Discourse on colonialism

Discours sur le colonialisme (Discourse on Colonialism) is a text written by Aimé Césaire and published in 1955. It is a key text of postcolonial literature.^[1]

Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism has been labeled “a declaration of war.”^[1] It is a work focused on decolonization that is remembered for “its impact on the colonized, on culture, on history, on the very concept of civilization itself, and most importantly, on the colonizer.”^[1] Césaire writes his book in a poetic style, discussing the negative effects of colonization on colonies. He uses this poetic prose style as, “a method of achieving clairvoyance, of obtaining the knowledge we need to move forward.”^[1] His unique style of writing sets him apart from other postcolonial academics who published works alongside him at the same time. In Discourse on Colonialism, Césaire implicates the Europeans for constructing the negative relationship between colonizer and colonized. He criticizes Europe for constructing these colonies only to exploit them for their own benefit. According to Césaire, by establishing these colonies and then exploiting them, the European colonial powers have created two main problems: the problem of the proletariat and the colonial problem.^[2] In describing the colonial problem that European civilization has created, he remarks that “Europe is indefensible,” contending that the actions of the colonizers cannot be misconstrued as positive. He centralizes his argument around the claim that, “no one colonizes innocently, that no one colonizes with impunity either; that a nation which colonizes, that a civilization which justifies colonization—and therefore force—is already a sick civilization, a civilization which is morally diseased, which irresistibly, progressing from one consequence to another, one denial to another, calls for its Hitler, I mean its punishment.” ^[3] He labels the colonizers as barbaric for their treatment of those in the colonies. He defines the relationship as one based on “forced labor, intimidation, pressure, the police, taxation, theft, rape, compulsory crops, contempt, mistrust, arrogance, self-complacency, swinishness, brainless elites, degraded masses.” ^[4] Although his text has several main points, it primarily focuses on this negative relationship between colonizers and colonized. He proposes that colonization, while claiming to civilize the colonies, actually produces the opposite effect, refuting the claims of positive aspects of colonialism.

In addition to recognizing how Europe exploits its colonies for resources and materials, Césaire also acknowledges the racial construction of the relationship. By identifying the colonial relationship as one based on race, he draws comparisons between his home of Martinique with the colonies in Africa. By equating racism, barbarism and colonialism, he claims colonization to be a form of dehumanization; he believes this dehumanization occurs because of Europe’s racism against the black populations in Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. In Discourse on Colonialism, Césaire builds on what he wrote in his book, Notebook on Returning Home, which he wrote in response to leaving France and returning to Martinique. In Notebook on Returning Home, Césaire noted the relationship between his home of Martinique and the heritage of Africa, confirming this bond between colonies in Africa and colonies elsewhere as one based on race. In identifying the racism problem associated with the colonial relationship, he claims that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party's persecution of Jews during World War II and the Holocaust was not an aberration, but rather the norm in Europe. He spends a great deal of his text referring to Hitler and the Nazis, writing that Hitler differed in the eyes of the Europeans because he "applied to Europe colonialist procedures which until then had been reserved exclusively for the Arabs of Algeria, the 'coolies' of India and the 'niggers' of Africa" ,^[5] meaning that, by persecuting white Europeans, Hitler produced violence most commonly reserved for non-white populations.

Although Césaire's Marxist influence appears in different sections of the text, the most notable allusion to Marxism appears towards the end of the text when he writes, “it is a new society that we must create, with the help of all our brother slaves, a society rich with all the productive power of modern times, warm with all the fraternity of olden days. For some examples showing that this is possible, we can look to the Soviet Union.” ^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Kelley, Robin D.G. "A Poetic of Anticolonialism." Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine 51.6 (1999): 1. America: History and Life with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
2. ^ Frutkin, Susan. Black Between Worlds. Miami: University of Miami, 1973. 29.
3. ^ Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000. 39.
4. ^ Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000. 42.
5. ^ Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000. 36.
6. ^ Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000. 52.