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ClaudeLefort
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ClaudeLefort(French:[lf]21April1924,Paris[1]3October2010,Paris[2][3])wasaFrenchphilosopher
andactivist.
Hewaspoliticallyactiveby1942undertheinfluenceofhistutor,thephenomenologistMauriceMerleau
Ponty[4](whoseposthumouspublicationsLefortlateredited[5]).By1943hewasorganisingafactionofthe
TrotskyistPartiCommunisteInternationalisteattheLyceHenriIVinParis.
LefortwasimpressedbyCorneliusCastoriadiswhenhefirstmethim.From1946hecollaboratedwithhimin
theChaulieuMontalTendency,socalledfromtheirpseudonymsPierreChaulieu(Castoriadis)andClaude
Montal(Lefort).TheypublishedOntheRegimeandAgainsttheDefenceoftheUSSR,acritiqueofboththe
SovietUnionanditsTrotskyistsupporters.TheysuggestedthattheUSSRwasdominatedbyasociallayerof
bureaucrats,andthatitconsistedofanewkindofsocietyasaggressiveasWesternEuropeansocieties.By
1948,havingtriedtopersuadeotherTrotskyistsoftheirviewpoint,theybrokeawaywithaboutadozenothers
andfoundedthelibertariansocialistgroupSocialismeouBarbarie.Lefort'stextL'Exprienceproltariennewas
importantinshiftingthegroup'sfocustowardsformsofselforganisation.
ForatimeLefortwroteforboththejournalSocialismeouBarbarieandforLesTempsModernes.[6]His
involvementinthelatterjournalendedafterapublisheddebateduring19524overJeanPaulSartre'sarticle
TheCommunistsandPeace.LefortwasforalongtimeuncomfortablewithSocialismeouBarbarie's
"organisationalist"tendencies.In1958he,HenriSimonandothersleftandformedInformationsetLiaison
Ouvrires.
Inhisacademiccareer,LeforttaughtattheUniversityofSoPaulo,attheSorbonneandatthecoledes
HautestudesenSciencesSociales,beingaffiliatedtotheCentrederecherchespolitiquesRaymondAron.[7]
HehaswrittenontheearlypoliticalwritersNiccolMachiavelliandtiennedeLaBotieandexplored"the
Totalitarianenterprise"inits"denialofsocialdivision...[and]ofthedifferencebetweentheorderofpower,the
orderoflawandtheorderofknowledge".[8]

Contents
1 Biography
2 Thought
2.1 Conceptionoftotalitarianism
2.1.1 Thedoublefencesociety
2.1.2 Theorganicistvisionofsociety
2.1.3 Thefrailityofthesystem
2.2 Conceptionofdemocracy
3 Publications
3.1 Englishtranslations
4 References
4.1 Bibliography

