Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian philosopher and writer who grew up in a poor working-class neighborhood in Algeria, then a French colony. His father, a French agricultural worker, was killed in action during the First World War when Camus was just an infant. Raised by his illiterate mother in a humble household, he developed a deep understanding of poverty and suffering. As a young man, despite his European background, he harbored a profound disdain for the exploitation of Algeria by French colonizers. The stark inequalities and injustices he witnessed in his homeland fueled his rebellious spirit and lifelong commitment to social justice. This commitment initially led him to find common ground with communists, who were at the forefront of the struggle for Algeria’s national liberation. Camus was drawn to their promises of equality and their opposition to the colonial system, which resonated deeply with his own experiences of marginalization.

During the Second World War, Camus moved to France, where he found himself living under Nazi occupation. In this oppressive environment, he aligned himself with the French Communists, who were instrumental in the resistance against the German occupiers. His writings from this period reflect his fierce opposition to tyranny and his conviction in the necessity of resisting oppressive regimes. While in Paris, Camus met Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), the influential French existentialist philosopher and writer. The two formed a close intellectual and personal relationship, and Camus joined Sartre’s circle of intellectuals who were captivated by Marxist-Leninist ideals. After the war, Camus’ philosophical and literary work gained international recognition, establishing him as a prominent public figure. In 1957, at the age of 44, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times”.

Initially drawn to the communists’ promises of social justice and equality, Camus became increasingly disillusioned with orthodox communism, particularly as it was practiced in the Soviet Union. Over time, his understanding of the moral and philosophical implications of totalitarianism deepened, and he grew profoundly troubled by the widespread oppressive measures and purges carried out by the Soviet regime. Guided by his moral and philosophical principles, Camus rejected any system that suppressed human dignity and individual freedom, which he considered fundamental and inalienable human values. In his seminal work ‘The Rebel’ (1951), Camus articulated a profound critique of political systems that sacrifice freedom and moral integrity for ideological purity. He argued that revolutions often betray their original ideals by adopting the very oppressive tactics they sought to overthrow, leading to new forms of tyranny. He believed that the rise of ideology in the modern world had significantly increased human suffering. While he acknowledged that many ideologies aimed to reduce suffering, he contended that the ends do not justify the means. The use of violence and repression, even in pursuit of noble goals, ultimately corrupts those goals and leads to further suffering.

“On the day when crime puts on the apparel of innocence, through a curious reversal peculiar to our age, it is innocence that is called on to justify itself.”

Albert Camus: The Rebel (1951)

Camus’ relationship with communism reached a definitive breaking point during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The brutal Soviet suppression of the uprising shocked him deeply and starkly contradicted the principles of freedom and self-determination that he held dear. In the wake of the Soviet crackdown, Camus emerged as one of the few Western intellectuals willing to publicly condemn the actions of the Soviet Union – a stance that placed him at odds with many of his contemporaries who either remained supportive of communism or were reluctant to criticize the excesses of the Soviet regime. His vocal opposition to Soviet tyranny and his defense of the Hungarian rebels were seen by some as a betrayal of the left. For Camus, however, this was a matter of moral consistency rather than political allegiance. He remained deeply sympathetic to the plight of the working class and critical of the injustices perpetuated by capitalism, yet, he could not reconcile himself with an ideology that, in his view, sacrificed fundamental human values for the sake of consolidating power.

Because Camus refused to join the chorus of French intellectuals who idealized communism from a distance, he became a target for his former close friend, Jean-Paul Sartre, who remained a steadfast and dogmatic Communist. Sartre launched an unprecedented and aggressive campaign against Camus – an attack that went beyond philosophical disagreement and became a personal and public denunciation. Sartre sought to discredit Camus’ integrity and marginalize his influence within the intellectual community, leaving Camus increasingly isolated and nearly turning him into an object of public ridicule. The effects of this reputation-damaging campaign linger even today.

Although the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 is now widely recognized as a clear example of Communist barbarism, the lingering influence of the intellectual climate from that era still casts a long shadow. Many Western intellectuals still hesitate to fully condemn the massacre, partly due to a historical reluctance to distance themselves from the ideals of communism, which they continue to view as fundamentally noble despite its failures in practice. Consequently, Camus’ warnings about the dangers of totalitarianism and the moral compromises inherent in ideological extremism are often overlooked or underappreciated in broader discourse.

Sources
Albert Camus (1994) The First Man