What is meant by the term imperialism? This term is political in its nature; it describes a relationship that exists within the realm of politics. In particular, imperialism implies that a certain group of people is the rulers over other people, without the consent of the ones they rule. Imperialism was an integral part to colonialism. During the age of colonialism, the nations of Europe extended their political power outside their own proper boundaries; Africa was almost completely colonized by these European nations during the Berlin Conference of 1884, and nearly every part of the world experienced some colonialism by a European nation. Colonialism had certain effects on the people of both nations; in his
Discourse On Colonialism, Aimee Cesaire writes that the culture of the colonizing nation becomes that of a colonizer, consuming its previous cultural constitution; in
Black Skin White Mask and
The Wretched Of The Earth, Frantz Fanon argues that the colonial relationship explains much of the dynamic seen between two cultures, during and after colonialism. Through an understanding of these two authors, it becomes possible to see a strong correlation between the colonial condition, and contemporary global capitalism and western dominance.
In his
Discourse On Colonialism, Aimee Cesaire focuses on the negative effects that the colonial condition has upon the culture of the colonizing people. His argument relies on the premise that “…between Colonization and Civilization there is infinite distance”
1. He maintains that there is a difference between two civilizations being in contact with each other, and two civilizations contacting each other through the intermediary of colonialism. For two civilizations to be in contact with each other, there is an implicit mutual understanding between them – that people of one nation will inherently respect the people the other nation, and they will interact in a mutually beneficial way. However, for two nations to be in contact with each other through colonialism, there is no implied mutual understanding – colonialism becomes the understanding. It becomes the method by which the two nations interact, and infiltrates the culture of the nations. In
Discourse On Colonialism, Cesaire writes about its effect on the culture of the colonizing nation, when he quotes the European Christian Rev. Muller declaring, “Humanity must not allow the incompetence, negligence, and laziness of the uncivilized people to leave idle indefinitely the wealth which God has confided to them “
2. The major point is that some tenets of colonialism have diffused into Christianity – that it becomes Christian to consider those who are not civilized to be savages, to consider those who are savages to be universally incompetent and lazy, and that civilized people are the only ones capable of doing the proper thing. Thus, colonialism infects the culture of the nations that participate in colonialism, and in doing so, promotes the idea that colonialism is justifiable.
In addition to colonialism infecting the thought of the people, as evidenced by its diffusion into Christian teachings, Cesaire argues that colonization produces Fascism, and destroys the idyllic principles upon which a government is founded, such as: democracy, liberty, and any other ideal that may provide some legitimacy for its actions. Cesaire writes, “civilization which justifies colonization and therefore force-is already a sick civilization, a civilization which is morally diseased, which irresistibly, progressing from one consequence to another, one denial to another, calls for its Hitler.”
3 The essence of this argument is that by justifying colonization, the nation justifies violence and oppression. This justification of violence and oppression, by extension, legitimizes Fascism; and therefore, a nation that legitimizes Fascism is a sick nation, that is hypocritical at best, and tyrannical at worst. Overall, Cesaire argues that colonialism infiltrates the thought of each society, infecting their existing culture; and if taken to its natural conclusion, it will eventually lead to Fascism in the colonizing society, and the destruction of good government.
Similarly to Cesaire, Frantz Fanon studies the effect of colonialism upon the colonizing and colonized nations; he finds that colonialism skews the perception of the people of each nation by the other nation, and that colonialism promotes a ruling class in the colonized nation that is incapable of ruling; this incapability promotes the sustainability of colonialism in practice after it has officially ended.
In
Black Skin White Mask, Fanon writes at length about the perceptions that accompany colonialism. Similarly to Cesaire, who writes about how colonialism influences the culture of the colonizers, Fanon writes that colonialism influences the cultural exchanges between the two nations of people. Fanon premises his argument on the basis that, “The black is not a man”
4. Essentially, he believes that a man is a man, a black man is a black man, but a man is not a black man, and a black man is not a man. The essence of this argument is that a man is a man - for if a man becomes defined as a black man, he is no longer a man, but a black man who is defined by cultural context. Skin color becomes the mode by which identification is made; a black man becomes judged not by the merit of his own actions, but by the merit of all black men – he ceases to be an individual, but becomes a member of the black identity, as he writes “I am deprived of the possibility of being a man”
5. Colonization leads to artificial labels, for however benign a label may be, a person still becomes described as something other than he truly is.
Furthermore, Fanon discusses the idea that there are innate characteristics associated with colonialism. He advances that the colonizers intrinsically consider themselves to be superior; the colonized, in contrast, seek to prove their equality and value
6. This explains the failure of assimilation – those who are colonized, are different, and seek to become equal to the superior nation; however, those who colonize will never accept those who are different, because they believe themselves to be superior. Thus, the dynamic of perception between the colonizer and colonized nations will innately promote the existence of assimilation efforts that inevitably will fail.
