A Dream of Another World

Combustion of the World

In Chapter 1, “Universal Domination,” Mbembe elaborates on the concept of global power dynamics that exert influence and control across the world, often at the expense of less powerful nations and groups. Borrowing the term “brutalism,” he repurposes it to describe a merciless, utilitarian approach to power that prioritizes dominance and suppresses dissimilarity. This chapter discusses the historical trajectory that led humanity to this point, where technology, political strategy, and economic systems interlock to create a hegemonic structure of universal domination.

Mbembe argues that this drive for domination involves a mobilization of resources and tools that expand human capacity while also leading to mutations in human engagement with the material world. This domination is not only physical but also ideological, as it shapes the language around what it means to be human and how humans relate to each other and the non-human world. Themes of dehumanization, technological advancement, and capitalist exploitation interweave to illustrate how modern societies have arrived at a state of brutalism that pervades everyday life, setting the stage for widespread control and systematic oppression.

In the following chapter, “Fracturing,” Mbembe critiques the current global order and its implications for human and territorial relationships. He begins with a reflection on Carl Schmitt’s concept of “nomos” and the Earth’s symbolic and material significance in shaping legal and political order, emphasizing the significance of land appropriation and seizure in global history. Here, he critically analyzes Schmitt’s Eurocentric conceptualization of land division and territorial legality, suggesting that non-European relations to land have been overlooked. He dissects the contemporary conditions of rapid change where traditional demarcations blur, giving rise to multifaceted, unpredictable global dynamics and an escalation of capital’s hold over life, yielding a world deeply imbued with computational rationality, consumption, and desolation. The term “borderization” is introduced here, capturing the transformative power of borders beyond mere lines dividing nations into spaces of exclusion and violence, symptomatic of the aggression underpinning modern capitalism. These borders, along with militarized technologies, impede human mobility and target the dispensable masses.

Mbembe then discusses the intensification of techno-surveillance and the purgation of unwanted, dehumanized bodies in contemporary society vis-à-vis migrants and refugees—analogous to the hunted prey of historical manhunts—caught in the intersecting crosshairs of accelerated technological advancement and segmented global hierarchies. Reflecting on Europe’s migration crisis, Mbembe describes the resurgence of camps as sites where the foreign Other is contained, excluded, and denied rights and dignity, highlighting the contradiction between Europe’s self-image and its practices of border enforcement and detention. Finally, he concludes by challenging the security-oriented, technological society that prioritizes certainty and control over freedom and mystery. He posits that the migrant crisis exemplifies a broader societal concern with mastering the unknown, resulting in a transparency that threatens freedom. In the end, Mbembe leaves us with an invitation to conceptualize a world free of borders, where the freedom of movement is restored to all Earth’s inhabitants.

Critique of Digital Reason

In “Animism and Viscerality,” Chapter 3, Mbembe digs into the ever-increasing quantification and knowledge of the world, which paradoxically coexists with widespread ignorance, thereby examining the power dynamics underlying knowledge and ignorance. Mbembe critiques the historical concept of progress, which equates continuous movement with vitality, for its inability to accommodate decay and death. Despite this critique, the aspiration for mastery over nature and human transformation persists in modernity, now manifested in the realm of digitization and algorithmic supremacy. This new regime seeks to drain the world of its mystery, positing a future techno-scape devoid of the unknown.

Mbembe discusses the intrinsic link between knowledge and apparatus, where the latter positions knowledge in the framework of extraction and consumption aided by machines. This digital “reason” is epitomized as an age-old fantasy of omnipotence, reducing the universe to data sets to be manipulated for human ends. Mbembe also dissects the relationship between animism, the perception of objects as living entities, and the contemporary digital world, arguing that digital technologies have activated an archaic unconscious, reminiscent of the precolonial African understanding of the world as a network of relations among various entities.

