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Traditionally, European colonizers have justified colonization by affirming that "colonization = civilization". Aimé Césaire explicitly calls into question this equation "Christianity = civilization, paganism = savagery" (33). What are the two main arguments that Césaire uses to dismantle this equation? DISCOURSE ON COLONIALISM

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Answer and Explanation:

In his essay “Discourse on Colonialism,” Aimé Césaire critiques European colonialism and its impact on both the colonizer and the colonized. He argues that colonialism was not a benevolent movement, but rather a self-centered, economic exploitation of the colonized. Césaire describes the colonial problem that European civilization has created and calls Europe “indefensible”.

One of Césaire’s main arguments against the equation “colonization = civilization” is that he points out the hypocrisy of colonialism. He asserts that colonizers were themselves savages and describes the horrific violence and genocides committed by European governments during their conquest of the rest of the world.

Another argument Césaire uses to dismantle this equation is that he believes that the concept of European “civilization” was an excuse for Europe’s savage exploitation of the non-European world’s labor and resources. He argues that there is nothing noble about forcibly converting people to Christianity or stealing their art and locking it up in Western museums.

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