Eminescu et l'État: un pacte social sur des fondements schopenhaueriens

Abstract

Part of Eminescu's political thought still needs to be elucidated. In this paper, I offer to strongly qualify the (received) opposition between his theory of "the natural State" and the concept of "the social contract", which he rejects. While Eminescu does not subscribe to the contract's democratic and liberal premises, the notion of "a social pact" -if not the word itself- is definitely one he resorts to when expounding his theory of the "social compensation". He puts it together by combining the most recent theoretical developments in economy (Malthus…) with philosophical theories taken from the works of Spinoza, Locke, Rousseau, and last but not least, Schopenhauer. A comparative reading of the texts shows that Eminescu borrows whole passages from the German philosopher, whose influence on Eminescu's political philosophy should be strongly reassessed. The metaphysics of "the will to live" provided him with the foundation for his own original version of the social pact which he developed within the evolutionary framework of Junimea, after Maiorescu encouraged him to move in this direction.