1. No category

Disavowing Decolonization: Fanon, Nationalism, and the

Disavowing Decolonization: Fanon, Nationalism, and the Problematic of Representation in
Current Theories of Colonial Discourse
Author(s): Neil Lazarus
Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 24, No. 4, Special Issue in Memory of Josaphat
Bekunuru Kubayanda (Winter, 1993), pp. 69-98
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3820255
Accessed: 16-01-2016 16:27 UTC
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Disavowing
Decolonization:
Fanon,
Nationalism,
and the
Problematicof
Representation
in Current
Theoriesof
Colonial
Discourse1
NeilLazarus
obvious
there
hasbeensomething
Since 1989,forvery
reasons,
geopolitical
ofanobsessive
return
tothesubjectofnationalism
inWestern-based
historical
and
socialscientific
The unfolding
ofeventsineastern
scholarship.
EuropeandtheformerSovietUnion,inChina,insouthern
andnortheastern
andelsewhere,
Africa,
has beenbothunpredicted
and unprecedented.
Yetforthemostpart,theoutofWestern-based
hastendedtoremain
within
theparameters
pouring
scholarship
oftheestablished
ofnationalism.
"[S]incetheSecondWorld
post-1945
ideologeme
as TimBrennan
hasrecently
War,in a conveniently
European
lapseofmemory,"
ofnationalism
havenotonlyincreased;
out,"studies
pointed
theyhaveforthemost
thethingtheystudied"
thetrajectories
ofthe
(57). Naturalizing
partcondemned
andhypocritically-not
tosayunhistorically-extrapolatnationalisms,
European
tothesemodels,
mainstream
scholars
havecharacteristically
ingU.S. nationalism
"new"nationalisms
wherever
on thegrounds
deplored
theyhavebeenmobilized,
thattheyfoment
orthattheyaretotalitarian,
orthattheyresult
revolution,
onlyin
theintensification
ofalready
socialdivisions.
Inpart,
ofcourse,
thisdisparexisting
ofwhatBrennan
calls"insurgent
orpopular"
nationalisms
inmainstream
agement
Western
hasbeenstrictly
Western
scholars'
"recoil...
from
scholarship
ideological:
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70
I
in African
Research
Literatures
inthepost-1945
thebackdrop
of
nationalism"
needstobesetagainst
periodclearly
thechallengeposedto Western
"nationalmovebytheanticolonial
hegemony
mentsofthedeveloping
world"(57). Indeed,itisarguable
thatthefurther
capitalitself
as a world-system
overthecourseofthepast
ismhasbeenabletoconsolidate
50 years,
themoreinsurgent
nationalisms
havecome,to bourgeois
metropolitan
asbarriers
toexpansion
andaccumulation.
Thus,inthe
eyes,toloompreeminently
naturalization
of
words
ofArmand
therehasbeenevident
thegradual
Mattelart,
idea
that
it
is
to
smash
the
the
tothe
nation-state,lastobstacle
[t]he
necessary
newphase
oftransnational
oftheworld-wide
andtransform
expansion
capital,
itintoa simple
state
inan"interdependent"
world....
[T]hetransmanagement
nationalization
creates
anappealforincreasingly
ecumenical
similar,
process
anduniversal
of[Zbigniew]
"anewplanevalues,
or,tousetheterms
Brzezinski,
a new"harmony,"
a "newworld
anda new"consenconsciousness,"
tary
unity"
sus."(qtd.inBrennan
46)
For radicalWestern-based
scholarstoday,opposedto the smugly"First
Worldist"
ofmuchoftheprevailing
mostnotably,
quality
scholarship
(exemplified
inFrancis
disseminated
recentessay,
"TheEndofHisperhaps,
Fukuyama's
widely
thequestion
ofhowtothink
aboutnationalism-above
allinthe
tory?"),
differently
to be a vexedone. In
ongoingcontextof anti-imperialist
struggle-isproving
another
ofnationalism
havecausedradicalscholera,themanifest
volatility
might
arsto viewitwithcautiousoptimism
as theopensiteofpoliticalandideological
contestation.
Nationalist
as AnneMcClintock
haswritten,
"areconideologies,
testedsystems
ofrepresentation
enactedthrough
socialinstitutions,
andlegitimizandresources
ofthenation-state"
(104ing,orlimiting
people'saccesstotherights
ruinsofMarxism,
andwiththeirears
05). Stranded
however,
upontheperceived
withthecacophony
ofbourgeois
ringing
triumphalism,
manyoftoday'sradical
scholars
tendtoconstrue
nationalism
lessas volatilethanasJanus-faced.2
To these
McClintock
toHobsbawm),
"nationalisms
scholars,
(sherefers
suggests
specifically
aredangerous,
not...inthesensethattheyrepresent
relations
topolitical
powerand
to thetechnologies
ofviolence"but"in thesensethattheyshouldbe opposed"
(104).
This moveamongradicalWestern-based
scholarsto disavownationalism
toutcourtreceivesa distinctive
of
stampwithinthecontemporary
problematic
"colonialdiscourse
In an important
and challenging
in
theory."
essaypublished
drewattention
towhatsheidentified
asa widespread
1987,BenitaParry
"disparagdiscourses
ofresistance"
mostactively
associingofnationalist
amongthetheorists
atedwiththisproblematic.
withexplicit
reference
totheworkofGayatri
Writing
thatthepractical
conseChakravorty
SpivakandHomiBhabha,Parry
suggested
ofnationalist
discourse
wastowriteouttheevidenceof
quenceofthisdisparaging
concerted
resistance
tocolonialism
onthepartofthecolonized
(35).
I havewritten
elsewhere
aboutthedebatebetweenSpivakandParry,
sugthatalthough
thereareweaknesses
inSpivak'stheorization
ofnationalism
gesting
andsubaltemity,
isitself
onoccasiontobereductive
limited,
Parry's
reading
tending
andcareless
oftheparticularly
ofSpivak'sposition.3
As a general
enabling
insights
on colonialdiscourse
strikes
meas
however,
commentary
theory,
Parry's
critique
Foritisclearthata profound
toward
is
nationalism
beingindispensable.
hostility
muchinevidenceintheworkofsuchinfluential
colonialdiscourse
theorists
as,say,
andChristopher
Miller.Nationalist
discourse-both
Bhabha,TrinhT. Minh-ha,
inthewriting
of
(i.e.,colonial)andanticolonial-emerges
metropolitan
variously
theseandothertheorists
as coercive,
elitist,
authoritarian,
essentialist,
totalizing,
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NeilLazarus I
71
andreactionary.
Anticolonial
nationalist
discourse
is disparaged
forprecisely
the
samereasons
asmetropolitan
nationalist
andforoneadditional
andparadiscourse,
mount
reasonbesides:
itisheldtoamount
toa replication,
a reiteration,
oftheterms
ofcolonialdiscourse
itself.
inthisway,as correspondTo readthediscourse
ofanticolonial
nationalism
a doubling,
isnotnecessarily
ofcolonialdiscourse,
toconflate
the
ingtoa repetition,
two.After
ofthe'same'caninfactbe its
all,as Bhabhapointsout,"therepetition
owndisplacement,
canturntheauthority
intoitsownnon-sense
ofculture
precisely
initsmoment
ofenunciation.
Fortoimitate
istoclingtothedenialoftheego'slimiisto assimilate
to identify
tations;
216).Nor,moreconflictually"
("Articulating"
WhenSpivak
over,is thiskindofreading
peculiarto colonialdiscourse
theory.
notesthatMahasweta
Devi's"DoulotitheBountiful"
is a story
that"invites
[the
torealizethat...'Empire'
and'Nation'areinterchangeable
reader]
names,however
hardit mightbe...to imagineit" ("Woman"107), forexample,I, at least,am
reminded
ofAmaAta Aidoo'sstory
"ForWhomThingsDid NotChange"inNo
Sweetness
Here(1970) orofAyiKweiArmah's first
threenovels-The Beautyful
Ones AreNot YetBorn(1968), Fragments
(1970), and WhyAre We So Blest?
muchthesameargument.
whenSpivak,
(1972)-all ofwhichrehearse
Similarly,
withparticular
ofWomaninanticolonial
nationalist
emphasis
uponthefiguration
remarks
thatone isobliged,
on thestrength
of"recent
historical
examdiscourse,
thatevenif,inthecrisis
ofthearmedorpeaceful
women
ples,"to"suggest
struggle,
seemtoemerge
as comrades,
withthereturn
oftheeveryday
andintheporesofthe
theoldcodingsofthegendered
seemto
altered,
struggle,
body,sometimes
slightly
fallintoplace"("Woman"113),I think
ofthedevastating
AreWeSo
episodeinWhy
Blest?inwhichModinandAimee,guests
on a communal
farm
ina newlydecolonizedNorthAfrican
that:"Yes,wehavehada
state,areinformed
bythemanager
revolution.
Ourwomenhelpedusa lot.Theycontinue
tohelp,asyousee.Revolutionsarenotforturning
womenintomen"(243).
