Colonial competitions - Jaurès and colonialism (in 1896)

Colonial competitions - Jaurès and colonialism (in 1896)

In this article of May 17, 1896 published in La Petite République, entitled Colonial competitions, we find Jaurès' constant desire not to be content with denouncing (here, colonialism): and therefore proposing to the socialists concrete tracks of combat …

It is therefore up to each of us to prepare for Congress by studying the issues that will be on our agenda.

It is one of the most delicate and urgent: it relates to colonial policy. It is delicate because it touches the chauvinistic passions and the immediate interests of all peoples; it is urgent because complications and colonial competitions can arise from great wars at any time.

In my opinion, therefore, socialism should not limit itself to defining, by a theoretical formula, its sentiment on colonial policy. It is understood: we condemn it, because it wastes wealth and forces which should be applied immediately to improve the lot of the people; we condemn it, because it is the most deplorable consequence of the capitalist regime, which tightens consumption on the spot by not paying all the labor of the workers, and which is forced to create itself far away, by conquest and violence , new outlets; we reprove it, finally, because, in all the colonial expeditions, the capitalist injustice is complicated and worsened by an exceptional corruption: all the instincts of depredation and plunder, unleashed far away by the certainty of impunity , and amplified by the new powers of speculation, develop there at ease: and the devious ferocity of primitive humanity is marvelously implemented by the most ingenious mechanisms of the capitalist machine. All this, international socialism will say, or rather will probably repeat it in London.

First part : Question   « (Colonialism)  is the most deplorable consequence of the capitalist regime, which tightens consumption on the spot by not paying all the labor of the workers, and which is forced to create itself far away, by conquest and violence , new outlets ». Outline  the main aspect of the link between capitalism ant colonialism. Try to find out examples from previous lectures.

Second part : Read online the very last speech of Jean jaurès :

DISCOURS DE BRUXELLES, 29 JUILLET 1914, PAR JEAN JAURÈS.

You’ll find dit here

http://dormirajamais.org/jaures-1/

• Do some research about Jean Jaurès.
• Present the historical context of this speech.
• Isolate one sentence illustrating the pacifism of Jaurès and explain it.

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