France in Morocco: Technocosmopolitanism and Middling Modernism

Author(s): Paul Rabinow

Source: Assemblage, No. 17 (Apr., 1992), pp. 52-57
Published by: The MIT Press
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 Paul Rabinow
France in Morocco:
Tech nocosmopol ita n ism
and Middling Modernism

PaulRabinowis Professor of Anthropology The twentieth centuryhas been the bloodiest and most de-
of California,
at the University Berkeley. structivecenturyin history,much of whose carnagehas been
He is author,mostrecently,of French committed in the name of progress:nationalism,civilization,
Modem:Normsand Formsof the Social
democracy,socialism,welfare.In a postcardentitled "La
fromwhichthisworkis
Environment, Franceau Maroc"we witness both the carnageleft by a
drawn. colonialbombardmentof Casablancaand the beginningsof
modern publichealth measuresand workdiscipline.While
physical,economic, and culturalviolence is starklyapparent
in colonialism,it was neverlackingin the modernizationof
the metropole.So, too, certaincolonial settings servedas
laboratoriesfor experimentingwith the norms of the modern
welfaresociety priorto their applicationat home.
The interplayof cultural,aesthetic,and scientificnorms,and
the experimentswith new socialand spatialformsthat would
instantiatethem, make up an essentialfeatureof modernity.
This can be seen most clearlyin planning,in particular,urban
planning.Planning,GeorgesCanguilhemclaims, "attempts
to constitute organsthroughwhich a society could estimate,
foresee,and assume its needs.... In the case of society,
regulationis a need in searchof its organand its normsof
exercise."'Modernplanninghas at least two archaeological
moments, one that I call "technocosmopolitanism" and the
other "middlingmodernism."They areboth modern in that
they proceedunder the twin imperativesof industrialization
and welfare,sharingthe projectto regulatesociety,under-
stood as an object of knowledgeand reform,throughartand
science.
1. "LaFranceau Maroc":clearing away Technocosmopolitanismcan be defined as the attempt to
bodies in the streets of Casablanca regulatehistory,society,and cultureby workingover existent

53
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institutionsand spaces- cultural,social,and aesthetic-
that were seen to embody a healthy sedimentationof histori-
cal practices.Its technologicaloperationswereappliedto
specificcustoms, cultures,and countries- hence, cosmo-
politan.Technical dimensionsof urbanplanningin Morocco
would resemblethose in Brazil(both would have a small
numberof zones, a circulationsystem, sewagetreatment,and
so on), but the well-plannedcity would artfullyintegrateand
strengthentopographic,cultural,and socialspecificitiesinto
its plan.The art of urbanplanning,and thus of a healthy
modern society,was held to lie preciselyin this orchestration
of the generaland the particular.In this scheme, moderni-
zation must be understoodas the identification,evaluation,
and regulationof traditionin the name of productivity,
efficiency,and welfare.
Middlingmodernism- "middling"in oppositionto the
"high"modernismof geniusacla Le Corbusier- sharesthe
normsof industrialization,health, and socialityas well as the
technologicalprocessesaimed at regulatingsocialpractices.
But the materialto be operatedon was no longerthe sedi-
mented historicalpracticesof a particularculture.Rather,the
"humanmaterial"(to use a telling phraseof the sociologist
MauriceHalbwachs)on which it workedwas a universal
subjectwhose needs, potentialities,and normscould be
discovered,analyzed,and formalizedby science. Middling
modernism'sprojectwas the more audacious,seekingto
createNew Man, purifiedand liberatedto pursuenew forms
of socialitythat, it was believed,would inevitablyarisefrom
healthy spacesand forms.Science, particularlysocialscience,
would define humanity'sneeds, which technical planners
would meet.
The ModernWelfareCity
In 1902Tony Garnierproducedan unprecedentedprojectfor
a Cite Industrielle.2It articulated(althoughno manifestosac-
companiedit) the emergentelements of the modernwelfare
society in one paradigmatic,representationalplan. Garnier's
plan is admittedlyambiguous- an ambiguitythat reveals
its representationaland normativepower.Variousstrainsof
modernplanningand modern societycan be readin it: Le
Corbusiersaw it as a precursorof high modernism;it also
was taken up by socialistreformersand by "enlightened"
colonialistssuch as HubertLyauteyin Morocco.The Cite"
assemblage 17
Industrielleis more than a town plan:Garnier(in keeping
with the school of Frenchregionalhuman geographers)took
the whole regionas his fundamentalworkingunity. The plan
includes,howeversketchilyrepresented,a small,older town
up the riverfrom the industrialcity, a reminderand symbol
of the historicalmilieu.
Gamieremphasizedzoning. In fact, the Cite Industrielle
adroitlyrealizesthe moderndreamof spatiallyand repre-
sentationallydistributingsocietalfunctions.These zones
breakdown as follows:work- an industrialquarterwith
metallurgyfactoriesand cement plantsof almost futurist
design;housing- a residentialquarterartfullyequipped
with pedestrianzones, secondaryand technicalschools, and
child-carefacilities;health- a modern sanitariumand the
most advancedhospitalsfor generalhealth careand for the
victims of industrialaccidents,sited on the choicest land, ad-
jacent to the hills and receivingthe most sunlight;leisure-
generousspacesfor physicaland spiritualrecuperationfrom
work,includingsportsfacilities,a theater,and a park;admin-
istration- in the center of the city, administrativeservices
and grandioseassemblyhalls for publicdiscussion (note the
lack of churches,law courts,and police stations);history- in
the centraladministrativecomplex, an empty building,the
archives.Garniersaw that the socialglue, the most important
bond in modernity,was history.As MauriceHalbwachs,who
belonged to and was active in the same reformistwing of
Frenchsocialismas Gamier,was later to theorize,without
collectivememory,there would be only the alienationof capi-
talism.3Garnier'sprojectencapsulatedthe principlesof the
socialistcite (in the sense of polis). Its aim was the transfor-
mation of the historical-naturalmilieu into a productiveand
peacefulenvironment.In this, its modernitywas normative,
its normswere modern.
Technocosmopolitanismin Morocco
These normswere appliedmost fully in a differentcontext,
that of Morocco.Moroccowas the last of the Frenchcolo-
nies, conqueredand made a protectoratein 1912 underthe
governorshipof HubertLyautey,whose previouscolonialca-
reerhad encompassedIndochina,Algeria,and Madagascar,
wherehe elaboratedthe theoryand practiceof pacification
broughtto fruitionin Morocco.It was in Morocco,under
54