Nowhere
istheviewthatanticolonial
nationalism
bestberepresented
might
as an ambivalent
ofmetropolitan
discourse
rather
thanas an uncomduplication
alternative
toitmoresuggestively
thanintheworkofFrantz
promising
developed
Fanon.In hisessayon "ThePitfalls
ofNationalConsciousness"
inTheWretched
of
theEarth,
Fanonproduced
an excoriating
ofbourgeois
nationalist
anticocritique
a discourse
aimedatthe(re)attainment
ofnationhood
meansof
lonialism,
through
thecapture
andsubsequent
ofthecolonialstate,andwhichon Fan"occupation"
on'sreading
oftheeliteindigenous
classes.Fanon
represented
onlytheinterests
characterized
nationalist
anticolonialism
as"literally...good
fornothing"
bourgeois
he wrote,
was"quitesimply...
intonative
(176). Itsspecific
project,
[to]transfer
hands"-thehandsofbourgeois
nationalists-"those
unfair
whicharea
advantages
ofthebourgeois
nationlegacyofthecolonialperiod"(152).Thesocialaspirations
alistsweregeared
toward
neocolonial
classconsolidation:
thismeantthattheir
"historicmission"was to constitute
themselves
as functionaries,
the
straddling
international
division
oflaborbetween
andthesubaltern
metropolitan
capitalism
classesintheperipheries.
The "mission"
ofthenationalelites,Fanonargued,
"has
to do withtransforming
thenation;itconsists,
ofbeingthe
nothing
prosaically,
transmission
linebetweenthenationanda capitalism,
rampant
thoughcamouwhichtodayputsonthemaskofneo-colonialism"
flaged,
(152).
Now whilesomecontemporary
theorists
ofcolonialdiscourse
to
attempt
builduponFanon'srepudiation
ofbourgeois
Fanon'sownposition
nationalism,
typforthem.The difficulty
derives
from
thefactthatFanicallyposessevereproblems
on'scritique
ofbourgeois
nationalist
wasitself
delivered
from
analternative
ideology
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72
1
in African
Research
Literatures
nationalist
and seemsitself,
hence,deeplyvulnerableto a deconstructive
standpoint,
whosebroadcommitment
to poststrucreading-above all in theeyesoftheorists
turalistintellectualproceduresinclinesthem to a mistrust
of what Bhabha has
ratherdismissively
called "naivelyliberatory"
conceptionsoffreedom("Question"
102). As we shall see, Bhabha himselftendsto "solve"thisproblemby,in Parry's
words,"annex[ing]Fanon to Bhabha'sown theory"(Parry31), maintaining,for
instance,thatFanon'spoliticalvisiondoes "notallowanynationalorcultural'unisonance' in the imaginedcommunityof the future"("Question" 102). In truth,
however,Fanoncommitshimselfto preciselysucha 'unisonant'viewofthedecolonized state in distinguishing
categoricallybetween bourgeoisnationalismand
anotherwould-behegemonicformofnationalconsciousness-a liberationist,
antinationalistinternationalism,
in the Algerianarenabythe
imperialist,
represented
radical anti-colonialresistancemovement,the Frontde LiberationNationale
(FLN), to whosecauseFanondevotedhimselfactivelybetween1956 and 1961,the
yearofhis death.Of thislatter-"nationalitarian"(the termis Abdel-Malek's)formofconsciousness,
Fanonwrotethatit"is notnationalism"in thenarrowsense;
on thecontrary,
it"is theonlythingthatwillgiveus an international
dimension....
[I]t is nationalliberationwhichleads thenationto playitsparton thestageofhisconsciousness
tory.It is at the heartof nationalconsciousnessthat international
livesand grows"(247-48).
Because of thispalpable commitment
on Fanon'spartto a would-behegemonicnationalitariandiscourse,some theorists
withinthe generalproblematicof
colonialdiscoursetheoryhave movedtorepudiatehislegacy,chargingthathisideas
areas saturatedwithessentialist,
and latentlyauthoritarian
tendenciesas
totalizing,
those of his bourgeoisnationalistantagonists.Perhapsthe mostinteresting,
and
isthatadvancedbyChristopher
Miller,inhisrecent
revealing,oftheserepudiations
book,Theories
ofAfricans.
Since Fanonaddressedhimselfinsuchdetailto thequestionofnationalliberation,many"orthodox"Marxistshave envisionedhimas a nationalist-no matter
how progressive-rather
thanas a socialistrevolutionary
and have movedto criticizehimon thesegrounds.Miller,however,takesFanon'scommitment
to thequestion of the nationto be indissolubly
linkedto a commitment
to Marxism;and he
attacksFanon simultaneously
forhisnationalitarianism
and hisMarxism.Arguing
in generalthat"theMarxistapproachtendstoo muchtowardprojectionofa EurocentricparadigmontoAfrica,a continentin reference
to whichtermssuchas 'class
and 'proletariat'
need to be rethought"
(32), Millerclaimsto findthesame
struggle'
irreducibleEurocentrism
in Fanon's use of the languageof nation and national
liberation:
forevolution,
without
byplacingthewordat thecenterofhisconcern
questhecomplexities
ofitsapplication
todifferent
andcultural
tioning
geographical
Fanonwindsupimposing
hisownideaofnationinplaceswhere
environments,
itmayneedreappraising....
Farfrom
nationalentities"
orcohebeing"natural
sivenation-states,
themodemnations
ofblackAfrica
mustmakedowithborderscreated
tosatisfy
inthe"scramble
forAfrica,"
powerbrokering
European
borders
thatoftenviolaterather
thanreinforce
unitsofculture....
In Fanon's
thereis no analysisofwhata nationmightbe,
essayon nationalculture,
whether
itisthesameinreference
toAlgeria
asitisinreference
toGuinea,SentheCongo(nowZaire).The singlemostimportant
egalor,mostnotoriously,
factofpolitical
inblackAfrica,
existence
theartificiality
ofthenational
borders
and theconsequent
ofcultural
andlinguistic
receivesno
problem
disunity,
attention
(48).
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NeilLazarus 1
73
ofsomeofwhatMillersayshere.Itis
thevalidity
One muststart
byconceding
oftheideaofthenationon
indeedtruethatFanonfailstoquestionthepurchase
Inthisrespect
andminds.
he takesforgranted
theunforgoability
African
hearts
and
ofwhathasbeenimposed
eventheworld-historical
uponAfrica
"appropriateness"
but
He alsoprivileges
thenationas notonlythe"obvious"
bythecolonialpowers.
also thedecisive
to
unitof anti-imperialist
his
commitment
struggle.
Certainly,
issuchthathedoesnottheorize
ofnationhood
internationalism
theacquisition
as
anhistorical
terminus:
on thecontrary,
heinsists
ofa nationisof
that"thebuilding
andencouragement
ofuniversalizing
valnecessity
accompanied
bythediscovery
ues"(Wretched
Miller'sgeneralobservation
that
247). Butthisis onlyto confirm
Fanon'sthinking
follows
thecourseofmuchpost-Enlightenment
Western
thought
insubordinating
touniversal,
localtoglobal"(50).
"history...to
History,
particular
ItisalsoclearthatFanon'sconceptualization
ofthenationisderivative
ofthe
discourse
ofromantic
intheWest.Inhisessay"Nationalism:
nationalism
and
Irony
hasargued
that
Commitment,"
Terry
Eagleton
ofnationalism
oftheentry
intofull
ofa
self-realization
[t]he
speak
metaphysics
known
asthepeople.
Aswith
allsuchphilosophies
ofthesubunitary
subject
thismonadic
must
somehow
jectfrom
Hegeltothepresent,
subject
curiously
itsownprocess
ofmaterialization-must
beequipped,
evennow,
with
preexist
certain
determinate
needs
anddesires,
oftheautonomous
onthemodel
highly
human
(28)
personality.
Itisrelatively
theapplicability
ofthisformulation
toFanon's
simpletodemonstrate
nationalitarianism.
Fanon'sdiscourse
is fullofreferences
to theself-realization
of
theAlgerian
their
colonialism.
Andonat
people-as-nation
through
struggle
against
leastoneoccasion,he movesexplicitly
tofigure
therelation
between
individuality
andnationhood
inanessentialist
ofparticular
anduniversal:
language
Individual
because
itisnational
andbecause
itisa linkinthechain
experience,
ofnational
ceasestobe individual,
andshrunken
andis
existence,
limited,
enabled
toopenoutintothetruth
ofthenation
andoftheworld.