Biography
LefortstudiedattheSorbonne.[9]HebecameaMarxistinhisyouthundertheinfluenceofhisteacher,Maurice
MerleauPonty.From1944,hebelongedtothesmallFrenchTrotskyite.In1946,hemetCorneliusCastoriadis
whocametoParisfromGreece.Rightaway,theyformedafactionintheTrotskyistPartiCommuniste
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Internationalistecalled"ChaulieuMontalTendency",thatleftthepartyandbecametheSocialismorBarbarism
groupandwhich,in1949,startedajournalwiththisname.
SocialismorBarbarismconsideredtheUSSRtobeanexampleofstatecapitalismandgaveitssupporttoanti
bureaucraticrevoltsinEasternEuropeespeciallytheuprisinginBudapestin1956.Differencesofopinion
broughtaboutaschismwithinSocialismorBarbarism,andLefortsidedwithHenriSimon,oneofthefounders
ofInformationsetliasionsouvrires(WorkersNewsandAffairs)in1958.Afewyearslaterheceasedhis
militantactivism.
Afterhavingworkedamongstotherplaces,in1947and1948forUNESCO,in1949Lefortpassedthe
aggregationinphilosophy:hetaughtatthehighschoolinNmes(1950)andinReims(1951).In1951,hewas
recruitedasasociologyassistantattheSorbonnebyGeorgesGurvitch.Intheyear1952(followingadispute
withGurvitch),hewasdetachedfromthesociologysectionoftheCNRS,until1966,withabreakoftwoyears
(19531954),whenhewasprofessorofphilosophyatUniversityofSoPaulo(Brazil).AsfortheCNRS,the
supportofRaymondAronledtohisrecruitmentasateacherofsociologyattheUniversityofCaen,wherehe
workedfrom1966to1971,theyearwhenhedefendedashisdoctoralthesishisbookonMachiavelli,The
LabourofWork.Thatsameyear,hewasagainhiredasaresearcherinthesociologysectionoftheCNRSuntil
1976,whenhejoinedtheEcoledesHautesEtudesenSciencesSociales,wherehestayeduntilhisretirementin
1989.
TheintellectualworkofLefortisstronglytiedtohisparticipation,oftentensionfilled,insuccessivejournals.
WithLesTempsModernes("ModernTimes")introducedbyM.MerleauPontyhetookpartinthe
"gatheringsofcollaborators"andwrotefrom1945untilhisdebatewithJ.P.Sartrein1953.InSocialismor
Barbarism(whichlastedfrom1949to1967andofwhichhewasthecofounder),hewasactiveuntil1950,then
from1955to1958.HewasinvolvedinTextures(establishedin1969)from1971totheend(1975)andtherehe
broughtinCastoriadisandMiguelAbensour.Withthem(aswellasPierreClastresandMarcelGauchet)he
createdLibrein1977,whichwaspublishedupuntil1980,whenthereweresomedisagreementswith
CastoriadisaswellaswithGauchet.From1982to1984,heledPassPresentwhereamongstothersMiguel
Abensour,CarlosSemprnMaura,ClaudeMouchardandPierrePachetparticipated.Theselasttwoaswellas
ClaudeHabibformedthereadingcommitteeoftheLittratureetPolitiquethatLefortfoundedforthepublisher
ditionsBelinin1987.
NodoubtheassignedlessimportancetotheresearchcentersatwhichhehadparticipatedinEHESS:the
CECMAS(centerofthestudyofmasscommunication),foundedbyGeorgesFriedmannandwhichwelcomed
EdgarMorin,thentheCentreAron,whichhefrequentedjustbeforehisdeath.
WhenM.MerleauPontydiedin1961,Leforttookchargeofthepublicationofhismanuscripts.Inthe1970s,
hedevelopedananalysisofbureaucraticregimesofEasternEurope.HereadTheGulagArchipelagoand
publishedabookonAleksandrSolzhenitsyn.HismainideasonStalinisttotalitarianismwerepublishedin1981
inacollectiontitledL'Inventiondmocratique.

