A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - LIBERTARIAN WRITINGS 1948-1960, ALBERT CAMUS (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Albert Camus, Maurice Joyeux, Louis Lecoin, Gaston Leval, Rirette 
Maitrejean, Jean-Paul Samson, and others are brought together in this 
book-*Ecrits libertaires (1948-1960)*-thanks to Lou Marin and a reissue 
by Les Belles Lettres. In his substantial preface, Alexis Lager, 
Secretary of the *Société des Études camusiennes* (Society for Camus 
Studies), echoes the emotionally charged words of Raymond Guilloré in 
*La Révolution prolétarienne*: "Camus was one of us," as well as the 
statement in *Le Monde libertaire*: "Albert Camus, who valued team 
spirit above all else, was our comrade."

A profound intellectual fraternity and mutual affinity existed between 
Camus and the libertarians. The volume collects numerous articles Camus 
published in libertarian journals and newspapers-including *Le Monde 
libertaire* and *Témoins*-as well as exchanges and personal accounts. 
The debate is at times spirited but always respectful. These are words 
of freedom, justice, and-I would add-responsibility. Freedom is central 
to Camus's interventions, particularly during meetings in support of 
Republican Spain and anarchist prisoners. He remained wary of dogma, 
having been inoculated against it by his membership in the Communist 
Party between 1935 and 1937. He consistently showed sympathy for 
dissenters, a fact highlighted by his friend Pascal Pia from their 
newspaper, *Alger républicain*. In *Combat* on August 21, 1944, he 
titled his editorial "From Resistance to Revolution" and outlined the 
contours of a libertarian socialism: "To realize, without delay, a 
genuine popular and working-class democracy" grounded in freedom. 
Readers will encounter ideas drawn from Proudhon and Bakunin regarding 
federalism, as well as the revolutionary syndicalism of his Spanish 
"brothers"-as he called them. Included here are articles he wrote for 
*Solidaridad Obrera*; indeed, he was nicknamed "Camus the Spaniard."

Words of freedom and justice

The essential work for understanding Camus's thought-particularly 
regarding the State and the defense of the individual-is, of course, 
*The Rebel* (*L'Homme révolté*). This volume offers a great opportunity 
to read or re-read it, alongside the exchanges between Albert Camus and 
Gaston Leval.

Camus also champions the internationalism shared by libertarians, 
advocates for decolonization, and rejects antisemitism. The relentless 
attacks from Sartre's circle are exhausting-both in their repetition and 
in the bad faith shown whenever Camus defends civil liberties. This is 
evident in the controversy surrounding the publication of Simone Weil's 
letter to Bernanos regarding the Spanish Civil War. He also speaks out 
during the 1956 crisis in Budapest. His writings on European values 
remain relevant today, particularly his statements against fascist Spain 
and its admission to UNESCO.

I would like to highlight the beautiful speech regarding the value of 
freedom: "Freedom is the concern of the oppressed, and its natural 
protectors have always emerged from oppressed peoples.[...]But freedom 
is not made of privileges; it is made, above all, of duties.[...]Freedom 
is not a gift received from a State or a leader, but a good that must be 
won every day, through the effort of each individual and the unity of 
all." Perhaps the full extent of Camus's libertarian rigor is captured 
in these few lines.

A man of the people

Another aspect of Albert Camus is undoubtedly his simplicity, ease, and 
modesty in his dealings with the working world. One should undoubtedly 
see this as stemming from his working-class origins (cf. *The First 
Man*), his illiterate mother, and his experience of a strike at an 
Algiers cooperage (recounted in "The Silent Men" in *Exile and the 
Kingdom*). An article published in *La Révolution prolétarienne* in 1958 
describes a meeting with print workers; in it, he affirms that he 
considers-with the utmost cordial attention-suggestions regarding 
meaning and syntax offered by the proofreader, noting that he agrees 
with the proofreaders eight times out of ten. Camus: a man of the 
"stone." In printing, the "stone" (*marbre*) is the term for the table 
where various tasks-primarily proofing and page layout-are performed.

The final text in the volume is an interview published in the Argentine 
libertarian journal *Reconstruir*. When asked, "What should be done to 
achieve a world less oppressed by want and more free?" Albert Camus 
replies: "Give when you can. And do not hate, if you can."

* Albert Camus
*Libertarian Writings 1948-1960*
Ed. Les Belles Lettres, 2026

Listen to the interview with Alexis Lager on the program *Au fil des 
pages* on Radio Libertaire, Wednesday, September 9, 2026, from 5:00 PM 
to 6:30 PM.

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=9170
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