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Last broadcast on Mon, 7 Dec 2009, 21:30 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Andrew Marr explores whether the Enlightenment or communism is more relevant today, with Tzvetan Todorov defending the role of 18th-century thought and Tariq Ali demanding a re-evaluation of communist ideals. Andrew Graham-Dixon champions Russian art, and, on the 60th anniversary of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, Janine di Giovanni celebrates its enduring appeal.
TZVETAN TODOROV
“After the death of God and the collapse of utopias, on what intellectual and moral base do we want to build our communal life?” So begins In Defence of the Enlightenment. The renowned philosopher Tzvetan Todorov explores the ideas that continue to form the cornerstone of the modern world – universal human rights, equality in the law, free flow of ideas. He argues for a new critical appraisal of the Age of Enlightenment and believes the spirit of the 18th century still has special relevance for the world today.
In Defence of the Enlightenment is published by Atlantic Books.
TARIQ ALI
The revolutions of 1989 swept across Eastern Europe, ending with the overthrow of Soviet-style communism. Thirty years on, newspapers in the West may triumph “the death of communism”, but Tariq Ali believes it’s time to re-evaluate an ideology based on the principle of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need”. In a series of books, he points to the failures of capitalism and argues for a new form of communism.
The Idea of Communism is published by Seagull Books, distributed by the University of Chicago Press.
ANDREW GRAHAM-DIXON
In a new BBC series, The Art of Russia, Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how Russia’s tumultuous history has been expressed through its art. The programmes look at how Russian art moved from replicating European baroque splendour in the palaces of the Tsars to becoming a tool of the Revolution, spreading the message of communism in Soviet Russia. Andrew Graham-Dixon discusses the role of art in pointing the way for a modern Russia.
The Art of Russia, part of the BBC’s Russia Season, starts on Wednesday 9 December on BBC 4.
JANINE DI GIOVANNI
Simone de Beauvoir’s landmark work, The Second Sex, laid down some of the founding principles of feminism and influenced a generation of writers. It was first translated into English in the 1950s by an American zoologist, who tried to make the dense philosophical arguments more palatable for the general American reader by missing out parts of the book. A new translation of The Second Sex attempts to piece together the missing parts of De Beauvoir’s work and restore the original meaning. Journalist Janine di Giovanni talks about the significance of The Second Sex and the relevance of De Beauvoir for contemporary readers.
Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, translated by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, is published by Jonathan Cape.
Broadcasts
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Mon 7 Dec 200909:00
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Mon 7 Dec 200921:30
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