Alain Badiou wants to see leftist intellectuals dissappear

In an interview conducted by Nicolas Weill, French philosopher Alain Badiou reflects on the end of the French leftist intellectual. "The rally to Mr Sarkozy's camp symbolises the possibility for intellectuals and philosophers to become from now on, classic reactionaries... . Part and parcel of this rally is the corrupt company of the rich and powerful, xenophobia and American policies worship. Before, when an intellectual was on the right, he had complexes. Even Raymond Aron had them! The classic leftist intellectual character was created during period after the war. We are going to see - this is at least what I want - the death of the leftist intellectual, who will founder at the same time as the left as a whole, before being reborn from the ashes like the Phoenix! This renaissance can only come about in one of two ways: either political radicalism of a new order, or reactionary rallying. Nothing in between."

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