The great betrayal (La trahison des clercs)

In this sharp‑eyed essay the author turns his gaze toward the class of thinkers he calls ‘clerk’—those who once spoke for a higher, transcendent truth. He argues that over the past half‑century many of these voices have abandoned that mission, substituting the language of power, politics and profit for the language of justice and charity. By tracing how this shift has seeped into literature, philosophy and public discourse, he shows a growing alignment between intellectual prestige and the demands of materialist societies.

The work then maps the rise of what he labels modern political passions—racial, class and national hatreds—that now stir almost every mind across Europe and beyond. He contends that the former guardians of universal values have become complicit, even enthusiastic, in feeding these divisions. Readers are invited to reconsider the role of reasoned discourse in an age where the quest for material advantage often eclipses the pursuit of lasting moral insight.