“Confront this singular spleen” of France
On the right, it would be order, individual merit, social stability, modernity compatible with traditional values. On the left, the “moment of germination” of the forces of liberation, the struggles, the upheavals, the protests which caused the conservative model to waver in the 1960s and 1970s. The solutions proposed by the work, however, lean mainly to the left, it It must be said, revealing a biased worldview that will not convince everyone.
Because this book intends to “confront this singular spleen” and propose alternatives to a “myth which divides more than it unites”. In order to respond to “new realities”, to “think of new ways of being together” and to “encourage living in our times”, the authors look, among other things, at questions of “reorganization” of relationships between men and women, on the notion of progress, “new democratic aspirations”, social movements, diversity, growth or consumption.
On this last point, the author and communicator Raphaël Llorca believes, for example, that “consumption must become a fully political subject, so as not to leave it to brands alone to shape our desirable imaginations”. For him, we must “undo the mental architecture” which links the notion of consumption to the fundamental values of identity and freedom (which itself would be linked in a harmful way to the idea of abundance). He also denounces the “toxic” notion of purchasing power which “distorts the understanding of the real issues” and victimizes the “citizen consumer who would never get value for his money”.
“The crisis of representation is fueled by the narrative of the primacy of one man over all others”, the President of the Republic
Before that, the journalist (who regularly signs in Time) Maïa Mazaurette looks at “the taste of bitterness” left by the slogan “enjoy without hindrance” of May 68, the shadow of which she sees hanging over the affairs denounced by #MeToo and on certain flaws of sexuality. On the other hand, in this area she praises the virtues of new, better communication between partners, new, more respectful uses as well as certain aspects of the internet, dating apps and sex toys. And “there remain a thousand freedoms to conquer, a thousand sensations to experience, a thousand dignities to renegotiate,” she concludes.
-Further on, it is the great figure of moderate trade unionism Laurent Berger who calls for taking into account social changes such as the growing demand for autonomy in the face of “the implosion of the world of work” in “a France undermined by precariousness” .
And, in conclusion, Vincent Martigny returns to denounce the “problematic imagination” of the “providential man” because, for him, “the crisis of representation is nourished in France by the story of the primacy of a man over all others”, the President of the Republic. His solution? An “empowerment” of citizens, a promotion of compromise, cooperation and collective intelligence, the organization of “positive conflict allowing differences of interest to be expressed and to contribute to the development of solutions accepted by all. A whole program…
