LE FIGARO. - We are living in a moment of collective shock. What can the great conservative thinkers tell us about the crisis we are facing? How can reading them help us right now?
Lætitia STRAUCH-BONART. - At the risk of shocking, I think that most of the great conservative thinkers would begin by putting into perspective what we are living with regard to the history of humanity. This does not prevent their thought from being useful to us today!
We find in these philosophers a more or less explicit reflection on the meaning of human trials. Roger Scruton, a recently disappeared English intellectual, spoke of the importance of sacrifice as a fundamental moral trait. Alexandre Soljenitsyne, for his part, offers deep reflections on evil and its omnipresent character.
The Conservatives are fundamentally pessimistic: they believe that adversity is an integral part of the human condition and that tomorrow will not necessarily be better than today.
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