Jean-Paul Sartre and Jules Ferry

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Imperialist ideology can be viewed as a distorted version of Western-European culture, because it emphasizes such values as liberty or dignity, but at the same time denies many people the right to humanity. This idea can be better discussed by analyzing Jean-Paul Sartre’s preface to the book The Wretched of the Earth written by Frantz Fanon.

Moreover, Sartre’s views can be compared to the arguments expressed by Jules Ferry who was an advocate of colonial policy. His speech before the French National Assembly in 1883 can be regarded as a defense of colonialism. The comparison of these two texts can highlight the contradictory nature of imperialism and explain how this political and cultural ideology influenced the countries that were under colonial rule.

One of the critical arguments put forward by Sartre is that many nations colonized by Europeans could see that the colonizers failed to live up to the ideals of humanism that they often proclaimed. The thing is that European culture lays stress on such values as liberty, equality, freedom, and dignity; however, those people, who speak about these ideas, can easily act in a cruel, biased, and selfish way. Sartre says, “The yellow and black voices still spoke of our humanism but only to reproach us with our inhumanity” (1961, p. 1).

To a great extent, this sentence renders the sense of disappointment that many African people had, especially after the atrocities committed both in Europe and Africa. They could not understand how the alleged values of colonizers could be reconciled with their actions. Jules Ferry also refers to the ideals of humanism; in particular, he says Europeans have “the duty to civilize inferior races” (Ferry as cited in Andrea & Overfield, 2011, p. 269).

It is quite possible to see the conflicting nature of this argument because Ferry refers to a particular moral duty that Europeans have toward African nations. Yet, he is unable to view them as equals. In his opinion, they do not have a right to autonomy and independence. Thus, he rejects the very ideals on which French culture was is based. In his view, egalitarian principles and racial ideology are quite compatible with one another and this is the critical flaw of his argument.

It should be noted that Jules Ferry ideas were criticized when he was addressing the National Assembly. For instance, Ferry referred the words of Camille Pelletan who said that civilization could not be imposed “with cannon-balls“ (Ferry as cited in Andrea & Overfield, 2011, p. 269). Yet, he simply chose to overlook this criticism. Overall, his speech can give readers in-depth insights into the nature of colonialism, its ideology, and contradictions.

It should be noted that Sartre’s writing was influenced by independence movement in Algeria. Moreover, he shows that many Europeans were very surprised when African nations began to struggle for autonomy. Sartre manages to render this amazement in this sentence, “They are able to talk by themselves? Just look at what we have made of them!” (1961, p. 1).

Many people in France could not believe that Africans could actually voice their discontent. For example, Jules Ferry could hardly imagine such a situation because in his opinion, only great countries or nations had the right and ability for self-determination. This racist ideology has not disappeared even nowadays.

On the whole, in his preface to The Wretched of the Earth, Jean-Paul Sartre argues that Europeans should recognize the right of Black Africans to political and cultural independence because it is impossible to impose one’s ideas and values on others.

Such a strategy is more likely to conflict or long-term hostility that can be both cultural and political. The problems discussed by Jean-Paul Sartre were urgent in 1961, and they remain relevant to modern day political life in which the rhetoric of imperialism still remains very popular.

Another idea which is also important for this discussion is that conflict was embedded in a new Algerian society; in part, it can be explained by the policies of colonial states. The thing is that they attempted to create new elite in the colonized territories. These were people who were educated in Europe, and who accepted the values of European culture.

They were supposed to become the pillars of a new Algerian society. It was believed that they could help colonizers rule the country. In his passage, Sartre refers to various historical examples of such new elite, for example he mentions Hellenized Asians or “the Greco-Latin Negroes” (Sartre, 1961, p. 1). However, the thing is that other people, who did not receive similar education, were treated as sub-humans.

Thus, one can assume that a society divided in such a way could hardly exist peacefully. In fact, hostility was supposed to be a part of this society. To a great extent, this situation can be explained by the so-called divide and conquer policies of European states to foster divisions in African societies because a divided community can hardly struggle against its conquerors.

This is why they promoted one class of the society at the expense of others. As a result, the Algerian society will have to cope with this legacy of colonialism, because colonialism was largely a divisive experience for this nation.

It is worth mentioning that such division of local societies was fully acceptable for the supporters of colonial policies. The conquered areas were needed mostly as “provision stations, shelters, or ports for defense” (Ferry as cited in Andrea & Overfield, 2011, p. 269).

This is the most honest justification of colonial policies, provided by Jules Ferry. In this sentence, he does not refer to the so-called civilization mission of European people; instead, he simply identified the economic objectives that had to be achieved.

These territories had to be controlled in some way. At that time, divide and conquer strategy was viewed as the most optimal approach. At that time, very few people thought about the ethical aspects of this decision and its long-term effects.

Thus, it is possible to say that colonialism and imperialism contradict the very ideals of European culture because these ideologies are premised on the notion that there are superior and inferior nations. The advocates of this ideology claim to bring humanistic values to colonized societies, but fail to reach the moral standards that they set themselves.

The legacies of these polices will continue to affect African countries because they relied on the division of the society into several groups that could be hostile to one another. The preface written by Jean-Paul Sartre and the speech of Jules Ferry highlight the main principles of colonialism and its implications for colonized people.

Reference List

Ferry, J. (2011). Speech before the French National Assembly. In A. Andrea & J. Overfield (ed.). The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Volume II: Since 1500. (pp. 268-269). New York: Wadsworth Publishing.

Sartre, J-P. (1951). Preface. In F. Fanon (Ed.), The Wretched of the Earth (pp. 1-13). London: Penguin Books.

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Jean-Paul Sartre and Jules Ferry

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