The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt

In the fifth and final part of The Rebel, Camus returns to the theme of what constitutes a true rebel and a true rebellion. He reiterates his previous idea that true rebellion is not about demanding absolute freedom. By its very nature, rebellion is a force for moderation: The rebel wishes to assert the necessity of limits and the worth of moral values, as limits and values are what protect human beings from abusing (or being abused by) one another. Camus stresses that while rebellion is sometimes difficult to cope with due to its often messy and ambiguous nature—since it lacks the ideological clarity and fervor of revolutionary thought—it nevertheless helps sustain a sense of common purpose and dignity to which everyone can commit themselves and help uphold.

Camus also argues that while historical contexts do play a role in shaping mankind, mankind is not bound entirely by such contexts. Rebellion is about disrupting the usual course of history by reacting against one’s circumstances, usually in the name of moral values or something in human nature that is worth protecting. For this reason, Camus believes that rebellion is often not a result of historical circumstances, as thinkers like Marx argued, but a reaction against historical circumstances.