The discovery of the
“new world”
by Christopher Columbus in 1492 is the founding event of Western modernity.
Gone are the days when a civilization proud of its past celebrated the one Léon Bloy nicknamed the
“
revealer of the globe
”
.
In the 19th century, the Church considered its canonization, today it repents for the misdeeds of colonization.
His statues are being torn down all over America, and we are calling for the cancellation of Columbus Day.
The book
Capital and Race.
History of a Modern Hydra
(Seuil), by Sylvie Laurent, is fully part of this deconstruction.
The professor at Sciences Po sets out to demonstrate that 1492 is at the same time the date of birth of capitalism, Western modernity and racism, the three being intrinsically linked.
The academic wants to reconcile Martin Luther King and Karl Marx, in order to prove that
“
race has manifested itself in history as one of the essential infrastructures of capitalism
”
.
The 400 messy pages…
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