About The Book
Hailed by Andre Gide as the patron saint of all outsiders, Simone Weil’s short life was ample testimony to her beliefs. In 1942 she fled France along with her family, going firstly to America. She then moved back to London in order to work with de Gaulle. Published posthumously The Need for Roots was a direct result of this collaboration. Its purpose was to help rebuild France after the war. In this, her most famous book, Weil reflects on the importance of religious and political social structures in the life of the individual. She wrote that one of the basic obligations we have as human beings is to not let another suffer from hunger. Equally as important, however, is our duty towards our community: we may have declared various human rights, but we have overlooked the obligations and this has left us self-righteous and rootless. She could easily have been issuing a direct warning to us today, the citizens of Century 21.
My Thoughts
“The notion of obligations comes before that of rights, which is subordinate and relative to the former.”
From paragraph one, Simone Weil comes out guns blazing. Begin as you intend to continue, indeed! As T.S. Eliot says in his introduction to the edition:
This book belongs in that category of prolegomena to politics which politicians seldom read, and which most of them would be unlikely to understand or to know how to apply.
That he goes on to warn readers that Weil is going to infuriate them regardless of their positions on issues is the sign that I am probably going to like the book. There are few things as bracing and interesting as someone you both share important positions with and absolutely disagree with on other issues. Eliot again:
I cannot conceive of anybody’s agreeing with all of her views, or of not disagreeing violently with some of them.
Intensively religious and conservative, but never authoritarian or reactionary, Simone Weil is an anvil upon which to hammer out ones own opinions. I find myself either nodding my head and muttering “yes, yes! Of course.” or shaking my head and saying out loud “no, no! How can you be so stupid!”.
Read it, be inspired and infuriated in equal measure.