Thought
Conceptionoftotalitarianism
Lefortwaspartofthepoliticaltheoristswhoputforwardtherelevanceofanotionoftotalitarianismwhichwas
relevanttostalinismaswellasfascism,andconsideredtotalitarianismasdifferentinitsessencefromthebig
categoriesusedinthewesternworldsinceancientGreece,likethenotionsofdictatorshiportyranny.However,
contrarytotheauthorslikeHannahArendtwholimitedthenotiontoNaziGermanyandtheSovietUnion
between1936and1953,LefortappliedittotheregimesofEasternEuropeinthesecondhalfofthecentury,
thatis,toanerawhenterror,acentralelementoftotalitarianismfortheotherauthors,hadlostitsmostextreme
dimensions.
Itisinthestudyoftheseregimes,andthereadingofTheGulagArchipelago(1973)byAleksandrSolzhenitsyn,
wherehedevelopedhisanalysisoftotalitarianism.
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Thedoublefencesociety
Lefortcharacterizesthetotalitariansystembyadouble"fence":Totalitarianismabolishestheseparation
betweenstateandsociety:thepoliticalpowerpermeatssociety,andallpreexistinghumanrelationsclass
solidarity,professionalorreligiouscooperationstendtobereplacedwithaonedimensionalhierarchy
betweenthosewhoorderandthosewhoobey.Thisismadepossibleespeciallythroughtheassociationbetween
stateandthepartyhierarchywhichisalwaysveryclose,sothatthepartyhierarchybecomestheeffective
power.Lefort,likeothertheorists,thusidentifiesthedestructionofpublicspaceanditsfusionwiththepolitical
powerasakeyelementoftotalitarianism.
TotalitarianismdenieswhatLefortcalls"theprincipleofinternaldivisionsofsociety",anditsconceptionof
societyismarkedby"theaffirmationofthetotality".Everyorganization,associationorprofessionisthus
subordinatedtotheplanningofthestate.Thedifferencesofopinion,oneofthevaluesofdemocracy,is
abolishedsothattheentiresocialbodyisdirectedtowardsthesamegoalevenpersonaltastesbecome
politicizedandmustbestandardized.Theaimoftotalitarianismistocreateaunitedandaclosedsociety,in
whichthecomponentsarenotindividualsandwhichisdefinedcompletelybythesamegoals,thesame
opinionsandthesamepractices.Stalinismthusknewthe"identificationofthepeopletotheproletariat,ofthe
proletariattotheparty,ofthepartytothemanagement,ofthemanagementtothe'gocrate'".[10]
Lefortdemonstratesthecentraldifferencebetweentotalitarianismanddictatorship:adicatorshipcanadmit
competingtranscendentalprinciples,likereligiontheideologyofthetotalitarianpartyisreligion.A
dictatorshipdoesnotaimforthedestructionandabsorptionofsociety,andadictatorialpowerisapowerofthe
stateagainstsociety,thatpresupposesthedistinctionofthetwotheplanofatotalitarianpartyistomergestate
withsocietyinaclosed,unitedanduniformsystem,subordinatedunderthefulfilmentofaplan"socialism"in
thecaseoftheUSSR.Lefortcallsthissystem"peopleone":"Theprocessofidentificationofpowerand
society,theprocessofhomogenisationofthesocialspace,theprocessoftheclosingupofsocietyandthe
authoritytoenchainitinordertoconstitutethetotalitariansystem."[11]
Theorganicistvisionofsociety
Thetotalitariansystem,unifiedandorganized,presentsitselflikeabody,the"socialbody":"dictatorship,
bureaucracyandapparatusneedanewsystemofbodies".[12]LefortreturnstothetheoriesofErnstKantorowicz
onthe"twobodiesoftheking",inwhichthepersonofthetotalitarianleader,besideshisphysicalandmortal
body,isapoliticalbodyrepresentingtheonepeople.Inordertoensureitsproperfunctioningandtomaintain
itsunity,thetotalitariansystemrequiresanOther,"theevilother",[13]arepresentationoftheexterior,the
enemy,againstwhichthepartycombats,"therepresentativeoftheforcesoftheoldsociety(kulaks,bourgeois),
[...]theemissaryofthestranger,oftheimperialisticworld".[14]
Thedivisionbetweentheinteriorandtheexterior,betweentheOnepeopleandtheOther,istheonlydivision
thattotalitarianismtolerates,sinceitisfoundeduponthisdivision.Lefortinsistsonthefactthat"the
constitutionoftheOnepeoplenecessitatestheincessantproductionofenemies"[14]andalsospeaksoftheir
"invention".Forexample,StalinpreparedtoattacktheJewsofUSSRwhenhedied,i.e.,designinganew
enemy,andinthesameway,MussolinihaddeclaredthatbourgeoiswouldbeeliminatedinItalyafterWorld
WarII.
TherelationbetweentheonepeopleandtheOtherisaprophylacticcommand:theenemyisa"parasiteto
eliminate",a"waste".Thisexceedsthesimplerhetoricaleffectthatwascommonlyusedinthecontemporary
politicaldiscourse,yetinanunderlyingwayitispartofthemetaphoricalvisionofthetotalitariansocietyasa
body.Thisvisionexplainedhowtheexistencebothofenemiesofthestateandtheirpresenceinthebosomof
thepopulation,wereseenasanillness.Theviolencerousedagainstthemwas,inthisorganicistmetaphor,a
fever,asymptomofthefightofthesocialbodyagainsttheillness,inthesensethat"thecampaignagainstthe
enemyisfeverish:thefeverisgood,it'sthesign,inthesociety,oftheeviltocounteract".[15]

