“We will freedom for freedom’s sake, in and through particular circumstances. And in thus willing freedom, we discover that it depends entirely upon the freedom of others and that the freedom of others depends upon our own. Obviously, freedom as the definition of a man does not depend upon others, but as soon as there is a commitment, I am obliged to will the liberty of others at the same time as my own. I cannot make liberty my aim unless I make that of others equally my aim.”

French philosopher, political activist, and writer

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, political activist, and writer. He was a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism, and one of the central thinkers associated with existentialism. He also supported Libertarian Marxism, and his work went on to shape sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. In 1964, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he tried to refuse it, saying that he usually declined official honors and that a writer should not become an institution.