Reading Claude Lefort: Following the Footprints of Leo Strauss

Abstract

It might seem outlandish to examine the theoretical links between the work of Claude Lefort, a left-wing French student of democracy, and Leo Strauss, the radical critic of modern mass democracy, usually associated with conservativism in North American political thought. Nonetheless, every reader of Lefort is certainly aware of his respect for Strauss’s reading of Machiavelli and for the Straussian insights into modern political thought. This article tries to make sense of Lefort’s dialogue with Strauss, both in its explicit and implicit aspects, focusing on the fundamental points of agreement and on the most relevant differences between the two authors.