Saint-Just

What Dominique Pagani says

What Dominique Pagani mainly takes from Saint-Just is one sentence, "happiness is a new idea in Europe," which he quotes from 2016 to 2026. He presents him as a relay of Rousseau within the Revolution, Rousseau being his idol12. He reads the phrase as a sign that happiness is historically recent. It is new because it extends to the masses, whereas until then happiness had been only the enjoyment of a few34. He sees in it a formula that is in no way elitist, one that anticipates lasting happiness within reach of households and of those who work5. He also links it to the beginning of the bourgeoisie's expansion and to the emergence of a new world. In the musicosophy sessions, he makes it the reference point for understanding Mozart, Saint-Just's contemporary, and he sets it in harmony with Rabelais. In the sessions on Clouscard, he sides with Saint-Just: the world has a right to happiness, which must no longer be reserved for a minority6. He adds that this idea is becoming new again today.

1. 1Hegel Plage 5/52 Feb 2016 · 33:06
2. 2Café Marxiste - Travail et droit au travail20 May 2018 · 14:19
3. 3Musicosophie 13. Mozart restitué2 Feb 2021 · 1:06:40
4. 4Musicosophie 14. Mozart derechef7 Feb 2021 · 39:31
5. 5Musicosophie 8. Bonheur et malheur en musique11 Jan 2021 · 55:12
6. 6La mondanité chez Clouscard ou "L'idéologie dominante"26 Apr 2023 · 2:07:32

Summary produced automatically from 26 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.