Inthesame
theperiod
ofarmed
eachfighter
heldthefortune
ofthe
waythat
during
struggle
inhishand,
nation
soduring
theperiod
ofnational
construction
eachcitizen
tocontinue
inhisreal,everyday
toassociate
himself
withthe
ought
activity
whole
ofthenation,
toincarnate
thecontinuous
dialectical
ofthenation
truth
andtowillthetriumph
ofmaninhiscompleteness
hereandnow.(Wretched
200)
YetMiller's
fundamental
Fanonislessthathisdiscourse
is
argument
against
derivative
ofEuropeantheory
thanthatit is inapposite-notto sayhostile-to
African
realities.
to numerous
Pointing
passagesin TheWretched
oftheEarthin
whichFanondoesindeedspeakoftheAfrican
in
what
Miller
as
peasantry
interprets
ethnocentric"
terms
asbeing"stuck
intime,
ofhistory,
outside
"massively
plunged...
intherepetition
without
ofan immobile
he claimsthatFanon
existence,"'
history
"leavesno roomforlocalknowledge":
Fanon'snationalitarian
historicism
commits
himtoviewing
asnohistory
atall"(50).
"precolonial
history
Thisreading
strikes
meas beingdeeplymisconceived.
To startwith,Miller
failstoacknowledge
numerous
inTheWretched
andelsewhere,
passages
oftheEarth,
in which-eventhoughhisfocusfallsfairly
on colonial
cultureunremittingly
Fanondoesquiteclearly
address
thespecificity
andinterior
ofprecolonial
adequacy
socialandcultural
I havealways
forms.
beenstruck,
forinstance,
bythepassagein
Violence"in whichFanoncelebrates
as profoundly
democratic
the
"Concerning
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74
I
Literatures
in African
Research
to "thesubstanceofvil"traditional"
protocolsofpubliccultureinAfrica.Referring
and theextraordinary
fruitfullageassemblies,thecohesionofpeople'scommittees,
he maintainsthat
nessoflocal meetingsand groupments,"
hasbeenmuchtalkedaboutoflate,butfewpeoplerealizethatit
Self-criticism
inthedjemaas
ofnorthern
isanAfrican
Whether
Africa
orinthe
institution.
whichoccurin
ofwestern
tradition
demands
thatthequarrels
Africa,
meetings
a villageshouldbesettled
inpublic.Itiscommunal
ofcourse,
and
self-criticism,
andbecausein thelast
witha noteofhumor,
becauseeverybody
is relaxed,
weallwantthesamethings.
resort
(47-48)
in
"On
thereis a good deal ofinformed
and
the
National
Culture,"
Similarly,
essay
ofprecolonial
appreciativediscussionofthestyles,themes,tonalities,and registers
culture.Statingquiteexplicitlythatthereis"nothingto be ashamedofin the[African] past,"Fanon remarksthatone will encounterthereonly"dignity,
glory,and
solemnity"(210). He also refersfreelyto the "wonderfulSonghai civilization,"
can compensateforor alter
however,thatno numberofsuchreferences
observing,
"thefactthattodaythe Songhaisare underfedand illiterate,thrownbetweensky
and waterwithemptyheads and emptyeyes"(209). To suggest,in thefaceofsuch
passagesas these,thatFanonhad nothingbutcontemptforprecolonialAfricanculturesor thathe regardedthesocial universethattheyregistered
and to whichthey
constituteda responseonly as "a primitivestage to be transcended,or... 'liquidated'" (Miller 49) seemsindefensible.
Certainly,such a readingdoes not in my
viewfindmuchwarrantin Fanon'swork.
The fundamental
errorcommitted
FanbyMiller,I believe,isto misconstrue
on'srepresentation
ofAfricanculturein theeraofcolonialismas a representation
of
a history-less,
culture-less
Millerfailsto reckonwithFanon'sconprecoloniality.
structionof colonialismas a total and elementalrupturewithinAfricanhistory.
Alreadyin BlackSkin,WhiteMasks(1952), Fanon had viewedcolonialismin these
terms:
theNegrohasbeengiventwoframes
ofreference
within
whichhe
Overnight
hashadtoplacehimself.
Hismetaphysics,
hiscustoms
and
or,lesspretentiously,
onwhichtheywerebased,werewipedoutbecausethey
thesources
wereinconflictwitha civilization
thathe didnotknowandthatimposed
itself
on him
(110).
We need topayattentionhereto thetimeframeimplicated-"Overnight"--and
to
the effect
ofcolonialismas Fanon sees it-"customs... wipedout."Fanon does not
undercolonialismor thattheywent
saythatprecolonialcustomsweresuppressed
into decline. On the contrary,
he insiststhattheywereobliterated,
and thatthis
obliterationwas instantaneous.
Elsewherein BlackSkin,WhiteMasks,he usesthis
of the experienceof colonization.A colonized
conceptionto grounda definition
people,he writes,is one "in whosesoul an inferiority
complexhas been createdby
thedeath
andburial
(18; emphasis
added).Again,coloofitslocalcultural
originality"
nialismisphrasedas utterly
destructive
ofprecolonialculture.
In TheWretched
oftheEarth-as thepassagecitedabove on thesubjectofthe
ofpubliccultureattests-Fanon occasionallyseemspreparedto soften
reflexivity
thispositionslightly,
toallowthatinsomeareasand toa limited
itismeaningful
degree
to speakofprecolonialculturalformssurvivingintothecolonial era.Yetthesame
as beforecontinuesto underpinhis analysisofcolonialism.
generalunderstanding
In "On National Culture,"thus,he arguesthat"[t]hecolonialsituationcalls a halt
to nationalculturein almosteveryfield....A nationalcultureundercolonialdomination is a contestedculturewhose destructionis soughtin systematic
fashion"
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NeilLazarus 1
75
in "ConcerningViolence,"he speculatesthat"[t]heappearanceof
(237). Similarly,
the settlerhas meantin thetermsofsyncretism
thedeathoftheaboriginalsociety,
culturallethargy,
and thepetrification
ofindividuals"(93).
We comeclose,here,to sensingbothwhyFanonshouldreferto thecultureof
the colonizedin thedisparaging
termsthatso offendMiller,and whatis at stakefor
himin doingso. Millerhas it thatFanon holds Africanculturein contempt.The
truthisquitedifferent.
Forina significant
senseFanondoesnotregardthecultureof
the colonizedin Africaas "Africanculture"at all! On the contrary,
the cultureof
the colonizedis forhim a starklycolonial projection,bespeakinga colonial logic
cannotbe redeemed
that,fromthestandpointofthecolonizedmassesthemselves,
ofcolonialismitself:"The immobility
to whichthe
exceptthroughthedestruction
nativeis condemnedcan onlybe called in questionifthenativedecidesto putan
end to thehistoryofcolonization-the historyofpillage-and to bringintoexistencethehistory
ofthenation-the history
ofdecolonization"(51).
RatherlikeEdwardW. Said'sconceptofthe"oriental"orSpivak'softhe"subwithincolonialdiscoursethatareimposeduponand,subsequently,
altern"-figures
takenup underduressand "lived"by,colonizedpopulations-Fanon's conceptof
the"native"or the"Negro"is not to be thoughtofas merelydescriptive
ofindependentlyexisting(African)subjects.This isa pointabsolutelyinsisteduponbyFanon:
he notestimeand again thatthe figureof the native is not autochthonous,
but is
rathera construct
ofcolonialism-in fact,ofthesettler:"The settlerand thenative
areold acquaintances.In fact,thesettlerisrightwhenhe speaksofknowing'them'
verywell.Foritisthesettlerwhohasbroughtthenativeintoexistenceandwhoperpetuateshisexistence"(36); and,elsewhere:
The settler
makeshistory;
hislifeisan epoch,an Odyssey.
He is theabsolute
"Thislandwascreated
cause:thecountry
beginning:
byus";heistheunceasing
willgobacktothemiddleages."Overagainst
himtorpid
wastedby
creatures,
obsessed
form
analmostinorganic
for
fevers,
customs,
byancestral
background
theinnovating
ofcolonialmercantilism.
(51)
dynamism
In addressing
himselfto "native"culture,therefore,
Fanon isnotaddressing
himself
to "traditional"
Africanculture.On thecontrary,
he is addressing
himselfto a culturefabricated
almostentirely
bycolonialism,a culturethatpositionsthenativeas
itsdegradedother:
Thenativeisdeclared
insensible
toethics;
herepresents
notonlytheabsenceof
ofvalues.He is,letusdaretoadmit,
theenemy
of
values,butalsothenegation
evil.He is thecorrosive
values,andin thissensehe is theabsolute
element,
allthatcomesnearhim;he isthedeforming
all
destroying
element,
disfiguring
thathastodowithbeauty
ormorality;
heisthedepository
ofmaleficent
powers,
theunconscious
andirretrievable
instrument
ofblindforces.