Lyautey'sleadership,that France'sfirstcomprehensiveex-
perimentsin urbanplanningtook place. Lyauteyand his
team sought and partiallyachievedthe wide latitude to
expropriateproperty,levy taxes, and coordinateland-use
policies that proponentsof "enlightenedneoconservative"
urbanismwerevainlyadvocatingin France.Lyauteylooked
to a complex juxtapositionof moderncity planningwith tra-
ditional Moroccancities and their socialhierarchy(both set
within a nationalstrategyof development) as the social field
within which a controlleddiversitymight be constructedand
regulated.With the French"municipalsocialists,"Lyautey
was outragedby uncontrolledspeculationand pushed for re-
gional coordinationof services;he also concurredthat local
communities should serveas social anchorsfor nationalpoli-
cies aimed at meeting social needs. As well, he adopted such
innovativetechnical proposalsas the scheme to expropriate
land for public use that Halbwachspreparedfor the socialist
party.In all other respects,Lyautey'spolitics and outlook,
which were aristocratic,hierarchical,and conservative,dif-
fered dramaticallyfrom those of the reform-mindedsocialists
of the Third Republic.
Arabisances
Lyauteychose as his chief architectHenri Prost,who, several
yearsafterGarnier,had won the coveted Prixde Rome. The
two had workedtogether in Rome and agreedin broadterms
on the role of modern planning.As earlyas 1917, following
the principlesof the spatialseparationof existing Moroccan
cities from the villesnouvellesintended for the French,Prost
proposeda new medina for the expandingMoroccanpopula-
tion. He assignedthe design of the quarterto AlbertLaprade,
a Beaux-Artsarchitectwounded in the warand sent to Mo-
rocco. Upon his arrival,Lapradeenthusiasticallyfilled his
notebookswith numerousdrawingsof vernaculararchitec-
turalmotifs, searchingfor a vocabularyof sociospatialele-
ments. The Frencharchitectspursuedsystematicinquiries
into the Moroccanhouse, quarter,and city as a total social
environment.Their taskwas to decompose the charminto its
architecturaland urbancomponents, which would then be
recomposedinto new formsthat integratedthese sociallyrich
stylisticelements with moderntechnology.Lapradelooked
for the revealingdetail - an olive tree next to a white wall,
a vine againsta well in the shade. He wanted not merelyto
Rabinow
recreatebeautybut to discoverthe constituents of the sen-
sibilitiesthese formsembodied. He sought "the valuesof
ambiance."4
This was a self-consciously"minor"architecture,probingthe
interconnectionsamong forms,socialpractices,and histori-
callysedimented values.For Laprade,architecturewas more
than style;it was sociallymediated nature,urbanity,a whole
wayof life. His goal was the reconstitutionof everydaylife,
but a specific everydaylife, not that of everyman,everywhere.
From decorationand embellishmentto structures,minor
arts,ordinarylife (the socialnot the symbolic),Lapradepur-
sued the morphologicalmeetings throughwhich Moroccan
formsgave a particularunity to natureand culture.Building
on Laprade'sobservationof houses, public spaces,and social
practices,Prost'steam constructedan entire quarterusing a
modern technicalinfrastructurebeneath a neo-Mauresque
faqade.House exteriorswere anonymousand did not mark
the status of the inhabitants;interiorcourtyardsprovided
light, air,and privacy;the street system included pedestrian
passagewaysas well as streetsdesigned for vehicles.The new
medina was conceivedas a true neighborhood,comprisinga
varietyof servicesand specificallyMoroccan6quipement:
marketspaces,neighborhoodovens, publicbaths, Koranic
schools, a modern school, mosques, courts,administrative
centers for the habous(charitablereligiousfoundations),and
later,administrativeoffices for the pashas.Eventually,several
lyc6es and majormarketsclusteredin the area,and private
initiativeestablisheda prostitutes'quarternearby.In the
earlyyearsof the new medina, the bourgeoispopulationof
Fez - one of the most refinedof all urbanMoroccangroups
- were most eagerto live there.As Casablancatook form,
the wealthierFassisgraduallymoved into villasand their
place was takenby state employees and other groupsfrom
the middle class.
Differencein Transition
In 1931 an InternationalCongresson Urbanismin the
Colonies summed up the state of the art;this moment also
markedthe end of technocosmopolitanism.The congress
called for the mandatoryinstitutionof plans forall agglom-
erations,requiringthat these plansbe approvedby those
competent to do so, that the plans respectthe practicesof
the "races"involved,but not exclude contact between them,
55

