Join the (contemplative) revolution!

What is the Personalist Manifesto(s)?

Personalist Manifesto(s) features conversations inspired by the personalist thought and action of Jacques Ellul and Bernard Charbonneau. It’s hosted by Michael Morelli, who you can get to know over here. But keep reading if you want to learn about why Personalist Manifesto(s) exists.

Together, in 1935, Ellul and Charbonneau wrote the following in an essay titled Origins of Our Revolt: Directives for a Personalist Manifesto:

We see that the necessity for revolution precedes us. Catholics, Protestants, atheists who believe in the necessity of spiritual power, must make this revolution—which alone justifies all others—our primary concern. It is not something we have thought up on our own, it is the brutal manifestation of a reality that has been imposed upon us. We are revolutionaries in spite of ourselves.1

What kind of revolution are they talking about? Is it a good kind of revolution? If it’s good, is it possible? I started The Personalist Manifesto(s) to ask and answer these questions from a variety of perspectives. Here is how Ellul and Charbonneau describe the revolution they envisioned, and for which they worked:

Not a revolution against people but against institutions. Too bad for police who protect the banks.

Not a revolution against big bosses but against big factories.

Not a revolution against the bourgeoisie but against big cities.

Not a revolution against fascism or communism but against the Totalitarian State, whatever form it takes.

Not a revolution against Monsieur Guimier but against the ad agency Havas.2 Not a revolution against 200 families but against profit.

Not a revolution against arms dealers but against arms. Not a revolution against foreign nations but against our own.

Revolution not as class struggle but as struggle for the freedom of people.

The reason we reject the first term in each of the preceding cases is because such terms permit every sort of hypocrisy and are just as well—suited to fascist revolutions as to communist ones—the second term, however, allows no compromise.3

Personalism should not be mistaken for wholesale individualism or humanism. Personalism does emphasize and advocate for the value of people (individuals and groups), but it resists hyper-individualism and -homogenization, and it rejects romanticized visions of ‘the human’ or ‘humanity.’ As Ellul describes personalism in Autopsy of Revolution,

Personalism had the commendable distinction of challenging the authenticity of any revolution that was self-validating, i.e., an end in itself. That type of revolution, wherein the phenomenon exists for its own sake, inevitably introduces brutality, dehumanization, and when the movement ends, a totalitarian society; whereas the essence of revolution is an ethical relationship, consideration for others, and the acknowledgement of another person’s (anyone’s, and not just a select person’s) rights and dignity.4

Is this the kind of revolution you want to join? Let’s contemplate that question together, because Ellul and Charbonneau emphasized action informed and inspired by intentional contemplation. As Ellul puts it,

If you would be genuinely revolutionary in our society… be contemplative: that is the source of individual strength to break the system.5

So, are you ready to join the contemplative revolution? If so, subscribe to Personalist Manifesto(s) and contemplate personalist revolution with us.

Personalist Manifesto(s) partners with the International Jacques Ellul Society to host conversations about contemplative revolution(s). It’s hosted by Michael Morelli. You can follow him on Bluesky and/or Instagram and email him (michaelmorelli@nbseminary.ca) if you’d like to get in touch.

Finally, consistent with the personalist ethos, Personalist Manifesto(s) strive to be non-partisan.