What would Albert Camus make of us? Eighty years ago, the French-Algerian author gave a famous speech in New York, The Human Crisis, exploring how “in today’s world we can contemplate the death or the torture of a human being with a feeling of indifference, friendly concern, scientific interest, or simple passivity”.

Camus, who was active in the French Resistance against Nazi occupation, analysed our moral condition in an unusual fashion. Rather than making a formal argument, or quoting statistics, he told four stories. Drawn from the horrors of the second World War, these stories were used to illustrate how political violence had become normalised and how the value of human life had been diminished.

“Yes, there is a human crisis . . . since human suffering is accepted as a somewhat boring obligation, on a par with getting supply or having to stand in line for an ounce of butter,” Camus said.

He delivered his lecture on March 28th, 1946. Fourteen years later he was killed in a car crash – an unproven theory is that Russia had him assassinated due to his criticism of communist atrocities.

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Were he here today, what stories would Camus tell? Perhaps these four:

1: Alexander Petlinsky dreamt of a career in medicine but, when he was 15, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Mandatory classes in patriotism and military preparedness were introduced in schools and, two weeks after his 18th birthday, Alexander enlists in the army. He is killed in Ukraine just 20 days later, on March 9, 2025.

“As a citizen of the Russian Federation, I am proud of my son,” Alexander’s mother, Elena, tells the BBC. “But as a mother – I can’t cope with this loss.” In the months after Alexander’s death, videos are posted from the frontline showing Russian soldiers accused of disobeying their superiors being tied to trees and tortured, while president Vladimir Putin declares 2026 Russia’s “year of unity”.

2: Mustafa Bani Odeh (8) and his family are on a day trip to celebrate his father’s return to Tammun in the West Bank after six weeks working on a construction job in Israel. They pick up fried doughnuts and browse for new clothes in a town nearby. As they return home, they round a corner and are fired upon by undercover Israeli police. Mustafa’s mother and father are killed, along with his brothers Muhammad (5) and Othman (6). Only Mustafa and his brother Khaled (11) survive the attack earlier this month.

Israeli security say the officers “sensed danger” and claim the car accelerated – something contradicted by witnesses. Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz later reports there are no plans by security authorities to interview the officers.

3: A Palestinian man Odai Al-Rubai (22) is tortured and killed by Hamas after he participates in an anti-Hamas protest in Gaza in April 2025. Weeks later, an anti-war demonstration is organised by women in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia. Journalists who attempt to cover the protests are threatened and assaulted.

One reporter deterred from covering the women’s protest tells of how he was previously beaten and interrogated for hours by Hamas-affiliated assailants, accusing him of “covering events in the Gaza Strip calling for a coup”.

“He only secured his freedom with a promise to stop reporting,” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

4: Robert Mueller spent a lifetime in public service. He was a decorated veteran of the US Marines and said he “felt compelled to contribute” to society because, unlike so many who were drafted to fight, he had survived the Vietnam War. He became a state attorney, served as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for 12 years and was later appointed to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that was won by Donald Trump.

Hearing of Mueller’s death on March 20th, Trump writes on Truth Social: “Good. I’m glad he’s dead.”

What troubled Camus 80 years ago was how ideology is used to excuse, glorify or celebrate human suffering and death. The same project of justification continues today. We are told that a certain amount of killing is necessary to prevent greater harm, while the death of an enemy – through violent or natural causes – is just a debate point.

Camus was particularly horrified by use of the death penalty. He believed it marked the start of a moral decline. If a state can justify deliberately killing people for a reason other than self-defence, then it paves the way for other forms of assassination.

The United Nations has reported an “alarming” increase in the use of the death penalty worldwide, with at least 1,500 individuals executed in Iran last year. Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025, a record toll; while the United States saw the highest number of executions in 16 years – 47 inmates who had been on death row.

This trend is not unrelated to world events. Trump, who himself survived an assassination attempt in 2024, now celebrates “decapitating” Iran’s leadership.

When Camus told his four stories, he left the audience to think for themselves on how to respond.

He offered no manifesto, nor instruction for self-improvement, except for this: “The first thing to do is simply to reject in thought and action any acquiescent or fatalistic way of thinking. The second thing to do is to unburden the world of the terror that reigns today and prevents clear thought.”

© The Irish Times