Here the discussion in this section ends with a reflection on identity and its relationship to the living. Ancient African traditions, which view identity as fluid, relational, and emergent from interactions with a multiplicity of beings, offer a contrast to Western self-concepts. Mbembe suggests that it is time to move beyond the rigid Western conception of identity and embrace a perspective that recognizes life’s interconnectedness and the vital flows that define it. This transformation is vital for imagining new political possibilities and a planetary future that goes beyond the confines of nationalist retreat.

Chapter 4, “Virilism” is an exploration of the historical and ongoing linkages between power, virility, and body politics. It critiques the traditional phallocentric order and anticipates a transformation of sexuality through the growing influence of technology and the transcendence of traditional gender roles. Here he contends that the phallus embodies more than just male genitals—it is an expression of eruptive power that enacts domination in orgasmic fashion. Mbembe explores the sexual practices on plantations and in colonies, highlighting the ways in which Western imaginaries of sexuality imposed a libidinal form of domination on racialized bodies. He postulates that these practices were forms of exerting orgasmic power, a kind of pleasure intertwined with control and subjugation, characterized by a “trembling of the senses” (Mbembe, 59).

Mbembe introduces the concept of “onanist societies,” which center around the expulsion of seminal matter and are intrinsically tied to patriarchal structures (Mbembe, 71). He argues that this economy of ejaculation is a measure of power, where the spread of semen ties directly to the continuity of lineage and genealogy. Additionally, Mbembe posits that these patriarchal powers are now challenged by technology, which enables a plurality of bodies, genders, and sexualities, signaling a potential shift away from the phallocentric view. He introduces the concept of “genital panic,” where traditional views of sexuality and bodies become destabilized by the possibility of gender fluidity and varied sexual practices enabled by digital technologies. Mbembe suggests that in this era, the prevalence of sex with artificial entities and the detaching of pleasure from biological functions could evolve the nature of sexuality altogether. The aim, he notes, would be the direct stimulation of pleasure-related brain zones, thereby heralding the end of physical contact in sexual intimacy.

Caging Humanity

Chapter 5, “Border-Bodies,” examines manifestations of contemporary brutalism beyond economic deregulation and the market replacing democracy. Mbembe identifies the fusion of borders with control mechanisms targeting the “living” as a fundamental characteristic of the new forms of brutalism, which he also aligns with “authoritarian liberalism” (Mbembe, 78). Central is the examination of the division that contemporary capitalism creates among humanity, not solely in economic terms but also on racial and class lines, but between solvent and insolvent persons and the growing gulf between “mobile” and “wandering” portions of humanity. Borders play a critical role as they are now hybrid structures, selectively permeable and serving not just as boundaries, but as sites of regulation and management of peoples designated as surplus or undesirable. Here “border-bodies” emerge as the racialized, class-determined bodies subjected to exhaustive calculation and surveillance—a culmination of dispossession, movement, and immobilization. Thus, Mbembe concludes that brutalism as a phenotype of the social war against these surplus humans defines the contemporary challenges faced by population policies globally, and he discusses the new forms of surplus populations in the contemporary capitalist landscape, arguing that surplus bodies today are those without employable skills or solvency. He traces the transformations in the role of corporality and movement within capitalism, exploring how bodies are simultaneously integrated into and expelled from ever-evolving systems of economic exploitation.

The following chapter, “Circulations,” continues with the theme of global human mobility as a defining issue of the 21st century. Embroiled with capitalism, technological proliferation, and digital saturation, this era has brought about an intensified connectivity that reshapes traditional geographic boundaries. Despite this interconnectedness, the flow of human movement is increasingly regulated, resulting in displacement and constraint for many. Mbembe argues that mobility is now viewed through lenses of geopolitical and security concerns rather than human rights or economic imperatives. The mobility of certain racial classes is facilitated, while others face heavily restricted movement under arduous conditions. This emerging global security regime is increasingly characterized by the militarization and digitalization of borders, leading to uneven distribution of mobility rights and the stigmatization of marginalized groups. Mbembe contrasts these global mobility dynamics with local social struggles that aim to obstruct the capitalist system by disrupting flows and seizing control of localities. He notes that in Africa, relationships between mobility and immobilization are especially critical due to their impact on family and social dynamism.

