Normandy where a statue and small museum are a testimony to his continued standing in French intellectual life. He wrote many brief pieces attacking the establishment of his day clerics, academics, politicians - and Brenda Almond has selected and translated some of these for The Philosopher. The second of these appears here and is taken from his Propos Impertinents* which were written between 1906 and 1914. It seems particularly appropriate in a year dominated by election fever in parts of the Western world.
The Wisdom of the Voters
When I said I was a radical, a serious-looking man said to me: 'What does 'radical' mean? It's just a word, a label, nothing more. I understand what it is for someone to be a monarchist or a socialist, but thereís no such thing as radicalism.'
I replied: 'To my mind, radicalism is something that is quite precise, and it's easy to define. Essentially, it's a political doctrine; it's only secondarily that it's an economic theory, and that's where you could attack it; for as far as property, work, taxes, in a word, the real business of the legislator, are concerned, it's opportunistic. But the political doctrine is perfectly solid. You could call it pure democracy.
Human beings, although they are unequal in practice, are equal in law ? that's the principle involved. The law and the authorities must constantly battle against inequality, which natureís laws ensure is constantly reborn, and in a thousand different forms.
Always, and whatever happens, there is one sure way to remedy this: that is to keep on improving universal suffrage, i.e. government of the people by themselves.
An educated populace, which deliberates and debates; a people enlightened and informed by experts and by their representatives, but not governed by them ? no, governed by itself - that's the ideal. And it's worth working to that end because we're still a long way away from it. All the powerful forces in society, the aristocracy, religion, wealth, authority, almost always get together and work to deceive the voter, to deceive the person they have elected, and to resist by cunning the will of the majority.
The radical takes on himself a double task; first to find out to the best of his ability, and on every issue, what the majority wants; then to keep an eye on the authorities and call them to account.
If you now ask the radical where this system is taking us, youíre asking too much of him. The republic will be whatever the majority want. Every other kind of justice is tyranny.
Alain, Propos impertinents, (1906-1914), Mille et une nuits, Departement
de la Librarie Artheme Fayard, septembre 2002. pp. 13-15.