One is a member of a country, a profession, a civilization, a religion. One is not just a man.

Saint-Exupéry’s line rejects the idea of a purely abstract, self-sufficient “man” detached from social bonds. It argues that identity is formed through concrete memberships—nation, vocation, civilization, religion—each carrying duties, loyalties, and inherited meanings. The statement also implies that moral and political responsibility arise from these affiliations: to be human is to be situated, shaped by traditions and institutions, and accountable within them. In Saint-Exupéry’s broader humanism, such belonging is not merely limiting; it can be the condition for solidarity and purpose, countering the loneliness and moral drift that come from radical individualism.