WHB January Book Club: Simone Weil's On the Abolition of Political Parties

Simone Weil—philosopher, activist, mystic—is one of the most uncompromising of modern spiritual masters. In “On the Abolition of All Political Parties” she challenges the foundation of the modern liberal political order, making an argument that has particular resonance today, when the apathy and anger of the people and the self-serving partisanship of the political class present a threat to democracies all over the world. Dissecting the dynamic of power and propaganda caused by party spirit, the increasing disregard for truth in favor of opinion, and the consequent corruption of education, journalism, and art, Weil forcefully makes the case that a true politics can only begin where party spirit ends.

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was one of the most original and rigorous female thinkers of the twentieth century. She became increasingly drawn to Christianity in the latter part of her life and officially converted in 1938. She died at the age of thirty-four while working as an advocate for the Free French movement. Her sixteen volumes of posthumously published works include Gravity and Grace (1963) and The Need for Roots (1952).

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