The essay, written by Aime Cesaire in 1950, makes accusations against so-called Western civilization. It was first published under the name 'Discourse sur le colonialisme'. He defends the hypocrisy of colonialism and that it should be destroyed. In the first part of the article, Cesair criticizes the hypocrisy of Europeans and argues that there is a contradiction in everything they have done throughout history. Europeans, who allegedly brought civilization to the world, tried to legitimize their hateful solutions. He argues that what they present to people as civilization is nothing but the ruthless exploitation of the labor and resources of non-European people.
In the next section, he points out that Europe's so-called civilized practices will be the end of not only non-Europeans but also Europeans. According to him, although these practices do not affect welfare, they will affect moral culture. He argues that the Holocaust was a high point for Europeans. The author said that many European states were seeking to expand by using brutality, just like the Nazis, and they were advocating white supremacy. Cesaire emphasizes how brutal colonialism is by highlighting the pleasure the French took in killing and raping non-white civilians during their conquests. Colonization emphasizes the perception of people of color as non-human objects.
The next chapter continues this discussion and draws attention to the innocent people killed in the uprising in Madagascar. And in the last chapters, he addresses academics and journalists. According to him, they serve the colony with their writings. They legitimized this by producing many lies to justify the so-called civilized actions of Europeans. They make false arguments and try to legitimize this colonialism, arguing that science is something that can only be achieved through 'civilization'. In the last chapter, there is Aime Cesaire's call for revolution. He calls for the end of colonialism and establishing a more just world order. It also offers a vision of a future world free of colonialism.
