French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Mbembe, Critique de la raison nègre
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Critique de la raison nègre
Achille Mbembe
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/10/13 PUBLISHER: La Découverte SERIES: Cahiers libres ISBN: 978-2-7071-7747-6 EAN: 9782707177476 FORMAT: Paperback NO. OF PAGES: 267 p.
Of all human beings, the Black is the only one whose flesh was turned into a commodity. Moreover, the Black and race have always been intertwined in the imaginary of European societies. Since the 18th century, they have together formed the unacknowledged and often denied foundation upon which the modern project of knowledge—as well as governance—has unfolded. Will Europe's relegation to the status of a mere province of the world signal the end of racism, alongside the dissolution of one of its primary signifiers, the Black figure? Or on the contrary, once this historical figure is dissolved, will we all become the Blacks of the new racism generated on a global scale by neoliberal and security policies, new wars of occupation and predation, and zoning practices? In this scholarly yet iconoclastic essay, Achille Mbembe undertakes a critical reflection that is essential to answering the defining question of our time: how to conceptualize difference and life, the similar and the dissimilar?
Contents:
THE SUBJECT OF RACE
THE WELL OF FANTASIES
DIFFERENCE AND SELF-DETERMINATION
THE LITTLE SECRET
REQUIEM FOR THE SLAVE
CLINIC OF THE SUBJECT
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An article on this book can be read on the nonfiction.fr website:
"The Becoming-Black of the World", by J. Cannone.
And on the laviedesidees.fr website:
Achille Mbembe's Critique de la raison nègre represents a major contribution to postcolonial theory, political philosophy, and critical race studies. Writing in the early twenty-first century, Mbembe builds upon the intellectual traditions of Frantz Fanon and Michel Foucault to deconstruct how the concept of race was foundational to European modernity and capitalism. By examining the historical commodification of Black bodies during the transatlantic slave trade, the book contextualizes the deep-seated relationship between Western systems of knowledge, global governance, and imperialist expansion.
The essay raises urgent questions about the future of global politics in the era of neoliberalism and security-driven governance. Mbembe introduces the concept of a 'becoming-Black of the world,' suggesting that the systemic exclusion, predation, and subjugation historically reserved for Black populations are now being deployed globally under contemporary capitalism. This work is highly valuable for scholars and students of sociology, political science, and Francophone studies, as well as anyone seeking to understand how contemporary security policies and economic zoning practices continue to redefine human difference and inequality.