The early 1970s were a crucial period in the political and intellectual climate of France. The newspaper Liberation was founded in the wake of the protest movements of 1968 and the country was gripped by industrial, political and civil unrest on a huge scale. Behind all this were deep debates about the nature and justification of revolt, class conflict and consciousness, and the nature of what it meant to be free.

It is Right to Rebel, available in English for the first time with a new Preface by Philippe Gavi, is a fascinating discussion between three thinkers...