Authors Study French National Character

IN SEARCH OF FRANCE, by Stanley Hoffmann, Charles P. Kindleberger, Laurence Wylie, Jesse R. Pitts, Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, and Francois Goguel, Harvard University Press, 405 pp., $8.95.

Recognizing the need to analyze the interacting changes affecting the nations of Western Europe, the Center for International Affairs at Harvard has undertaken studies of a number of individual countries. In Search of France is the result of the first such study; the Center has brought together a group of eminent experts who have produced a work of quality and importance. As the title of the book implies, such a study must leave much unsolved, and it is not surprising that the book is out-dated in some respects.

In a sense, In Search of France has been reviewed already, for Francois Goguel's concluding essay is at once a summary and a critique of the other five studies. Says Monsieur Goguel in his article, "Profound transformation in the economic sphere, changes in the organization and values of society (albeit less rapid and less complete), immobility and nonadaptation in the strictly political sphere: such is the conclusion of the several studies of this book."

Economic Advancement

Since 1945, as Charles P. Kindleberger observes, France has experienced a basic economic transformation, marked by extraordinary advances in technology, increased production, greater foreign trade, and a mounting birth rate. Today, France's economic rate of growth compares favorably with that of other Western European countries, and she no longer fears German or British competition.

Along with this remarkable economic expansion, Laurence Wylie and Jesse R. Pitts point to changes that have occurred in the structure and values of French society. A new hope in the future, an awareness of the need for increased education, increasing urbanization, more democracy on the local level, "a new sense of solidarity and cooperation," are some of the socio-psychological changes Wylie describes. Certain "creative drives, emerging from the conflict between different cultural strands," have, in Pitts view, enabled France to set its economy in order, to redefine its relation toward its old colonies, and to take steps toward the integration of Europe."

The adaptation that France has made to the modern world economically and socially remains, Goguel and Stanley Hoffmann conclude, "almost wholly to be worked out and implemented in political terms." Although Goguel concedes it is possible to argue that the political institutions of France since 1958 have changed drastically, he contends the nature of these changes have not been fundamental enough to permit them to be considered on the same level of significance as the economic and social changes. "The institutions of the Fifth Republic," says Goguel, are not rooted in the country. There is nothing to assure their continuation because they are too exclusively tied to General de Gaulle."

Jean-Baptiste Duroselle's analysis of French foreign policy since 1945 is in many ways the most interesting chapter in the book because of its excellence and its timely importance. Duroselle sees the ideal of creating a new Western Europe as the outcome of French efforts to adapt after it was found that a return to normalcy was no longer possible. Duroselle defends de Gaulle's notion of grandeur, for he believes that "a nation needs a certain pride, however realistic she may be. The French adapt themselves out of realism but they do not admit that this adaption means the loss of their independence and their originality."

Certain themes connect the various chapters of the book. The authors agree that the major factors in the current French transformation were "externally-induced traumas" and the psychological state of the French people themselves. Outside "shocks' such as the depression, the outbreak of war and the defeat of 1940, the occupation and liberation, and finally, France's ambiguous position in the international community since 1944 all helped force the French to adapt to new realities.

Rebirth from Despair

France's resurgence above all is seen as the result of a new spirit of hope in the future, born from the despair of France's failures and internal frustrations. Abandoning the desire to return to the traditional life of la belle epoque, the French have entered the second half of the twentieth century willing to gamble and place their hopes in the future.

Just as the causes of change are recognized jointly, so the authors agree on certain obstacles to change. Chief among these is the traditional French educational system, which in addition to being one of the greatest factors of social immobility has failed to cultivate a democratic style of authority in French society. The crucial importance of France's political problems is emphasized through the various studies, especially those of Hoffmann and Goguel. Both men point out that France's political problems involve non-political elements as well. Hoffmann concludes that the final paradox of the French political system is just this, that "reforms in the political system alone will not be enough to bridge the gap" between the political system, and economic and social progress. "Reforms at all levels of the political community" need to be introduced, not just constitutional reform.

Goguel sees "renovation of the political parties" as the basic problem facing France. Yet the sclerosis of the parties themselves, the political vacuum created by de Gualle, and the general discrediting of the idea of political parties works against such a renovation.

Although de Gualle is condemned by Hoffmann and Goguel for a political style that discourages party reform, the recent French elections would seem to be proof that the General has had a different effect on the party system. Gaullist forces won an absolute majority in the Assembly, thus indicating to some observers that French politics may evolve into a more nearly two-party system. Some traditional parties, such as the Independents and Peasants' Party, have lost much of their following as French public opinion has become Left and the Gaullist Right.

France's resurgence above all is seen as the result of a new spirit of hope in the future, born from the despair of France's failures and internal frustrations. Abandoning the desire to return to the traditional life of la belle epoque, the French have entered the second half of the twentieth century willing to gamble and place their hope in the future.

Just as the causes of change are recognized jointly, so the authors agree among themselves similarly on certain obstacles to change. Chief among these is the traditional French educational system, which in addition to being one of the greatest factors of social immobility has failed to cultivate a democratic style of authority in French society. The crucial importance of France's political problems is emphasized through the various studies, especially those of Hoffmann and Goguel. Both men point out that France's political problems involve non-political elements as well. Hoffmann concludes that the final paradox of the French political system is just this, that "reforms in the political system alone will not be enough to bridge the gap" between the political system, and economic and social progress. "Reforms at all levels of the political community" need to be introduced, not just constitutional reform.

Although de Gaulle is condemned by Hoffmann and Goguel for a political style that discourages party reform, the recent French elections would seem to be proof that the General has had a different effect on the party system. Gaullist forces won an absolute majority in the Assembly, thus indicating to some observers that French politics may evolve a more nearly two-party system. Some traditional parties, such as the Independents and Peasants' Party, have lost much of their following as French public opinion has become polarized between the parties of the Left and the Gaullist Right.

But correct in its interpretation or not, In Search of France does at least approach its problems in a meaningful way. If the book fails to answer all the questions about France that are current today, at least it asks them, and gives the background necessary for a clear and intelligent understanding of the issues, national and domestic, that confront the French nation today. Well planned, thoroughly critical, In Search of France is the brilliant product of a brilliant group of minds