"We can raise no other witness than that of powerlessness. The only hope is the improbable. We must resist," the philosopher and sociologist Edgar Morin declared less than two months ago in a long interview in Le Monde, the last of the public appearances he was able to make before his death, in Paris, at the age of 104, after a prolific and highly recognized career spanning eight decades. Morin lamented "the catastrophic process underway" caused by actions such as those of "Trump and Netanyahu." Despite his concern "about the neo-authoritarian regression spreading throughout the world," the thinker — one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st century — stated that he continued to "believe in humanity despite doubting it" and called for the urgent activation of "a conscious regenerationism of the identity of origin and the shared destiny of all humans.

“Midnight will soon strike in the century”. These are the words of Edgar Morin who, at 104 years old, continues to show his lucidity in a long interview with Le Monde. Concerned “about the neo-authoritarian regression that is spreading across the world” and which favors “one of the two Frances: the one that was for a long time monarchical, aristocratic and religious, a Petainist France, as opposed to the republican, secular and social one”, he regrets that humanists find it difficult to unite at a time when “a conscious regenerationism of the original identity and the common destiny of all humans” is essential. And all this in “a catastrophic process underway. And although Trump and Netanyahu are not eternal, right now there is no option for salvation. We can only bear witness to impotence. The only hope is the improbable. Let's resist”.