In an exclusive, previously unpublished dialogue, Alain Badiou, a key figure of the radical left and a leading advocate of the communist idea, and Marcel Gauchet, a major exponent of anti-totalitarianism and a champion of liberal democracy, confront one another. Together, they take stock of history, interrogate one anothers views and defend their respective projects: on the one side, the revival of the communist hypothesis, and on the other, the radical reform of a contested democratic model.
Alain Badiou is a writer, philosopher and an Emeritus Professor at the Ecole normale superieure, Paris.
Marcel Gauchet is an historian, philosopher and Director of Studies at the Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales, Paris.