that the cities be airyand well planted,that architectural
pastichebe avoided,that local artsbe employedas much as
possiblein ornamentingthese cities, that modernartsbe
used for modernnecessities,that hygienebe the norm in
all dimensionsof the plans,that historicalmonuments be
preserved,that aerialphotographybe used in planning.5
A fundamentalissue was how to conceive and build cities
where differentraces,as they werecalled,with different
customs and practices,cohabited.The congressprovedthe
last majoroccasion for decades at which culturaldifference
- which tacitlyincludedclass difference- was directly
thematized. In the future,normswould turn on a techno-
craticuniversalism,one potentially(but not inevitably)more
democraticand certainlymore homogenizing.In such a
scheme, an embodiment of middlingmodernism,difference,
quite literally,would have no place except as a point distrib-
uted on a statisticalcontinuum.
MiddlingModernismin Casablanca
In 1946 Michel Ecochard,an admirerof Le Corbusier,was
named to direct Morocco'surbanismservices.Francehad re-
tained its colonialempire despite its occupationby the Nazis;
coalition governmentsafterthe warrespondedto calls for in-
dependenceby appointingreform-mindedofficialssuch as
Ecochardwho did not envisagethe end of the colonialera.
Ecochard'smiddlingmodernistnormsare clearfromhis de-
scriptionof the Moroccansituationat the thresholdof colo-
nialism:"lessthan five million beings, on a territorythe size
of France,living completelyturned in on themselves."6His-
torywas imaginary,Morocco'spast and nineteenth-century
Europeanimperialismceased to exist; Ecochardsaw,instead,
"beingson a territory."By the late 1940s,he argued,Morocco
had entered fully into the worldsystem of exchange,thereby
creatingnew economic and demographicimbalancesthat the
older conception of infrastructurewas inadequateto address.
The problemfor plannerswas how to createa harmonious
distributionof demographicand industrialelements
throughoutthe territory.RepeatingLe Corbusier'sfamous
formulathat to "renovate[amnager] the cities firstyou must
reorganize[aminager]the countryside,"Ecochardproposeda
nationalplanbased on the decentralizationof industry.He
favoredthe establishmentof ruralmarketcentersand the
growthof middle-sizedcities as key tools for ensuringa bal-
assemblage 17
ance between economic developmentand demographic
stability.
In accordancewith the principlesof the Charterof Athens,
Ecochardsawhuman needs as universal,ignoringvariables
of society,geography,culture,and climate.7Perhapsinspired
by Le Corbusier'sObus plansforAlgiers,he proposedfor
Casablancaa linearextension of the existing industrialzone
along the ocean, echoed by a stripof workers'housing run-
ning parallelto but separatedfrom the zone by some eight
hundredmeters. He condemned the qualitativeemphasisof
Prost'steam that favoredthe developmentof aestheticallyre-
fined but quantitativelyinsignificantnative quarters.Faced
with Morocco'sgrowingshortage,housing for the great-
est number,at the least price,took precedence.Ecochard
advocatedthe mass productionof housing units based on
minimal universalneeds:each unit consisted of two eight-
by-eight meter rooms, a patio, and a watercloset. The units
could be extended indefinitely.He insisted that these trames
Ecochardalso providefor a fullydevelopedsociallife, which
amounted to pedestrianzones and schools. Planswere drawn
for cities of thirtyto fortythousand groupedin unitesde
voisinageof seven to nine thousandto be financedby the
state and located outside the older cities on largeplots that
Ecochard'surbanismservicehad attained at economical
prices.
Ecochardalso denounced Prost'sprinciplesof spatialsegre-
gation, for which he substitutedthe divisionbetween living
quarters"ofthe Europeantype"and "of the Moroccantype."
This was,he proclaimed,no longer Prost'spaternalistic
concern for modes of life, but a question of "life-style,"
that is, the stylizationof the elements of dailylife following
the normsof science and utility.Adjacentto the European
quarters(whichwould be protectedby a largewooded
zone) Ecochardplanneda new Moroccanquarter,which he
allotted twice the density.The sociologicalrealitywas closer
to a density fifteen times greater.8Ultimately,like the French
inhabitantsof Pessacwho added flowersin windowboxes
and colorfulcurtainsto the purityof Le Corbusier'sbuild-
ings, the Moroccansprovedinsufficiently"heroic"to live
within the strictscientific standardsof universalhabitation
Ecochardhad providedfor them.9Patioswere enclosed to
create privacyor to sublet;interiorrooms were furthersubdi-
vided;otherswereadded on top; roofswere transformedinto
56
 Rabinow

