Discourse on Colonialism

Discourse on Colonialism (French: Discours sur le colonialisme) is a 1950 essay by Afro-Martiniquan poet, author and politician Aimé Césaire. Written in surrealist poetic prose, the essay analyses the origins of European fascism, arguing that Nazism is not an exception in European history, but the natural conclusion of a civilization that justifies colonization. Césaire criticizes the "civilizing mission" and argues that colonialism de-civilizes the colonizer, as the instruments of colonial power rely on racism, torture, and barbaric violence, all which result in the degradation of Europe itself. The essay is the origin of the imperial boomerang theory, which posits that the repressive techniques used to control colonial territories are eventually deployed domestically against the colonizing countries' own citizens.

The essay also critiques the colonial ideology and theories perpetuating racial and cultural hierarchy that were published by various French intellectuals, politicians, and writers in the 19th and 20th century, such as Dominique O. Mannoni, Roger Caillois, Ernest Renan, and Jules Romains, among many others.

Discourse on Colonialism is considered a classic and foundational text of postcolonial literature and anticolonial thought.

History

Césaire first published the essay in 1950 in Paris with Éditions Réclame, a small publisher associated with the French Communist Party. In 1955, he edited and republished it in the anticolonial magazine Présence africaine. It was translated into English by Joan Pinkham and published in Monthly Review in 1972. It was republished by the same press in 2000 with a new introduction by the American academic Robin D. G. Kelley.