(41)4
Pace Miller,then,Fanon does not arguethatprecolonial
Africancultureis
"plunged...in the repetitionwithout
historyofan immobileexistence."This statementrefersto the worldof colonialculture.Nor is precolonialcultureheld to be
ifnottotallythenverynearly
"primitive";
rather,it isheld to have been destroyed,
so. Forthisreason,Fanon maintainsthatcolonialismcan onlybe combattedon its
as itwere-that is,on thebasisofnationalitarian
"ownterrain,"
Nations,of
struggle.
course,like"natives,"area functionofcolonialism,
havingbeen imposeduponAfrican populationsforreasonshavinglittleto do withtheirown aspirations,
and in
accordancewitha social logicfundamentally
alien to them.But the materiality
of
colonialismmustbe reckonedwith,and cannotsimplybe wishedaway,byitsantagonists.As PatrickTaylorhas putit,althoughperhapstoo muchin thevocabularyof
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76
I
in African
Research
Literatures
individualagency:"[o]ne has to defineoneselfin termsofone's oppositionto the
colonial system"(60). Colonialismcannot be overturnedexceptthroughanticothe colonial
lonial struggle;
and, as the historicalrecordhas surelydemonstrated,
statecannotbe capturedand appropriated
exceptas a nationstate.It onlyremains
to be askedwhatkindofnation-state.
Hence Fanon'scritiqueofbourgeoisnationalhas broughtnationaliism,and his insistencethatthe nationalliberationstruggle
tarianconsciousnessintoexistenceas a fundamental
practicalreality:
The Algerian
thosemenandwomen
illiterates,
people,thatmassofstarving
in themostappalling
haveheldoutagainst
plungedforcenturies
obscurity
tanksandairplanes,
butaboveall
services,"
against
napalmand"psychological
and brainwashing,
againsttraitorsand againstthe
againstcorruption
ofGeneralBellounis.
Thispeoplehasheldoutinspiteofhes"national"
armies
Thispeoplehas
itantorfeebleindividuals,
andinspiteofwould-be
dictators.
heldoutbecauseforsevenyearsitsstruggle
hasopenedupforitvistasthatit
neverdreamed
existed.
(Wretched
188)
One notessome imprecision
on Fanon'spartas to the relationship
between
thisdecolonizedworldthatthe Algerianpeople are said to be bringingintoexistenceand theprecolonialsocial order.Fanonspeaksat one pointofthe"tabularasa
at theoutsetall decolonization,"addingthat"theproofofsucwhichcharacterizes
cess lies in a wholesocial structure
beingchangedfromthe bottomup" (35). This
tellsusabouttherelationship
betweenthedecolonizedfuture
and thecolonial
present,
butnotwhethertheformer
is to be understoodas amountingin anysenseto a restitutionofprecolonialsociality.The claimthatthe liberationstruggle
is openingup
vistasthatthepeople"neverdreamedexisted"suggests
not,butthereareotherpassages in The Wretched
of theEarth-particularlythose concerningnational culture-that seem to encouragea different
reading.We have alreadyglanced at
Fanon'saffirmative
ofsuchtraditionallegislativeforaas thedjemcharacterization
aas or thevillageassembly(withrespectto sub-SaharanAfrica,one thinkshereof
like the kgotlain Botswana),which seem to providemodelsforthe
institutions
futureto emulate.And consideralso the followingpassage,in whichFanon celebratestheemergenceofnewstorytelling
practicesundertheauspicesofthenational
liberationmovementand arguesthat,wherethe colonial orderhad renderedoral
traditions"inert"and reducedprecolonialculturalformsto a stateofpetrification,
thesenew practicesoperatein accordancewith,and offerto redeem,the vibrant
and communitarian
culturalpracticesoftheprecolonialera:
the oral tradition-stories,epics, and songsof the people-which formerly
were[sic]filedawayas setpiecesarenow beginningto change.The storytellers
whousedto relateinertepisodesnowbringthemalive and introduceintothem
modifications
whichareincreasingly
fundamental.
Thereisa tendency
tobring
conflicts
thekindsofstruggle
whichthestories
evoke,
uptodateandmodernize
withthenamesofheroesandthetypesofweapons.
The method
of
together
allusionis moreand morewidelyused.... The contactofthe people withthe
newmovement
oflifeandtoforgotten
muscular
tengivesrisetoa newrhythm
a fresh
relates
sions,anddevelopstheimagination.
Everytimethestoryteller
episodetohispublic,he presidesovera realinvocation.The existenceofa new
tothepublic.The present
isno longer
inupon
turned
typeofmanisrevealed
itself
butspread
outforalltosee.Thestoryteller
oncemoregivesfreereintohis
(240)5
imagination.
I have been arguingthatFanon'sthinkingaboutcolonialcultureis premised
upona preliminary
assumptionas tothedecisivenessofthetransformation
wrought
bycolonialism,suchthatscarcelyanythingofprecolonialAfricancultureisseen to
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NeilLazarus 1
77
thisinitialassumption,
survive
intothecolonialera.SinceMillerfailstorecognize
he isobviouslyinno positionto putpressure
here,itseems
uponit.Yetit isprecisely
tome-and notwithrespect
toanysupposed
onFanon'sparttoward
contempt
precolonialAfrican
Fanon'stheorization
is legitimately
to
culture-that
susceptible
cultural
criticism.
Fortheplainfactis that,throughout
and
Africa,
precolonial
oftenintact,and in some instances
ideologicalformssurvivedmeaningfully,
but
thecolonialera.Indeed,they
not
also
unaffected, onlyinto,
entirely
through,
continue
tosurvive
inthe"postcolonial"
today,
meaningfully
present.
ofthispointcannotbeoverestimated.
However
Thesignificance
central
the
ideamight
incorrect
whenhemaintains
thatthe
betohisanalysis,
Fanonissimply
cultural
ofcolonialism
entails"thedeathoftheaboriginal
lethimposition
society,
ofindividuals"
of"thedeathofthe
andthepetrification
(Wretched
93).Reports
argy,
in Fanon,one is tempted
to say,aregreatly
The
aboriginal
society"
exaggerated.
corrective
to Fanonis provided
necessary
byAmilcarCabralin a paperentitled
"NationalLiberation
in1970.Inthispaper,
andCulture,"
delivered
Cabral
initially
out
that
certain
the
was
not
colonization
"[w]ith
points
exceptions, period
of
long
atleastinAfrica,
fortheretobea significant
ofdestruction
ordamenough,
degree
facets
oftheculture
andtraditions
ofthesubject
ageofthemostimportant
people"
(60).
Atthetheoretical
consists
ina confusion
ofdominance
with
level,Fanon'serror
Fora majority
ofthecolonized,
aboveall those(mostly
hegemony.6
peasant)membersofthesubaltern
classeslivingat someremovefromtheadministrative
and
urbancenters
ofcolonialpower,
colonialism
wasexperienced
increasingly
preemiinterms
ofdominance,
thatis,alongthelinesofmaterial,
andeconently
physical,
nomic exaction:conquest,taxation,conscription,
forcedlabor,eviction,
etc.Therewascomparatively
littleattempt
onthepartofthecolonial
dispossession,
establishment
toseekhegemony
classes,thatis,towintheir
amongthesesubaltern
andintellectual
forcolonialism.
The explicit
moral,cultural,
ideological,
support
of colonialhegemonization
werethe nationalor (sometimes)
targets
regional
elites.7
One consequence
ofthiswasthatalthough
thesubaltern
classescouldon
occasionbe recruited
tothecampaigns
ofthecolonialgovernment
ortheindigenouselites-andalthough
theimposition
andconsolidation
ofcolonialruleobviand long-term
effects
on the way in whichsubaltern
ouslyhad cumulative
andthought-inherited
subaltern
cultural
forms
lived,worked,
populations
(lanwereabletoretainboththeirtraditionality
and
guage,dance,music,
storytelling)
theirautonomy
frommostforms
ofeliteculture(colonialand "national").
The
pointismadethusbyPatrick
Taylor:
Thecolonizer's
culture
andhisorherlanguage,
inparticular,
isthemedium
which
values
andlife-style
canbepresented
asthenorm
and
through
European
thegood,andinrelation
towhich
thecolonized
todefine
themselves.
begin
themajority
ofthecolonized,
unlike
thecolonial
areableto
Still,
bourgeoisie,
maintain
a certain
from
distance
these
norms
them
andrecreating
byresisting
traditional
cultural
(60)
patterns.
Nowitisnotasthough
Fanonisaltogether
blindtothisdistinction
between
theforms
ofsubjugation
classesamongthecolonized.
Itcan
undergone
bydifferent
be argued
thatinBlackSkin,White
Masks,at least,he tendstogeneralize
certainly
from
theideological
ofhisownclass-fraction-that
of
unwarrantedly
experience
thecolonizedintelligentsia-to
the experience
of the colonizedpopulation
at
Buteventhere,
hedoesfinally
movetodifferentiate
between
themotivations
large.8
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78
1
in African
Literatures
Research
thatunderlie"thequestfordisalienationbya doctorofmedicinebornin Guadeloupe"and thatof"theNegrolaborerbuildingtheportfacilitiesin Abidjan" (223).
In theformer
case,"alienation"isdescribedas being"ofan almostintellectualcharbasedon theexploitation
acter";in thelatter,"itisa questionofa victimofa system
ofa givenracebyanother,on thecontemptin whicha givenbranchofhumanityis
heldbya formofcivilizationthatpretendsto superiority"
(223-24).
