Simone de Beauvoir explains in her memoir Force of Circumstance (1963) her intent in writing TheMandarins: She wanted to describe the political and intellectual climate and the lifestyles of intellectuals — "The Mandarins" — in France during the years immediately following World War II.

During the German occupation, the Resistance in France had united people of diverse political persuasions in their fight for a common cause. Once the country had been liberated, however, alliances shifted and old political conflicts resurfaced. New political movements were launched.

In The Mandarins, Beauvoir is concerned with the French intellectual's role in building a new postwar society.

The majority of French intellectuals at the time were leftists, and few were Communists. Conflicts arose as to whether or not to side with the capitalist United States which had been hailed as the liberator, but then was believed to want to subjugate all of...