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Thesituationofthetotalitarianleaderwithinthissystemisparadoxicalanduncertain,forheisatthesametime
apartofthesystemitshead,whocommandstherestandtherepresentationofthesystemeverything.He
isthereforetheincarnationofthe"onepower",i.e.,thepowerexecutedinallpartsofthe"onepeople".
Thefrailityofthesystem
Lefortdidn'tconsidertotalitarianismasasituationalmostasanidealtype,whichcouldpotentiallyberealized
throughterrorandextermination.Heratherseesinitasetofprocesseswhichhaveendingsthatcannotbe
known,thustheirsuccesscannotbedetermined.Ifthewillofthetotalitarianpartytorealizetheperfectunityof
thesocialbodycontrolsthemagnitudeofitsaction,italsoimpliesthatthegoalisimpossibletoachieve
becauseitsdevelopmentnecessarilyleadstocontradictionsandoppositions."Totalitarianismisaregimewitha
prevailingsenseofbeinggnawedawaybytheabsurdityofitsownambition(totalcontrolbytheparty)andthe
activeorpassiveresistanceofthosesubjectedtoit."summarisedthepoliticalscientistDominiqueColas.[16]

Conceptionofdemocracy
ClaudeLefortformulateshisconceptionofdemocracybymirroringhisconceptionoftotalitarism,developing
itinthesamewaybyanalyzingregimesofEasternEuropeandUSSR.ForLefortdemocracyisthesystem
characterizedbytheinstitutionalizationofconflictwithinsociety,thedivisionofsocialbodyitrecognizesand
evenconsiderslegitimatetheexistenceofdivergentinterests,conflictingopinions,visionsoftheworldthatare
opposedandevenincompatible.Lefort'svisionmakesthedisappearanceoftheleaderasapoliticalbodythe
puttingtodeathoftheking,asKantorowiczcallsitthefoundingmomentofdemocracybecauseitmakesthe
seatofpower,hithertooccupiedbyaneternalsubstancetranscendingthemerephysicalexistenceofmonarchs,
intoan"emptyspace"wheregroupswithsharedinterestsandopinionscansucceedeachother,butonlyfora
timeandatthewillofelections.Powerisnolongertiedtoanyspecificprogramme,goal,orproposalitis
nothingbutacollectionofinstrumentsputtemporarilyatthedisposalofthosewhowinamajority."InLefort's
inventedandinventivedemocracy,"writesDominiqueColas,"powercomesfromthepeopleandbelongstono
one."[17]
Democracyisthusaregimemarkedbyitsvagueness,itsincompleteness,againstwhichtotalitarianism
establishesitself.ThisleadsLeforttoregardas"democratic"everyformofoppositionandprotestagainst
totalitarianism.Theoppositionandprotestcreates,inaway,ademocraticspacewithinthetotalitariansystem.
Democracyisinnovation,thestartofnewmovements,thedesignationofnewissuesinthestruggleagainst
oppression,itisa"creativepowercapableofweakening,evenslayingthetotalitarianLeviathan".[18]A
LeviathanwhoseparadoxicalfrailtyLefortemphasises.
Theseparationofcivilsocietyfromthestate,whichcharacterizesmoderndemocracy,ismadepossiblebythe
disembodimentofsociety.Ademocraticcountrycanalsoexperiencethisinventivecharacterwhenanygroup
ofcitizenswithalegitimatestrugglemayseektoestablishnewrightsordefenditsinterests.
Lefortdoesnotrejectrepresentativedemocracy,butdoesnotlimitdemocracytoit.Forinstance,heincludes
thesocialmovementsinthesphereoflegitimatepoliticaldebate.

