Mathieu Dejean, Henri Lefebvre: Dogmatism in Reverse – trans. David Fernbach, Verso blog (open access)

In 1958, during the insurrectionary events that preceded General de Gaulle’s return to power, 57-year-old Henri Lefebvre faced two ‘comrades’ from the French Communist Party in an austere room. His request for minutes to be taken had just been curtly refused. The Commission central de contrôle politique was only there to question him about his ‘behaviour’.

The interview began: ‘Did you ask the Party’s permission to write an article about the Nouvelle Vague in L’Express?’ – ‘No.’ – ‘Did you ask the Party’s permission to write a response to André Philip in France-Observateur?’ – ‘No.’ After this comedy of an interrogation, the philosopher was expelled from the PCF, in which he had been an activist for thirty years. He was part of the first generation of Marxist philosophers, along with his friends Norbert Guterman (1900-84) and Georges Politzer (1903-42).

Originally published by Mediapart in 2023 (this requires subscription)