The French philosopher had a difficult relationship with Soviet-style communism. When in doubt, he distanced himself from him and stuck to his own ethical principles.
An illustrious circle of writers, intellectuals and artists met on June 16, 1944 in Pablo Picasso’s studio. Picasso stands in the middle of the picture with his arms crossed, Simone de Beauvoir on the far right. Front row, seated and kneeling left to right: Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus (with Picasso’s dog), Michel Leiris and Jean Aubier.
Sartre’s relationship to politics was never determined by an interest in ideology. His own ethical values always formed the basis of his political commitment. He considered his political competence to be limited. He read daily newspapers only irregularly. In moments when he was writing important political texts, he wrote in letters that he was sick of politics and violence (“m’emmerde”). Nevertheless, it was a question of moral responsibility for him to comment on political events. Nobody should accuse him of being silent about grievances. He wanted to behave differently from Gustave Flaubert and the Goncourt brothers during the Paris Commune in 1871.