Prosperity and Torment in France - (Catholic Ideas for a Secular World) by Chantal Delsol (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A philosophical and historical analysis of the paradox of French democracy that illuminates the challenges of the current democratic age.

In Prosperity and Torment in France, philosopher Chantal Delsol provides an analysis of the current state of affairs in French politics, economics, and cultural life that reveals key lessons for modern democracies around the world. She examines the seeming paradox of France as a wealthy country that provides almost unrivaled social services to its citizens at no extra cost, but one whose citizens are unsatisfied with the current state of affairs. Delsol traces this current dilemma back several hundred years, and examines the principle of the common good and its inherent tension with concepts like democracy and egalitarianism that often emphasize individualism. Likewise, Delsol emphasizes this concept also stands in contrast to the centralization of power in Paris throughout its history. In the end, Delsol notes that these historical tensions set the stage for many of the current tensions in France: secularism versus religion, economic liberalism versus the welfare state, civil service versus the private sector, and material wealth versus status.

By examining the paradox of France, Delsol brings to the forefront the challenges democracies are facing around the globe and asks the broader question of how governments should best serve their people in our contemporary world.

Review Quotes

"For Americans interested in understanding this now prominent state of ennui and melancholy, Chantal Delsol's new book Prosperity and Torment in France offers a clear diagnosis of its ideological, intellectual, and spiritual roots.... All of it adds up to a cautionary tale. As the Left throughout the West continues to push atheism, novel ideologies like transgenderism, utopian visions, and socialist policies, the United States must remain vigilant against contracting our own version of this malaise." --The Catholic Thing

"'It is utopia that depresses us. France certainly does not suffer from a lack of finance, talent, or luck: it suffers from being unrealistic.' And, increasingly, Americans have contracted the French malaise." --Will Morrisey Reviews

"Chantal Delsol probes the paradoxes of today's France, sighing alike at its beauty and its dysfunctions, its achievements and its discontents. Only a patriot could have written this book, for only one who loves her country could desire to know it so thoroughly. American readers will profit from Delsol's reflections--and from her example." --John M. Owen IV, author of The Ecology of Nations

"This compact book informs, provokes, and gives rise to the kind of deliberation that our civilization very much needs." --Daniel J. Mahoney, author of The Persistence of the Ideological Lie

"Chantal Delsol's incisive book takes up a perennial theme in French political and social thought, but does so in a fresh way, philosophically informed and yet brimming over with interesting observations and sharp insights."--Wilfred M. McClay, author of The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America

About the Author

Chantal Delsol is professor of philosophy at the University of Marne-la-Vallée and an elected member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques (Institut de France). She is the author of numerous books, including La Fin de la Chrétienté (The end of Christianity).

Andrew Kelley is professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Bradley University. He writes on twentieth-century French philosophy and has translated books from French and German philosophers.

Daniel J. Mahoney is a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute and professor emeritus at Assumption University.