Q0635
“Between colonizer and colonized there is room only for forced labor, intimidation,…” — Aimé Césaire (Discourse on Colonialism)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Discourse on Colonialism. Theme: power.
English
Between colonizer and colonized there is room only for forced labor, intimidation, pressure, the police, taxation, theft, rape… No human contact, but relations of domination and submission.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Discourse on Colonialism and files it under Africana Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire (1913–2008) was a Martinican poet, dramatist, and politician who coined ‘Négritude’ in the 1930s. Notebook of a Return to the Native Land and Discourse on Colonialism couple poetic revolt with a philosophical indictment of European colonial civilization.
How to read this passage
Philosophers analyze domination, authority, freedom, and the micro-politics of everyday life. Power can enable justice or crush it. This passage enters that discussion through power, otherness, humanity.
Concepts in this quote
- Power
- Power is the capacity to affect others and to shape what counts as possible—central to politics and ethics.
- Otherness
- Otherness appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat otherness as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Humanity
- Humanity names both the species and the moral quality of being humane—bridging anthropology and ethics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Aimé Césaire. (n.d.). Between colonizer and colonized there is room only for forced labor, intimidation, pressure, the police, taxation, theft, rape… No human contact, but relations of domination and submission. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0635
MLA: Aimé Césaire. “Between colonizer and colonized there is room only….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0635.
Chicago: Aimé Césaire. “Between colonizer and colonized there is room only….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0635.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Between colonizer and colonized there is room only…”?
The passage is attributed to Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism. The archive attributes this English wording to Discourse on Colonialism and files it under Africana Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Aimé Césaire mean by power?
Philosophers analyze domination, authority, freedom, and the micro-politics of everyday life. Power can enable justice or crush it. This passage enters that discussion through power, otherness, humanity.