coveredspaceswherewomen could retaintheir respectability

while out of doors,fleeing the Moroccan-modifiedversion
of these "dwellingswithout windowsor patios,which were
reducedto the size of a well."'"
Ecochard'sfailureto meet his goalshas been tracedto his
neglect of economic and politicalconsiderations,his over-
relianceon science, and his faith in the powerof architecture.
In terms of its stated aims of preventingracism,speculation,
and uncontrolleddevelopment,the Lyautey-Prostprojectwas
largelya failureas well. Yet it is worth posing the question:
What, afterall, would it have meant for these projectsto
have succeeded?That a nationalinfrastructurewould have
been put in place and generatedprosperity?That the projects
would have providedcomprehensivelyzoned cities with
ample housing and servicesfor all?Broughtharmonyamong
Moroccansand Frenchand between classesand genders?Ap-
parently,many are still activelyoutragedthat this failed to
happen. Outragedin the name of what norms?Social justice,
health, efficiency,production?To that extent, these projects
are still normative.Do I need to add that this is not a defense
of colonialism?Only a questioningof modernity.

Notes
1. Georges Canguilhem, "Fromthe
Social to the Vital,"in The Normal
and the Pathological(Cambridge,
Mass.:MIT Press, 1989), 248, 252.
2. See Tony Garnier,Une Cite
Industrielle,ed. and intro. Riccardo
Mariani (New York:Rizzoli, 1990).
3. See MauriceHalbwachs,Classes
sociales et morphologie,ed. and
intro. Victor Karady(Paris:Minuit,
1972).
4. Albert Laprade,"Une ville crde
specialement pour les indigenes,"in
Jean Royer,ed., L'Urbanismeaux
colonies et dans les pays tropicaux,
vol. 1 (Charit6-sur-Loire:Dalayance,
1932), 98.
5. See Jean Marrast,"Maroc,"in
L'Oeuvred'HenriProst:Architecte
et urbaniste(Paris:Acad6mie
d'architecture,1960).
6. Michel Ecochard,"Problkmes
d'urbanismeau Maroc,"Bulletin
economiqueet social du Maroc 15,
no. 52 (October-December 1951):
28.
7. Jean D6thier, "Soixanteans
d'urbanismeau Maroc:L'Evolution
des id6es et des r6alisations,"
Bulletine'conomiqueet social du 2. Aerialview of Casablanca,
Maroc 32, nos. 118-19 (July-
contrasting the old medina
December 1970): 34. (lower left) and the new town
8. Andre Adam, Casablanca:Essai
sur la transformationde la socidtd
marocaineau contact de l'Occident,
vol. 1 (Paris:Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, 1968), 106. FigureCredits
1. Postcardcourtesyof the author.
9. See Phillippe Boudon, Pessacde
Le Corbusier,1927-1967: Etude 2. Andre Adam, Casablanca:Essai
socio-architecturale(Paris:Dunod, sur la transformationde la socie'td
marocaineau contact de l'Occident,
1969).
vol. 2 (Paris:Centre National de la
10. Adam, Casablanca, 112. Recherche Scientifique, 1972).

57