The critique of forced sedentarization and the enclave mentality that persists in global circulation policies, particularly in relation to Africa is also crucial in Mbembe’s analysis. It points out the historical and ongoing pressures from Europe and the industrialized world that have led to African states’ participation in containing migration. He delves into the stark reality of a “caged humanity” where people live in conditions of entrapment and surveillance, often in hostile environments like deserts or detention camps designed to brutalize and dissect human lives. He highlights the particularly poignant situation in Palestine and Gaza, where these oppressive measures are most evident. The legacy of colonization, which emphasized fixed territories and immobilized populations, continues to shape current migration dynamics.

Mbembe emphasizes that current policies do little to address the deep inequalities stemming from a contracting planet with finite resources and contentious borders. The growing divide between those who have unrestricted access to movement and those who do not is becoming more evident. In the place of these policies, Mbembe envisions a future where creating flexible political structures and diverse forms of belonging can help make the Earth a common home for all. To achieve this, new forms of inhabiting the planet that embrace intermingling and connectivity rather than division and exclusivity are needed. Brutalism thus moves toward its conclusion with a contemplative and speculative gaze upon the future of humanity and its enmeshment with technology. Mbembe paints an image of a future where distinctions between humans and their technological creations might become indistinct, elevating concerns about the potential loss of humanity’s essence. He speculates about an era devoid of traditions, boundaries, and identities, where all beings are augmented by artificial implants and prosthetics, leading to an apocalyptic vision where the very concept of humanity may dissolve into a synthesis with the machines it has produced.

Under the African Sign

These themes are more pointedly addressed in, Chapter 7, “The Community of Captives,” which reflects on the unbearably heavy toll of Brutalism on the human spirit and the body, on communities and nations. He meditates on the paradoxes of migration and immobility within a world increasingly fragmented by the barriers of nationalism, racism, and tribalism. “The Community of Captives” represents a profound engagement with the unbearable realities of the modern world and the enduring quest for humanity, dignity, and hope amidst perpetual catastrophes. This reflects on the work “The Spirit of Utopia” by Ernst Bloch, delving into the interplay between hope and despair, joy and delusion. Mbembe distinguishes Bloch’s critical-militant optimism from blind optimism and absolute pessimism. Bloch regarded hope as essential to human existence, a sentiment that propelled history and was too significant to be discounted. Mbembe then places this dialectic within the context of contemporary Africa and the postcolonial world, where legacies of imperialism, racism, and tribalism fracture societies. He discusses the reality of individuals leaving their homelands, not as free agents, but out of a necessity driven by the barbarism of tyrannical regimes and the squalor of postcolonial existence.

In Chapter 8, “Potential Humanity and Politics of the Living,” Mbembe critically examines the Western perception of African objects throughout history, especially those forcefully removed during colonial occupation and housed in European institutions. He starts by challenging the Western metaphysical barriers that separate humans from their creative works, proposing that African objects, instead of fostering automatism, produce binding energies, playing a vital role within African societies contrary to the Western critique of technology. Examining the historical perspective, he explicates how African objects were misjudged by Westerners, starting with the Portuguese merchants in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, followed by missionaries’ interpretations of the objects as embodiments of paganism and idolatry. Mbembe criticizes the view that African artifacts were merely symbols of savagery and the antithesis of civilized humanity. He also comments on how the Enlightenment and theories of “universal history” resulted in a racialized comprehension of human development, downplaying African contributions as lacking spiritual energy or freedom-promoting will, leading to disgust and repulsion towards African objects.

Mbembe’s reflection ends with a rumination on the intrinsic relationship between Africa and the West, marked by extraction and loss—a tribute that Africa has paid through the systematic pillaging of its material and immaterial heritage. He stresses that authentic restitution necessitates Europe acknowledging its contribution to Africa’s lost world of rich symbolic deposits and dynamics. The capacity for truth is paramount in repairing the historical narrative and establishing new relations based on mutual respect for all life and histories.