Unlike PatrickTaylor,however,I do not findFanon'sconceptionofthedistinctionbetweeneliteand massesconvincing.What isat issue,forme,isnotmerely
whetherFanon recognizes
thatwhatis trueofthe colonizedelite is not necessarily
ofthecolonizedpopulation.Rather,itis a matterofthewaysin
trueofthemajority
he thenproceedsto thinkaboutthe social
which,on thebasisofthisrecognition,
And here,it
existenceand the formsofconsciousnessof thiscolonizedmajority.
seemsto me,Fanon'ssuppositionthat-in Taylor'swords-"[i]n the creationofa
colonial world,precoloniallifeand horizonswere totallytransformed
and shattered"(47) beginsto loomas a decisiveliability.
Forinasmuchas he severelyunderestimatestheresilienceand vitalityof"traditional"
culturalformsand practicesin
the colonial era,Fanon rendershimselfincapableofunderstanding
exactlywhatis
at stakeforthesubalternclassesin theirinvolvementin anticolonialism.
Fanonhas,ingeneral,an insufficient
graspofwhatRanajitGuha, in thecontextofcolonialIndia,refers
to as theautonomous"politicsofthepeople":
thecolonial
parallelto thedomainofelitepoliticsthereexistedthroughout
ofIndianpolitics
domain
inwhichtheprincipal
actors
werenot
periodanother
thedominant
oftheindigenous
orthecolonialauthorities
but
groups
society
thesubaltern
classesandgroups
themassofthelabouring
constituting
populationandtheintermediate
intownandcountry-that
strata
is,thepeople.This
wasanautonomous
foritneither
from
elitepolitics
nordid
domain,
originated
itsexistence
4)
dependonthelatter.
("Aspects"
In thespecificcase ofAlgeria,Fanon'sfailuretocreditthedegreetowhichsubaltern
consciousnessin thecolonialperiodisstillgovernedbyvital"traditional"
protocols
causeshimto misreadthemassrecruitment
oftheAlgerianpeasantry
to theFLN as
to theirembraceoftheFLN'splatform.
In TheWretched
oftheEarth,thus,
testifying
he speaksof the "upwardthrustof the people" and declaresthatthe people have
"decided,in thenameofthewholecontinent,to weighinstrongly
againstthecolonial regime";andhe refers
to the"coordinatedeffort
on thepartoftwohundredand
millionmen to triumphover stupidity,
at the same
fifty
hunger,and inhumanity
time"(164).
In mybook,Resistance
inPostcolonial
I arguethatthistendencyon
Literature,
Fanon'spartto projecta unityand coordinatedpoliticalwillonto themassesofthe
Algerianpopulationin the late 1950s cannot withstandclose historicalscrutiny.
Foritis impossible,in Fanon'sreading,to accountforthewholesaledemobilization
and disenfranchisement
of "the people" in the yearsimmediatelyfollowingthe
acquisitionofindependencein Algeriain 1962,afteran anticolonialwarthathad
lastedforeightyearsand claimeda millionAlgerianlives.Such a developmentcannotbe reconciledwithFanon'sevocationofa disciplinedand progressively
unified
as the struggleagainstthe
populationcomingcloserand closerto self-knowledge
Frenchcolonial forcesintensified.
It seemsinconceivablethat,havingbeen deciconscientizedduringthe anticolonialstruggle(as
sivelyand world-historically
Fanon claimstheyhad been), thispopulationwouldhave permitted
itselfto be so
afterdecolonization.The truth,
wouldseem
easilyand so quicklyneutralized
rather,
to be thatas a classtheAlgerianpeasantry
wasnevercommittedto thevisionofthe
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NeilLazarus 1
79
Thuslan Clegg,onthe
undertheFLN'sleadership.
FLN,evenwhenitwasfighting
in Algeriain the
basisofhisresearch
intosubaltern
politicsandstateformation
in1962,claimsthat
years
following
independence
ofthepopulation
ofthetraditional
rural
areasintheinde[t]heinvolvement
must
beclearly
from
their
infaceofits
pendence
struggle
separated
passivity
Thepeasants
were
for
aftermath.
whatthey
as
revolutionary
fighting
regarded
their
intheArab,
inheritance:
a heritage
rooted
andIslamic
Berber,
firmly
past.
Theirconsciousness
inthevalues
wasrooted
andtraditions
ofthispast,and
their
aimwasitsre-creation.
(239)
Nowitshouldbe concededthatas a moreorless"orthodox"
Marxist-and
inthelate1960s-Cleggconstrues
thepolitical
consciousness
of
moreover,
writing,
theAlgerian
thewarofindependence
ascharacterpeasantry
during
disparagingly,
isticofpeasantsas a classglobally.
He arguesthatwhiletheAlgerianpeasantry
wellhavecommitted
itself
toa chauvinistic
fortherestitution
ofits
might
struggle
itlackedtheideological
resources
totransform
thisstruggle
intoa full"homeland,"
socialrevolution:
as a concept,is aliento thepeasantcon"[r]evolution,
fledged
whilethepeasants'
totheenvironment
remains
oneofpassciousness,
relationship
siveendurance
rather
thanactivetransformation"
(239). It wouldnotbe difficult
theinsufficiency
ofthissortofstatement.
Recentwork
todaytodemonstrate
bysuch
asJames
scholars
Benedict
andthesocialhistoriScott,TerenceRanger,
Kerkvliet,
ans associated
withtheDelhi-based
Subalter Studiesprojecthas servedpretty
tofalsify
theideathatpeasants'
totheirworld
canbecharthoroughly
relationship
interms
acterized
ofpassivity.
Itsgreatstrength
seemstome
Despitethis,I findClegg'sanalysis
compelling.
toconsist
inthefactthatitisabletoaccountbothfortheAlgerian
compeasantry's
mitment
tothestruggle
forindependence,
ontheonehand,and,ontheother,
forits
lackofconcerted
infaceoftheanti-socialist
militancy
policiesoftheyearsimmediwhen"[n]either
thepeasantry
northesubproletariat
decolonization,
atelyfollowing
roleintheevents"(239). Clegg'sobservaplayedanyotherthana purely
negative
thatFanon"lacksa critical
anddialectical
oftheprocess
of
tion,therefore,
analysis
theformation
ofconsciousness"
asplausible
andjudicious.
ForFanon's
(239),rings
formulations
are consistently
in tone,oftenphrasing
intellectualist
subaltern
intheelitist
andpractice
idealist
ofnegation,
abstract
totalizathought
vocabulary
tion,andselfactualization.
It is worthnoting,
thatto theextentthatFanon'scontemporary
therefore,
followers
remain
faithful
tohisownideasinthisrespect,
their
tendsitself
to
writing
berevealingly
intellectualist.
Consider
thefollowing
twopassages
from
Patrick
Taylor'sTheNarrative
forexample.In thefirst,
Fanon's
ofLiberation,
Taylorisglossing
theorization
ofdecolonization:
Fanon
istheprocess
crushed
with
Decolonization,
writes,
whereby
"spectators
their
aretransformed
into"privileged
with
thegrandiose
actors,
inessentiality"
ofhistory's
riseabove
[Wretched
glare
36].Thecolonized
floodlights
uponthem"
theManichaean
oftheworld
asa tragic
drama
toassume
ahistorical
conception
oftheworld
asinfinite
human
conception
possibility.
Theyrecognize
agency
andresponsibility
inanopenandunknowable
Fanon's
notion
ofthe
history.
intohistory
must
beunderstood,
notinManichaean
butinterms
of
entry
terms,
thestepping
outofdrama
andtheassumption
(mythical,
tragic
understanding)
ofhistorical,
andhuman
national,
(70)
responsibility.
In thesecond,Tayloris referring
to Fanon'stheory
oftheroleofviolencein the
anticolonial
struggle:
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80
I
in African
Literatures
Research
thatisthekeytodecolonization
It isnottheactofviolentstruggle
but,rather,
ofthe
intohistory,
theconsciousness
therevolutionary
entry
leap,the"willed"
of
from
a situation
WhatmovestheHegeliandialectic
categorical
imperative.
istherecognition
tooneofmutual
exclusive
recognition,
mutually
protagonists
as an active,freely
creative
ofoneself
oftheotherandtherecognition
being.
(85)
I citethesepassagesbothbecauseI believethattheyprovidea reliable(if,perhaps,
one-sided)account of Fanon's own conceptionof decolonization,and because I
ofpopularanticolonialstruggle
are
believethattheirweaknessesas representations
Briefly
put,theproblememergesfromthefactthattheradical
veryclearlymarked.9
of
intellectualpositionssubalternthoughtand actionas theexactsubstantification
it
almost
are
so
that
and
his revolutionary
closelyaligned
practice
theory.Theory
theformer.
