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Closest in meaning in CP; abstracted from 4 a to mean a rebellious person

Camus' lexicon define "revolt" as a peaceful, evolutionary process. He had hoped that mankind would evolve toward improved societies. In his ideal, socialism is the result of a natural historical process that does require effort and leadership, but not violence. "Remarque sur la rivolt" begins with a civil servant refusing an order. For Camus, revolt begins with a single person refusing an immoral choice. Laws and rule are not defensible for Camus unless they are meant to help society at all levels. The civil servant in the opening parable is an existential hero, though Camus would have rejected such a label. The bureaucrat makes a decision based not upon what is easiest for him but what is best for him and society as a whole. This man's revolt is resistance, not violence. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's works are the primary target of The Rebel. While not a perfect treatment of Hegel, Camus argues that Hegel's works glorified the state and power over personal morality and social ethics. Worse, according to Camus, Marxism co-opts Hegel and extends his theories to allow any means to an end. In Marxism, as embodied by the Soviet Union and its Communist Party, the state is always "right." Humanism and equality were important to Camus, not an artificial organization. Camus further offended some leftists by opposing what he considered a trend toward nihilism in European thought. Life was "meaningless" for Camus, but each person did have the opportunity to define a role for himself or herself in life. Nihilism rendered living pointless, which Camus could not accept. Mankind, by its very existence, was in the unique position of defining itself through choice. Attacking Hegel, Marxism and nihilism resulted in a resounding rejection by the left. Leftist critics hated The Rebel and described it as an act of intellectual treason. The May 1952 issue of Les Temps Modernes featured a review of The Rebel by Francis Jeanson. The review affected Camus deeply. Camus found himself described as a traitor to the left