Reparative Futures

Brutalism concludes with a contemplative and speculative gaze upon the future of humanity and its enmeshment with technology. Mbembe paints an image of a future where distinctions between humans and their technological creations might become indistinct, elevating concerns about the potential loss of humanity’s essence. He speculates about an era devoid of traditions, boundaries, and identities, where all beings are augmented by artificial implants and prosthetics, leading to an apocalyptic vision where the very concept of humanity may dissolve into a synthesis with the machines it has produced.

The idea of the “Black question” remain central to the crisis of European humanity—a crisis that has implicitly framed the Black individual as the embodiment of nothingness and positioned Europe as the ultimate representation of the human. Mbembe challenges this view, arguing that the figure of the Black is not peripheral to European consciousness but is rather foundational, serving as both a source of fear and a mirror reflecting the potential for regression in human development. The “politics of reparation” that Mbembe advocates involves more than rearrangement of social hierarchies; it calls for a profound transformation in the ways humans relate to each other and to the natural world. He asserts that the Earth, as a sovereign entity, cannot be exclusively possessed or appropriated, and that a more equitable distribution of rights and responsibilities towards the planet is necessary.

Reading Brutalism occasionally feels like scrolling through some sort of academic darknet. Despite this, there are moments that give glimpses of other ways to imagine the world, examples such as the resituating the incarceration of migrants and refugees as “foreigner camps,” the idea that each country has a population abroad and that considering this might help us reimagine the borders of the world, and the observation that security is now more highly valued than freedom. Although considering both gun control and online legal protections—not to mention abortion—this is more pertinent to Europe than to the United States.

Additionally, although its philosophical contributions are undeniably rich, the book does not deeply engage with African cultural production. To paraphrase, Léopold Sédar Senghor, former Senegalese head of state and poet: Culture is what will save the continent of Africa as the arts of singing save slaves during the crossing. Perhaps in looking to Africa for all the dark side of humanity, we need to turn to its cultural producers to learn how to save it. They have long been addressing key issues such as spirituality, urbanism, climate change and sexual diversity. For example, in her first novel Freshwater (2019), Nigerian fiction writer and video artist Akwaeke Emezi explores issues of gender and spirituality using Igbo cultural heritage alongside Western construct. In her other works, Emezi addresses urgent questions of LGBTQ+ in Sub-Saharan African, writing books for young readers to educate them about sexual diversity in the continent. Likewise, there are many young artists in the continent of Africa who have turned to the environment to preserve it such as the artist Leonard Pongo with his “Primordial Earth Series (2020-Ongoing). Senegalese painter Fatou Kandé Senghor explores the interconnectedness of cultures. Her work combines African motifs and contemporary techniques. Finally, Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu creates powerful collages that challenges traditional notions of beauty. We can look to these cultural producers for the knowledge to understand and mend the fractures and fissures in our contemporary world.

In sum, Brutalism with its exploration of racism, exploitation, and violence, makes for a challenging read, densely packed yet illuminating, offering a provocative and thought-provoking examination of postcolonial practices and the legacy of colonial politics. Mbembe critiques the disintegration of liberal democracy, highlighting the erosion of human rights and the pervasive control exerted by computational technologies and large corporations over human desires and behavior. He notes the universally accepted right to freedom of movement is ineffectual as the planet becomes increasingly inaccessible to many, with the concept of home losing its significance in the modern world. Despite its demanding linguistic and conceptual style, Mbembe’s book stands as a testament to the resilience of the postcolonial critique and a reminder of the ongoing complexities in relations between Africa and Europe. One might only add that if African cultural producers are acknowledged and allowed to thrive, it might save Africa, and here, Mbembe helps us understand that this might offer us the knowledge to save the world as well.

Frieda Ekotto is Lorna Goodison Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, Comparative Literature and Francophone Studies at the University of Michigan. Ekotto is an intellectual historian and philosopher with areas of expertise in 20th and 21st-century Anglophone and Francophone literature and in the cinema of West Africa and its diaspora.

Note

1. 1. The book’s English translation was completed by noted translator Steven Corcoran, who has translated a variety of European philosophy, including Mbembe’s earlier titles.