One isreminded
to confirm
seemsas thoughthelatterexistsprincipally
totheCritiqueof
ofthosepassagesin theearlyMarx-the MarxoftheContribution
the
that
the
1844)-that
(
Europeanprogive
impression
ofRight
Hegel'sPhilosophy
and the capitalistsystem
letariatwill soon be risingup to smashprivateproperty
dissolution
thenegation,"theeffective
because,as an emergentclass,itrepresents
theorizedin thisway,howcouldtheproletarofthisorder"(59). Comprehensively
iatfailto overthrow
capitalism,and,withit,classsocietyas such! SimilarlyFanon
toconstructitas
and Taylorareoftentemptedto "overread"anticolonialmilitancy,
ofa revolutionary
theobjectivecorrelative
philosophy.
That the massesact; thattheyact againstthe colonial order;thattheyact
underthebannerofthenationalliberationmovement-all ofthesethingsare true.
to "theconsciousness
ofthesemassactionsas corresponding
Butthe interpretation
of"humanagencyand responsibilofthecategoricalimperative"
orto a recognition
I
ityin an open and unknowablehistory"seemsappropriativein its externality.
ofFanon'sauthority
as thespokesshouldstressthatI do not doubtthe legitimacy
at thesametime,however,a cerpersonofthe massesin the anticolonialstruggle;
intheplaceoforinstead
tainunwarranted
of-seems
"speakingfor"-thatis,speaking
to be involvedhere.
It is preciselyin this contextthat GayatriChakravortySpivak's warning
about the need to "watchout forthe continuingconstructionof the subaltern"
seemsespeciallytimely("Subaltern"295). One of Spivak'sinsistentcontentions,
afterall, is thatthe "genuinelydisenfranchised"
amongthe colonizedare representedas subalter notonlyinthetextsofempire,butalso in"thegreatnarratives
of
secularism,and culturalism,"whose unfolding
nationalism,internationalism,
of anticolonialism("Practical"102). In Fanon's world,the
marksthe trajectory
areplainlythepeasantclasses,ofwhomhe writesthat
"genuinelydisenfranchised"
forthemostpartbythepropagandaputoutby
are
"systematically
they
disregarded
the nationalistparties.And it is clear thatin the colonial countriesthe peasants
fortheyhave nothingto lose and everything
alone are revolutionary,
to gain"
61 ). Fanon'sownworkdistinguishes
itselfsharply
fromnationalistpropa(Wretched
oftheAlgerianpeasantry
as a
gandain thisrespect.Buteven in his representations
force,thereis no sustainedconsiderationof the waysin whichthe
revolutionary
ends,or
peasants'viewsfailto matchthoseoftheFLN leadershipor aim at different
reflect
another
social logic.
In the lightoftheseconsiderations,
it mightbe usefulforus to returnat this
on Fanon in TheoriesofAfricans
and to
pointto ChristopherMiller'scommentary
aboutthedirectionthatMiller'sreadingtakes.ForMiller,as
saysomethingfurther
we have seen,Fanon'sweaknessis seen to consistnot in an underestimation
ofthe
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NeilLazarus 1
81
of"traditional"
andforms
ofthought
in thecolonial
politicalpractices
persistence
fortradition.
is thatthis"conMiller's
era,butin a contempt
generalsuggestion
of Marxisttheory,
whichis heldto "lack...relativism";
tempt"is characteristic
witha universalizing
to Miller,
isconstrained
optic,Marxism,
according
operating
inthenameofwhichittendsto
toward
a "totalizing
togesture
conceptually
unity,"
orsubsume"
"overlook
thatwhichitcannotassimilate
(64).
difference,
or'liquidate'
Marxism
claims
"to
the
vision"
fully
integrated
invariably
possess only
political...
(32).
as aggressively
andas
Withrespect
toFanon,Milleradvancesthisargument
as
even
at
one
that
Fanon's
about
possible,
tendentiously
claiming
point
ignorance
andarrogance
ofthatofHegelor
toward
African
isreminiscent
precolonial
history
statement
resorted
to accidentally.
(50)! Noris thisextreme
HughTrevor-Roper
On thecontrary,
introduced
us
to
a
of
having
conception "ethnicity"-tentatively
Amsellandothers,
as "a senseofidentity
anddifferdefined,
Jean-Loup
following
enceamongpeoples,
ona fiction
ororigin
andsubject
founded
anddescent
toforces
ofpolitics,
and
culture"
maintains
that
commerce,
(35
)-Miller
language, religious
Fanon'simposition
ofthecategory
of"nation"
cultures
ideouponAfrican
organized
"ethnic"
modesofself-understanding
around
hastobeaccounted
anactof
logically
of
such
colossalproportions
thatitinvites
withthe
violence,
epistemic
comparison
violenceofcolonialdiscourse
itself.
"Whatmatters
whatismostimpressive
in
most,
"isthesheerpowerofa theoretical
truth
todictatewho
Fanon,"he writes,
reading
shallliveandwhoshallbe liquidated"
is
(50-51).Andjustas colonialdiscourse
sotooMillercastsFanon's
bytherepressive
undergirded
powerofthecolonialstate,
discourse
as theofficial
ofan empowered
Thisseemsimplausible,
ideology
regime.
sinceFanondiedin1961,withthestruggle
forindependence
stilltobewoninAlgeria.Miller,however,
brushes
thisfactasidein constructing
an imageofFanon's
withbourgeois
ofRobespierre
or
politicalphilosophy
fully
compatible
nightmares
LeninorMao.When,forinstance,
Fanoncallsforthe"liquidation
ofregionalism
andoftribalism"
himself
tothecollaborative
roleplayedbymany
and,addressing
localrulers
in an attempt
to
(thedeliberate
wooingofwhombycolonialregimes,
facilitate
thepacification
oflocalpopulations,
iswelldocumented),
that
suggests
is thepreliminary
to theunification
ofthepeople"(Wretched
"[t]heir
liquidation
that"Fanon's
tolocalresistance
istocall
94),Millerdrawstheconclusion
response
outthefiring
reverses
thelogistics
ofpowerinthe
squad"(Miller50).Thestatement
colonialcontext.
Itwasnotthenational
liberation
movement
butthecolonialstate
thattendedtousefiring
buttheofficial
squads;anditwasnot"localresistance"
supthatmandated
theliberation
front's
pression
oflocalresistance
"response."
Millerthengoesevenfurther:
inan extraordinarily
dehistoricizing
analysis,
heattempts
toimplicate
FanoninSekouToure's
execution
ofpoet-politician
Keita
FodibainGuineain 1969!Rhetorically,
hisquestionas towhether
"thefactthat
SekouTourewrapped
himself
in Marxist
andFanoniandiscourse
ma[kes]Fanon
forthereignofterror
inGuinea"isalready
answered
inbeingasked.But
responsible
Milleris careful
to affect
he statesthatKeitaFodiba'sexecution
scrupulousness:
cannotbereadasa "necessary
ofeither
Marxism
orFanon'stheories"
(62;
outgrowth
thisostentatious
issurely
added).However,
emphasis
circumspection
compromised
between
an earlier
observation
that,whenalive,Fanonoften
bybeingpositioned
citedToureas a "practitioner
ofwhat...[Fanon]preache[d]"
(52), andthesubsethatFanon's"discourse
onliberating
violenceinevitably
quentsuggestion
[leads]to
ontheviolenceofdiscourse"
SekouToure's
Guinea
(63).V°Inconstructing
thoughts
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82
I
in African
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Literatures
as a modelofFanonismrealized,Millercompletelyignoresa centralfeatureofFanon's analysisof "the pitfallsof national consciousness."In his essayof thistitle,
Fanon had spokenwithremarkable
prescienceoftheevolutionofpreciselysuch a
leaderas Sekou Toure,a "man ofthe people" who mighthave had "behindhim a
butwhoseobjectivehistorical
lifetimeofpoliticalactionand devotedpatriotism,"
functionit wouldbecome in the postcolonialera to "constitutea screenbetween
thepeople and therapaciousbourgeoisie"(Wretched
167-68). No matterhow progressivethe rolehe playedpriorto independencemighthave been,Fanon argued,
thispopulistleader,positionbetween"thepeople"and theelite,wouldfindhimself
in thepostcolonialera,intothepositionofpacifierof"thepeople":
thrust,
hasbeenwon,wesee[theleader]
Foryears
onendafter
incapable
independence
to
ofurging
on thepeopletoa concrete
task,unablereallytoopenthefuture
weseehim
themintothepathofnationalreconstruction;
themorofflinging
ofindependence
andrecalling
thesacredunityofthe
thehistory
reassessing
forliberation....
thestruggle
forliberation
theleaderawakened
During
struggle
thepeopleandpromised
thema forward
heroicandunmitigated.
march,
Today,
he useseverymeanstoputthemto sleep,andthreeorfourtimesa yearasks
themtoremember
thecolonialperiodandtolookbackon thelongwaythey
havecomesincethen.(168-69).
Farfrombeing"responsible"in anywayforthe directiontakenbySekou Toureas
theleaderofGuinea afterindependence,Fanonhad alreadyforeseenitslikelihood
and triedto warnagainstit. Miller pointsto the contradictionbetweenToure's
socialistideology"and thefactthat"hisGuinea was alwaysdominated
"ostensibly
as thoughthistellsin somewayagainstFanon and
bymultinational
corporations,"
Fanonism(60-61). Fanon,however,does not need thislesson;beforeit had even
enteredthepoliticalvocabulary,
he had alreadysubjected"Africansocialism"to a
blistering
critique."