It is this dynamic, that the colonizers consider themselves to be superior, and the colonized seek to prove themselves equal, that forms the basis of Fanon’s argument in
The Wretched of the Earth; in
The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon explains that it is this dynamic between the two nations of people that establishes the selfish bourgeoisies in the former colonized nation. The selfish bourgeoisies perpetuates the conditions of colonialism, even if the nation has been officially de-colonized. Fanon writes, “(The national middle class) follows the Western Bourgeoisies along its path of negation and decadence without ever having emulated it in its first stages of exploration and invention…”
7. His point is that under colonialism, a certain group of people became elevated to the ruling class; there are the people that take over the leadership in society when colonialism ends. However, this ruling class is underdeveloped – it emulates the decadent lifestyle of the ruling class of the colonizing country, without having the period of exploration and invention that was necessary for the development of the ruling class in the west. Resulting from its underdevelopment, the ruling class governs poorly, and begins to act as an intermediary for the former colonizer; as Fanon writes, “The national middle class discovers its historic mission: that of intermediary”
8. It places itself in the same position as the former colonizers; thus perpetuating in reality, but not in name, colonialism. Overall, Fanon believes that colonialism creates artificial labels that skew the social understandings between the two nations, that it creates a certain dynamic that ensures a certain style of race relations, and that it implicitly promotes the conditions that will perpetuate colonialism after colonialism has officially ended.
These principles, that Fanon and Cesaire illuminate, have many similarities in the contemporary conditions of capitalism and Western dominance. Many conflicts, and social problems, can be traced back to this legacy of colonialism. For instance, throughout much of post-colonial Africa, there does not exist the stability in a national government that is necessary to create a good society; as a result, many governments in Africa are either ineffective in helping their people, or rely on a dictator to promote change. This is the principle that Fanon describes when he writes about colonialism and its effect on the nation ruling class of the colonized countries. In addition, the principle illuminated by Fanon when he describes the effect of colonization upon the cultural exchange between two nations is ever-present in today’s political discourse. For instance, the continued American presence in Iraq is justified on the basis that the American presence is the only thing that prevents ‘the terrorists from having a safe haven in Iraq from which they could launch attacks upon the American people.’ This discourse implicitly assumes that Islamic society would support terrorism, despite the fact that much of the Islamic world renounces, and actively fights terrorism. In essence, the entire group of people, who are termed to live in ‘Islamic Society’, are identified as terrorists, or supporters of terrorists, and are incapable of legitimately governing their own lands. In almost every case, conflict between ‘the west’ and another group of people is perceived in the same mold as the colonial relationships’ described by Cesaire and Fanon; the west tries to bring ‘civility’ to ‘savages’, while the ‘colonized’ desire to attain respect, but are unable to do so.
Although their descriptions about the dynamic nature of the colonial relationship remain relevant today, both Fanon and Cesaire’s argument ignores the reality that a colonizing society is based on an inventive and explorative society. They both assume that because colonialism exists, there is no way that it can cease to exist; Cesaire believes that a nation cannot stop being colonialism except by revolution, because its beliefs become infected by the spirit of colonialism. Fanon believes that colonialism does not allow people to understand each other properly, and that it promotes societies which further colonial-like situations, even without the official existence of colonialism. However, as Cesaire writes, colonialism affects culture; however, the leaders of that culture could independently, and collectively, make efforts to return the culture to its previous form. Those who teach Christianity could cease to call the African people savages, and begin to recognize their humanity. The teachers of Christianity could teach a purer form of Christianity, that directly opposes the ideas associated with colonialism. A return to this past is possible – if only the necessary institution would begin to advocate anti-colonialistic ideas. If the free and independent institutions of society promote ideas that colonialism, and the ideas associated with colonialism, are bad, colonialism as an idea would be destroyed or sent into remission; the wretched societies that Fanon deplores would cease to exist. Although the institutions of a society may be racist, they are always comprised of people – and people always have the ability to act independent of any institutions that may govern their society. As Fanon implies, people are people. People always have the ability to overthrow the conditions of imperialism, be they political, social, ideological, or cultural. Thus, people should be treated as people, and not as institutions.
Works Cited
Césaire, Aimé. 2001. Discourse On Colonialism. Ed. Robin D.G. Kelley, trans. Joan Pinkham. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Fanon, Frantz. 1967. Black Skin White Masks. New York: Grove Press. Introduction, Chapters 4-5
Fanon, Frantz. 1963. The Wretched of The Earth. New York: Grove. Selections, Chapter 3 (“The Pitfalls of National Consciousness”).
My Discourse On Imperialism
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