Stamp - Discourse on voluntary servitude Etienne de La Boetie

DISCOURS DE LA SERVITUDE VOLONTAIRE ETIENNE DE LA BOETIE (1530-1563) In the 16th century, as France was about to fall prey to the Wars of Religion, Étienne de La Boétie (1530-1563), a great friend of Montaigne's ("Because it was him, because it was me"), wrote his Discourse on Voluntary Servitude at just 18 years of age. This text, often considered a precursor of liberalism, civil disobedience and criticism of absolutism, analyzes the mechanism of political domination. In it, La Boétie asserts that tyranny is not based on force, but on the voluntary obedience of individuals. The human being, naturally free, has forgotten his original state and has become accustomed to submission as if it were natural. They accept servitude through habit, education or resignation. Tyrants maintain this submission by offering entertainment, games, food or religion. But the essence of servitude comes "from below", from the very consent of the dominated. La Boétie describes a pyramid of power: the tyrant surrounds himself with a few close friends who, to serve their own interests, rely on others, more numerous, until the whole of society is subjugated. But all it takes is for one link to stop obeying, and the whole edifice, like a colossus with feet of clay, collapses: "Resolve to serve no more, and you will be free". Freedom can be reborn if people break the habit of serving. Deemed explosive, the Discours was never published during the lifetime of its author, who was also a member of the Bordeaux parliament. La Boétie died at the age of 32, leaving behind a body of work that his friend Montaigne was reluctant to divulge. It was finally published in 1574, under the title Contr'un, by the monarchomaques, Protestants hostile to the absolute monarchy, who denounced the persecutions suffered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572).

Timbre-poste (taille-douce) : Création et gravure Pierre Bara Bords de feuille : Création Pierre Bara