MillerpaintsFanon in the colorsof despotismin orderto suggestthatany
alternativehegemonicdiscourseis predicatedupon a willto powerthatcannot,in
ethicalterms,be distinguished
fromthewillto powermaterially
exemplified
bythe
dominantdiscourseitself.Fanon'snationalitarianism,
on thisreading,existsonlyas
a latentrecapitulation
ofcolonialism:betweenit and colonialismthereis littleto
choose. A European-derived
nationalitarianism
is withoutorganicrootsin
import,
Africansoil and can be imposeduponAfricaonlybyforce.Because itis a totalizing
discourse,there can be no dialogue between it and the "local" discoursesof
"ethnicity."
In recoilingfromFanonismand nationalism,Millercalls fora new cultural
criticalanthropology"
relativism,"retooledas contemporary
(66). Appealingto
intellectuals
tounlearntheirprivilege,
toreimagineuniversalizing
thoughtas "local
knowledge"(65), he goesto considerablelengthsto disclaimanyprivilegeforintelofsubalternpopulationsis concerned.
lectuals,above all wheretherepresentation
criticaltheoristsin embracinga standIndeed,he joins manyothercontemporary
pointfromwhichthe veryidea ofspeakingforotherscomesto be viewedas a discreditedaspiration,and secretlyauthoritarian.12
What is at issuehere,it seemsto
a premature
me, is a kindof intellectualist
anti-intellectualism,
post-Foucauldian
disavowalofthe problematicofrepresentation
as such. It is one thingto concede,
withSpivak,thatunlessintellectuals
"watchoutforthecontinuingconstruction
of
the subaltern,"
theirworkwilltendto be "sustained"bythe "assumptionand constructionofa consciousnessorsubject,"and thatthisassumption/construction
will
"in thelongrun"assurethattheirwork"cohere[s]withtheworkofimperialist
subject-constitution,
minglingepistemicviolencewiththe advancementoflearning
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NeilLazarus I
83
and civilization"("Subaltern"295). It isquiteanotherthing,however,to argue-as
TrinhT. Minh-hadoes,forexample-that anyattempttodistinguish
in socialterms
betweenintellectuals(or membersofsocial elites),on theone hand,and "thepeoofclassple" or"themasses,"on theother,alreadycontainsan implicitjustification
division:
Likeall stereotypical
thenotionofthemasseshasbothan upgrading
notions,
connotation
anda degrading
one.Oneoften
asonespeaks
speaksofthemasses
ofthepeople,magnifying
theirnumber,
theirstrength,
theirmission.
thereby
One invokesthemandpretends
towriteon theirbehalfwhenonewishesto
orto justify
it.... Guilt...is alwayslurking
giveweightto one'sundertaking
belowthesurface.
Yettoopposethemassestotheeliteisalready
toimply
that
thoseforming
themassesareregarded
as an aggregate
ofaverage
conpersons
demnedbytheirlackofpersonality
orbytheirdimindividualities
tostaywith
theherd,to be docileandanonymous....
One can no longerletoneselfbe
deceived
thatopposetheartist
ortheintellectual
tothemasses
and
byconcepts
dealwiththemaswithtwoincompatible
entities.
(Trinh12-13)
One does notwantto deny,ofcourse,thatself-proclaimedly
radicalintellectualismis oftenan exercisein bad faith,and thatexpressions
ofsolidarity
with"the
masses"shouldtherefore
ButinTrinh'sformulation,
alwaysbe scrutinized
carefully.
thebabyofrepresentation
isthrownoutwiththebathwater
ofideologicalappropriation or "subalternization."
The propositionthat intellectualscannot talk about
"the masses"withoutguiltilyromanticizing
and/orimplicitlydisparagingthem
strikesme as beingempirically
I cannotacceptthatsuchcontempoindefensible.
as Njabulo Ndebele,NaguibMahfouz,NinotchkaRosca,Ngugiwa Thirarywriters
ong'o, Yashar Kemal, Micere Mugo, PramoedyaAnanta Toer, Michelle Cliff,
Salman Rushdie,Ousmane Sembene,and MahaswetaDevi (and one could name
hundredsmore) insiston thedistinctionbetweenthe massesand theelite
literally
in theirworkonlyto sanctifytheirown positions,or to assuageguilt.Nor can I
culturalcritics,historiacceptthatin thewritingofsuchinfluential
contemporary
ans,and politicaltheorists
as, say,Aijaz Ahmad,BenedictAnderson,BelindaBozzoli, Hazel Carby,EdwardSaid, E. San Juan,Jr.,MargaretRandall,JeanFranco,
RanajitGuha,TerenceRanger,andJamesScott-all ofwhom,again,regardthedistinctionbetweeneliteand subaltern
populationsas indispensable-thereis at work
an implicationthat"themasses"areherd-like,
doltish,oranonymous.
What Trinhsaysabout the representation
of "the masses"in the totalizing
discourseofintellectuals
accordsprecisely
withMiller'sviewofFanon'sintellectual
practice.Yet ifwe returnto The Wretched
oftheEarth,we findFanon reiterating,
timeand again,thattherelationship
between"themasses"and "intellectualswho
are highlyconsciousand armedwithrevolutionary
principles"is not to be viewed
fromthestandpointofelitistassumptions
aboutleadersand led,seekersand followFanonwrites,
ers,shepherdsand sheep."To educatethemassespolitically,"
doesnotmean,cannotmean,making
a political
What
itmeansistotry,
speech.
andpassionately,
toteachthemassesthateverything
relentlessly
dependson
itistheir
andthatifwegoforward
itis
them;thatifwestagnate
responsibility,
dueto themtoo,thatthereis no suchthingas a demiurge,
thatthereis no
famous
manwhowilltaketheresponsibility
foreverything,
butthatthedemiandthemagichandsarefinally
urgeisthepeoplethemselves
onlythehandsof
thepeople.Inordertoputallthisintopractice,
inorder
toincarnate
the
really
intheextreme.
people,werepeatthattheremustbedecentralization
(197-98)
It is easyto be cynicalin faceofsuchformulations
as these.Millerstatesthat
to this
"[e]veryone
giveslipservicetodialectics"(64). Doubtless,thereissomething
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84
I
Literatures
in African
Research
ormerelygiving
who evokesdialecticsis a hypocrite,
complaint.Butnoteverybody
of
in
"The
Pitfalls
National Cona
remarkable
And
in
service
to
it.'3
passage
lip
of
thatfollowfromhis understanding
sciousness,"Fanonpointsto theimplications
and "themasses"as dialectical:
therelationbetweenintellectuals
onit,
theawareness
ofthosewhowork
ofa bridge
doesnotenrich
Ifthebuilding
can go on swimming
thenthatbridge
oughtnotto be builtandthecitizens
down"
shouldnotbe"parachuted
orgoingbyboat.Thebridge
acrosstheriver
from
above;itshouldnotbe imposed
bya deusex machinauponthesocial
andthebrainsofthe
itshouldcomefrom
themuscles
scene;on thecontrary,
andarchitects,
sometheremaywellbe needofengineers
citizens.
Certainly,
andarchitects;
butthelocalparty
leaders
timescompletely
foreign
engineers
so thatthenewtechniques
canmaketheirwayinto
shouldbe always
present,
inwholeandinpartcanbe
so thatthebridge
thecerebral
desert
ofthecitizen,
In
andtheresponsibility
foritassumed
takenupandconceived,
bythecitizen.
thisway,
andinthiswayonly,
ispossible.
(200-01)
everything
of the citizens'
Miller (and Trinh)would,ofcourse,seize on the characterization
intellectinthispassageas a "cerebraldesert."I have triedto demonstrate
above that
in deployingsuchlanguage,Fanonwasdescribing
colonialcultureratherthan"local
foritsrefusal
thepassageis remarkable
to
knowledge."Takenas a whole,moreover,
sanctionthe idea ofimposingepistemologies
or technologiesupon anypeoplewho
have not first"internalized"
them,who have not firstmade themtheirown. The
that
Miller
Fanon ofdoing,in fact,turnsout to be theone thing
accuses
verything
thatFanon refuses
on principleto do! Even ifthecitizens'intellectdoes amountto
a "cerebraldesert,"even ifthecitizensare-fromthepointofviewofthecosmopolitan radicalintellectual-intransigent,
narrow-minded,
stubborn,wrong,nothing
can proceedwithoutthem.The "fighting"
intellectualcan "shakethepeople"ortry
to "turn...himself
how[sic]intoan awakenerofthepeople"(222-23). Ultimately,
ever,"he" "mustrealizethatthetruthsofa nationare in thefirst
place itsrealities"
be made
(225). And theserealitiesneithernecessarily
follow,norcan theyforcibly
to follow,"his"script.
