Abstract

In this paper, we try to define some aspects of a political ethics in Merleau-Ponty's phylosophy. It is possible to describe a recurring and structural problem in his political work: the question of «humanism». This problem implies that the goal of any policy consists in the «institution» of a symbolic link between human beings. We argue that the problem of humanism structures the political thought of the philosopher and explains Merleau-Ponty's relation toMarxism and to history. The courage of the institution, which can be an answer to the problem of humanism, embodies the fondamental political virtue. A virtue that Merleau-Ponty calls «virtue without any resignation»