Joseph de Maistre (1753–1821)

Konsiderata për Francën, 1797, është ekuivalenti frëng i Refleksione për Revolucionin Francez të anglo-irlandezit Burke.

Maistre e konsideron Revolucionin Francez dhe krimet e regjimit të Terrorit si kulmi dhe pasoja logjike e shpirtit destruktiv të ateizmit filozofik, dhe po aq mirë ndëshkim hyjnor: ai mendon se Revolucioni e Republika dështuan së bashku me teoritë e arsyes e të së drejtave të njeriut, kështu që tradita dhe feja duhet të mbushin honin, prandaj, dhe mbron idenë e një aleance të re të fronit e altarit në një monarki burbone të restauruar.

Konsiderata për Francën ngre çështje të përhershme të rëndësishme të mendimit politik.… (mais)

> Nicolas (Amazon) : https://www.amazon.fr/gp/customer-reviews/R1N9R2ECU9MHXW?ref=pf_vv_at_pdctrvw_sr...

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Maistre-Eclaicissement-sur-les-sacrifices/1254211… (mais)

Knowing de Maistre, and knowing the topic of this selection of excerpts (taken from the ‘St. Petersburg Dialogues’) I expected ‘The Executioner’ to be the Count at his darkest. Actually, this is mostly very sensible and rational, reactionary to the core but not disagreeable, infact it almost has a proto-sociological thing going on. I read ‘Considerations on France’ prior (still the best reactionary text I’ve ever read) and I have to say that one’s much darker and more controversial than the content of The Executioner, and I assume the St. Petersburg Dialogues as a whole.

It starts off a lot more interesting than it finishes, discussing the thorny issue of why bad things happen to good people (and why bad people often get away with their crimes). Considering de Maistre is the prime spokesperson of anti-rationalist reactionary thought, his analysis is extremely rational by my estimation, regardless of whether or not you share his Catholic outlook. We then proceed onto the prime contradiction that this Penguin edition is centered on, the question of why soldiers (who kill masses of innocent people) are hailed as heroes whilst executioners (who kill only the guilty) are popularly reviled. It gets a little less interesting towards the end as we get into discussions of the psalms and other aspects of the bible, but overall this work is still really worth reading.

Still, if you’re new to de Maistre I’d start with the classic ‘Considerations on France’, a book I keep returning to with an unquenchable fascination. This one is actually less political, and more centered on philosophy and religion, though still very worthwhile.… (mais)