Passenger on Nostr: I would have to read Malik's whole piece to make a fair judgment, but from the part ...

I would have to read Malik's whole piece to make a fair judgment, but from the part you've quoted, it feels like there's a crucial distinction.

The sense of wider moral duty has waned, says Malik.

The sense of wider moral duty has always been contingent, says Césaire. To continue the metaphor of "waning", the amount of sunlight falling on the Moon has not increased or decreased, but now less of it is pointed at us, and we misunderstand that as a general worsening rather than merely a reduction of our own special place within it.