The Wretched of the Earth

In the Preface Jean-Paul Sartre, one of the best-known French intellectuals, ponders the significance of The Wretched of the Earth and identifies five reasons why the book constitutes a seminal work that must be read by all Europeans (especially the French).

The first reason is that Frantz Fanon analyzes European culture from a critical distance, akin to a physician diagnosing a dying patient, rather than from the position of an admirer, which has been the case for most colonial writing up to that point. This allows the author to make accurate but uncomfortable observations about Europe’s situation and future prospects.

The second reason is that Fanon is writing for readers in second- and third-world countries rather than readers in France. This point of view renders Europe redundant and takes away its pretense of supremacy. Sartre enjoins Western audiences to read the book as if eavesdropping in a conversation that does not involve them.

The third reason Sartre gives for reading The Wretched of the Earth is its global reach. Fanon is not writing only about Algeria but about all colonized societies worldwide. All subjugated countries must revolt and achieve freedom together, otherwise they will be easily reconquered by Western powers.