On the Abolition of All Political Parties

By Simone Weil, Simon Leys and Czeslaw Milosz

An NYRB Classics Original 

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. 

This volume also includes an admiring portrait of Weil by the great poet Czeslaw Milosz and an essay about Weil’s friendship with Albert Camus by the translator Simon Leys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781590177907

Simone Weil

Simone Adolphine Weil (1909-1943) was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. After her graduation from formal education, Weil became a teacher and taught intermittently throughout the 1930s, taking several breaks because of poor health and in order to devote herself to political activism. Such work saw her assisting in the trade union movement, taking the side of the anarchists known as the Durruti Column in the Spanish Civil War, and spending more than a year working as a labourer, mostly in car factories, so that she could better understand the working class. Weil became increasingly religious and inclined towards mysticism as her life progressed. She wrote throughout her life, although most of her writings did not attract much attention until after her death. In the 1950s and 1960s, her work became famous in continental Europe and throughout the English-speaking world. Her thought has continued to be the subject of extensive scholarship across a wide range of fields.

Reviews for On the Abolition of All Political Parties

[tommcgreevy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As one can surmise from the title alone, Weil was not a fan of political parties. She considered them totalitarian in nature, and felt they reduced their members to mindlessness. Her vision of democracy involved individuals standing alone, making clear their beliefs issue by issue. Clear and thoughtful with a supplemental essay suggesting her place in western thought.