Les libéraux

Les libéraux. Collection "Pluriel." 2 vols. Paris: Hachette, 1986. Reprinted in one volume, collection "Tel." Paris: Gallimard, 2001.

An Intellectual History of Liberalism

An Intellectual History of Liberalism. Translated by Rebecca Balinski, with a foreword by Jerrold Siegel. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995. Originally published as Histoire intellectuelle du liberalisme: Dix leçons (Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1987). Published in Brazilian as História intelectual do liberalismo: dez liçoes (Rio de Janeiro: Imago, 1990). Published in Polish as Intelektualna historia liberalizmu, trans. Marian Miszalski (Lódz: Kurs, 1990; Krakow: Arcana, 1994). Published in Italian as Storia intellettuale del liberalismo, trans. L. Caracciolo di San Vito (Rubbettino, 2010).

Highlighting the social tensions that confront the liberal tradition, Pierre Manent draws a portrait of what we, citizens of modern liberal democracies, have become. For Manent, a discussion of liberalism encompasses the foundations of modern society, its secularism, its individualism,… More

Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy

Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy. Translated by John Waggoner. With a foreword by Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1996. Originally published as Tocqueville et la nature de la démocratie (1982; Paris: Fayard, 1993; Paris: Gallimard, 2006).

One of France’s leading and most controversial political thinkers explores the central themes of Tocqueville’s writings: the democratic revolution and the modern passion for equality. What becomes of people when they are overcome by this passion and how does it transform the… More

The City of Man

The City of Man. Translated by Marc A. LePain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998. Originally published as La cité de l'homme (Paris: Fayard, 1994).

The “City of God” or the “City of Man”? This is the choice St. Augustine offered 1500 years ago–and according to Pierre Manent the modern West has decisively and irreversibly chosen the latter. In this subtle and wide-ranging book on the Western intellectual… More

Modern Liberty and Its Discontents

Modern Liberty and Its Discontents. Edited and translated by Daniel J. Mahoney and Paul Seaton. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1998.

In this book, distinguished French philosopher Pierre Manent addresses a wide range of subjects, including the Machiavellian origins of modernity, Tocqueville’s analysis of democracy, the political role of Christianity, the nature of totalitarianism, and the future of the… More

Une éducation sans autorité ni sanction?

Une éducation sans autorité ni sanction? With Alain Renault and Albert Jacquard. Collection "Nouveau collège de philosophie." Paris: Grasset, 2004.

L’éducation est, pour les sociétés démocratiques, un problème et un enjeu majeurs. S’il est vrai que nulle société ne peut faire l’économie d’une réflexion sur les conditions qui permettront d’assurer la bonne transmission des savoirs et des… More

A World beyond Politics?: A Defense of the Nation-State

A World beyond Politics?: A Defense of the Nation-State. Translated by Marc LePain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. Originally published as Cours familier de philosophie politique (Paris: Fayard, 2001). Published in Greek as Apla maqhmata politikis filosofias (Athens: Polis, 2005).

We live in the grip of a great illusion about politics, Pierre Manent argues in A World beyond Politics? It’s the illusion that we would be better off without politics–at least national politics, and perhaps all politics. It is a fantasy that if democratic values could somehow… More

Enquête sur la démocratie: Études de philosophie politique

Enquête sur la démocratie: Études de philosophie politique. Collection "Tel." Paris: Gallimard, 2007.

Les Européens ont aujourd’hui bien du mal à s’entendre, mais il y a au moins un sujet qui semble les réunir : c’est la démocratie. Que nous soyons libéraux ou socialistes, modérés ou radicaux, progressistes ou conservateurs, nous sommes tous, ou nous voulons… More

Le regard politique

Le regard politique. Entretiens avec Bénédicte Delorme-Montini. Collection "Essais." Paris: Flammarion, 2010.

“Aujourd’hui, la faculté humaine qui reçoit toute l’approbation, c’est l’imagination. Or je n’ai pas d’imagination, je ne suis pas un artiste et je n’ai pas l’ambition de créer. En revanche, je voudrais comprendre. Comprendre quoi?… More

Metamorphoses of the City: On the Western Dynamic

Metamorphoses of the City: On the Western Dynamic. Translated by Marc LePain. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013. Originally published as Les métamorphoses de la cité (Paris: Flammarion, 2010). Published in Italian as Le metamorfosi della città: Saggio sulla dinamica dell'Occidente, trans. Giulio Di Ligio (Rubbettino, 2014).

What is the best way to govern ourselves? The history of the West has been shaped by the struggle to answer this question, according to Pierre Manent. A major achievement by one of Europe’s most influential political philosophers, Metamorphoses of the City is a sweeping interpretation… More

Montaigne: La vie sans loi

Montaigne: La vie sans loi. Collection "Tandem." Paris: Flammarion, 2014.

Il va de soi aujourd’hui que Montaigne est notre ami. Il nous captive, nous émeut, nous persuade. Mais Montaigne nous trompe. Il nous conduit par le bout du nez. Nous devons donc faire un effort vigoureux pour échapper à son charme et saisir ce qu’il a vraiment voulu dire.… More