Ellul, Jacques Cesar

▪ 1995

      French sociopolitical scientist and Protestant theologian (b. Jan. 6, 1912, Bordeaux, France—d. May 19, 1994, Bordeaux), warned against the dangers of a society in which all human activity was determined according to absolute technical efficiency. His antitechnological views, particularly as expressed in his best-known book, La Technique: ou l'enjeu du siècle (1954; The Technological Society, 1964), were especially popular among rebellious young Americans in the late 1960s. Ellul's theories were largely grounded in his dual interest in Marxism (which he later renounced) and an austere Protestantism found in the Reformed Church, both of which he discovered while a student. After completing his studies at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, Ellul lectured at the Universities of Montpellier (1937-38) and Strasbourg (1938-40). During World War II he joined (1940) the French Resistance, and later he tried his hand at politics as deputy mayor of Bordeaux (1944-47). He soon abandoned his attempt at a political solution to social problems, however, and returned to the University of Bordeaux as a professor of law (1946-80) and as professor of history at the affiliated Institute of Political Studies (1947-80). Ellul was also a consultant to the Ecumenical World Council of Churches (1947-53) and a member of the National Council of the Reformed Church in France (1950-70). His other books include Le Fondement théologique du droit (1946; The Theological Foundation of Law, 1960), L'Illusion politique (1965; The Political Illusion, 1967), and L'Ethique de la liberté (1973; The Ethics of Freedom, 1976).

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