In Memoriam Raymond Aron 1905-1983

Raymond Aron, President of the French section of the Tocqueville Society, died on October 17th, 1983. He collapsed after testifying on behalf of Bertrand de Jouvenel in a defamation suit which the latter had brought against an Israeli historian who had described him as having contributed to the development of fascist ideology. Raymond Aron was also defending France against what he regarded as extravagant Zionist accusations of embedded anti-Semitism. Raymond Aron’s first loyalty was to the truth, which he knew consisted of imprecise and shifting approximations; his second loyalty was that of a patriot, bound to France, its language, culture, immanent and transcendent values, and history.