Publications
LaBrche,encollaborationavecEdgarMorin,P.Coudray(pseudonymedeCorneliusCastoriadis),
Fayard,Paris,1968.
lmentsd'unecritiquedelabureaucratie,Droz,Genve,1971.2ndeditionwithGallimard,Paris,1979.
TheAgeofNovelty.Telos(http://www.telospress.com)29(Fall1976).TelosPress,NewYork..
LeTravaildel'uvre,Machiavel,Gallimard,Paris,1972(republicoll.Tel,1986).
UnHommeentrop.Essaisurl'archipeldugoulagdeSoljnitsyne,LeSeuil,Paris,1975(republi,Le
Seuilpoche1986).
LesFormesdel'histoire,Gallimard,Paris,1978.
Surunecolonneabsente.AutourdeMerleauPonty,Gallimard,Paris,1978.
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L'Inventiondmocratique.LesLimitesdeladominationtotalitaire,Fayard,Paris,1981.
Essaissurlepolitique:XIXeetXXesicles,Seuil,Paris,1986.
crirel'preuvedupolitique,CalmannLvy,Paris,1992.
LaComplication,Fayard,Paris,1999.
LesFormesdel'histoire.Essaisd'anthropologiepolitique,Gallimard,Paris,FolioEssais,2000.
LeTempsprsent,Belin,Paris,2007.

Englishtranslations
ThePoliticalFormsofModernSociety:Bureaucracy,Democracy,Totalitarianism(MITPress,1986)
DemocracyandPoliticalTheory(MITPress,1989)
Writing:ThePoliticalTest(DukeUniversityPress,2000)
Complications:CommunismandtheDilemmasofDemocracy(ColumbiaUniversityPress,2007)
MachiavelliintheMaking(NorthwesternUniversityPress,2012)
"ProletarianExperience(1952)"(https://viewpointmag.com/2013/09/26/proletarianexperience),
ViewpointMagazine3(September2013).

References
1.LeBaut(2011),p.214
2."ClaudeLefortestdcd"(http://blog.passionhistoir
e.net/?p=7439)
3.Disparitions(page70)LeMonde(http://www.lemo
nde.fr/disparitions/70.html)
4.Anonymous(1976),p.173
5.MerleauPonty(1968)
6.Anonymous(1976),p.176
7."CentrederecherchespolitiquesRaymondAron:
ClaudeLefort".EHESS.Retrieved20080927.
8.Lefort(2000)
9.AlanD.Schrift(2006),TwentiethCenturyFrench
Philosophy:KeyThemesAndThinkers,Blackwell
Publishing,p.154.

10.Lefort(1981),p.175
11.Lefort(1981),p.103
12.Lefort(1981),p.109
13.Lefort(1981),p.176
14.Lefort(1981),p.173
15.Lefort(1981),p.174
16.Colas(1986),p.587
17.Colas(1986),p.589
18.Colas(1986),p.586

Bibliography
Anonymous(1976)."AninterviewwithClaudeLefort".Telos1976(30):173192.doi:10.3817/1276030173.
Colas,Dominique(1986)."LefortClaude,1924:L'inventiondmocratique.Leslimitesdeladominationtotalitaire,
1981".InFranoisChtelet,OlivierDuhamel&velynePisier.Dictionnairedesuvrespolitiques.Quadrige/
Rfrence329(4thed.).Paris:PressesuniversitairesdeFrance.pp.585591.ISBN2130518788.
LeBaut,Herv(2011).PrsencedeMauriceMerleauPonty.L'Harmattan.ISBN9782296446670.
Lefort,Claude(1981).L'inventiondmocratique.Leslimitesdeladominationtotalitaire.Paris:Fayard.
Lefort,Claude(2000)."Philosopher?".Writing:ThePoliticalTest.DukeUniversityPress.pp.236251.ISBN0
822325209.
MerleauPonty,Maurice(1968).TheVisibleandtheInvisible.NorthwesternUniversityPress.ISBN2070286258.

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