One findstheseFanonianemphasesalso intheworkofAmilcarCabral.In his
essay,"NationalLiberationand Culture,"Cabral spokeoftheneed forrevolutionaryintellectualsand leadersofthe nationalliberationmovementto live withand
unfolded:
among"themasses"as theliberationstruggle
Theleaders
oftheliberation
drawn
from
the"petite
bourmovement,
generally
class(workers,
clerks)ortheurbanworking
chauffeurs,
geoisie"(intellectuals,
ingeneral),
salary-earners
havingtolivedaybydaywiththevarious
peasant
in theheartoftheruralpopulations,
cometoknowthepeoplebetter.
groups
at thegrassrootstherichness
oftheircultural
values(philoTheydiscover
socialandmoral),acquirea clearer
of
artistic,
sophic,political,
understanding
theeconomic
realities
ofthecountry,
oftheproblems,
andhopesof
sufferings
thepopular
Theleaders
masses.
notwithout
a certain
the
realize,
astonishment,
richness
ofspirit,
thecapacity
forreasoned
discussion
andclearexposition
of
forunderstanding
andassimilating
on thepartof
ideas,thefacility
concepts
whoyesterday
wereforgotten,
ifnotdespised,
andwhowere
population
groups
considered
andevenbysomenationals.
bythecolonizer
(54)
incompetent
Writinga decade afterFanon'sdeath,Cabral'sthoughtis suchthatone wouldnot
have imaginedthathe could possiblybe represented
as undervaluing
the richness
and sophistication
ofprecolonialAfricansociality.Afterall, he refers
explicitlyto
the"richnessofthe...culturalvalues"ofthe"ruralpopulations"and notesthat"the
oftheAfricangeniusin economic,political,social and cultural
accomplishments
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NeilLazarus 1
85
areepic-compadomains,despitetheinhospitablecharacteroftheenvironment,
rableto themajorhistoricalexamplesofthegreatnessofman"(50). Yetin Theories
MillercontrivestoreadCabralpreciselyas he readsFanon.He quotesan
ofAfricans,
observationof Cabral's,to the effectthat althoughthe peasantry--asthe overwhelmingmajorityofthepopulationofcolonial Cape Verdeand Guinea Bissauwere indispensableto the armedstruggleagainstPortuguesecolonialismin those
thenationalliberationmovementdid notfinditeasyto mobilizethem:
territories,
"we knowfromexperiencewhattroublewe had convincingthepeasantryto fight"
(qtd. inTheories44). Millerthenproceedsto glossthisobservationas follows:
who
inAfrica
oftheso-called
musthavethesupport
peasants,
Anyrevolution
ofthepopulation,
do notleadbut
makeupthevastmajority
yetthepeasants
relation
mustbe led.... The Marxistleadermuststandin a transcendent
Thepeasant's
willberevealed
tohim
between
thepeasantandHistory.
destiny
literate
ina relation
ofactiveto"passive,"
to"illiterate,"
progress
bytheleader,
to"ignorance."
totradition,
(44 )
knowledge
It becomesapparentthatforMiller,Cabral'sfaultis thathe soughtto "convince"
the Guinean peasantryto take up armsagainstPortuguesecolonialism.Initially
fromhisown,Cabral
viewsthatweredissimilar
encountering
amongthepeasantry
culturalrelativist,
to have acceptedtheirlegitiought,itseems,as a good,respectful
of
fortheoverthrow
his own aspirationsto struggle
macyand abandonedforthwith
colonial rule!MillerreadsCabral'sword"convince"as meaningto "impose."The
thatCabralwasso successful
to
inpersuading
theGuineanpeasantry
fact,therefore,
take up armsagainsttheircolonizersthattheywereable, withina space offifteen
years,to topplethe colonial regime,is interpreted
by Milleras revealingonlythe
degreeto whichthePAIGC (PartidoAfricanoda Independenciada Guine e Cabo
Verde) was able to inflicta "new"colonialismupon an alreadycolonizedpeople.It
seemsnotto occurto MillerthattheGuineanpeasantry's
struggle
againstthePortutheirown identification-however
belated-with the
guesemighthave reflected
PAIGC's cause; nor,indeed,thatthe PAIGC's ideologymightitselfhave been a
barometerof popularaspirations.There is evidentin Miller'sworka spectacular
reluctanceand/orinabilityto come to termswiththe manifoldpoliticalachievementsofanticolonialnationalism.
In theworkofMillerandseveralothercontemporary
ofcolonialdistheorists
course,anticolonialnationalism(whetherbourgeoisornationalitarian)is castas a
derivativediscourseofthe Europe-oriented
colonizedmiddle-classes
and is disparofthecoloand,indeed,alien-ness,to themajority
aged,as such,foritsexternality
nizedpopulation.Now it seemsquite clearto me thatnationalismin the colonial
theateris indeeda derivativediscourse-and unavoidablyso, giventhe objective
circumstances.
But whereMillercommitshimselfto an essentialismin presenting
hisdissenting
case for"ethnicity,"
I believethatitiscrucialto allowforthepossibilitythat,in adaptingthereceivedorinheriteddiscourseofnationalismto theendsof
anticolonialism,even bourgeoisnationalistsmighthave had to refunctionit, in
orderto makeitbeartheburdenoftheirparticular
politicalneeds.This,ofcourse,is
the argumentadvanced by ParthaChatterjeein his importantstudy,Nationalist
andtheColonialWorld.Concedingthat(bourgeois)anticolonialnationalThought
ismwas inescapablyderivativeofEuropeannationalistideologies,Chatterjeeneverthelessarguesthat,merelybyvirtueofitsspecificity
as anticolonialnationalism,it
wasobligedto go beyondthem:
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86
I
in African
Literatures
Research
sucthereality
ofcolonialrule...[anticolonial]
nationalism
itself
Pitting
against
on thetera different
discourse.
Thedifference
ismarked,
ceedsinproducing
for
rainof political-ideological
discourse,
bya politicalcontest,a struggle
Its
mustthinkaboutandsetdowninwords.
whichnationalist
thought
power,
todemarcate
itself
from
thediscourse
forces
itrelentlessly
ofcoloproblematic
isnecessarily
a struggle
withan entire
nialism.
Thusnationalist
thinking
body
Itspoliticsimpelsittoopenupthatframework
ofsystematic
of
knowledge....
tosubwhichpresumes
todominate
it,todisplacethatframework,
knowledge
tochallenge
itsmorality.
vertitsauthority,
as a discourse
ofpower,
nationalist
Yetinitsveryconstitution
thought
it is alsoa positive
discourse
whichseeksto
cannotremainonlya negation;
ofcolonialpower
witha neworder,
thatofnational
power.
replacethestructure
oforder
Can nationalist
a discourse
whiledaring
tonegatethe
thought
produce
thathasconquered
theworld?
How
ofa system
ofknowledge
veryfoundations
a discourse
farcan itsucceedin maintaining
itsdifference
from
thatseeksto
dominate
it?
A different
thatismy
discourse,
byanother:
yetonethatisdominated
aboutnationalist
(40,42)
thought.
hypothesis
What is trueofbourgeoisnationalismin thisregardisdoublytrueofnationalismas
a massconfiguration.
Perhapsthe centralweaknessof the readingofnationalism
theoristsof colonial discourseis thatit is
by the leadingcontemporary
proffered
of"themasses"ofthe colonized
incapableofaccountingforthe huge investment
in variouskindsofnationaliststruggle-the"involvement,"
as Ranajit
historically
Guha has put it, in the contextof India, "ofthe Indian people in vast numbers,
sometimesin hundredsofthousandsor even millions,in nationalistactivitiesand
ideals"("Aspects"3). Manyoftoday'stheorists
ofcolonialdiscoursetendto follow
of liberalhistoricaland anthropologicalscholarshipin castingall
the trajectory
formsofnationalconsciousnessas impositions
upon moreor lessdisunited"ethnicommunities.
In Guha'swords,however,
cally"(or "local knowledge")identified
What...historical
of
this
kind
cannot
is
do toexplain...nationalism
for
writing
us.Foritfailstoacknowledge,
farlessinterpret,
thecontribution
madebythe
oftheelitetothemaking
anddevelown,thatis,independently
peopleontheir
Inthisparticular
of...nationalism.
thepoverty
ofthishistoriogopment
respect
isdemonstrated
tounderstand
andassess
raphy
beyond
anydoubtbyitsfailure
themassarticulation
ofthisnationalism
thecurrently...fashionable
except...in
ofvertical
terms
mobilization
offactions.
3)
bythemanipulation
("Aspects"
to
Indian
the
Guha
that
in
even
those
cases
in
which
"the
case,
Referring
argues
and willfully
masses"weremobilizedveryself-consciously
bybourgeoisnationalist
elites,they"managedto breakawayfromtheircontroland put the characteristic
ofpopularpoliticson campaignsinitiatedbytheupperclasses"("Aspects"
imprint
6). Especiallyifwe followCabral (or,ironically,
Miller),in believingthatcolonialismwas,on the whole,unable to shatterthe strength
and integrity
of indigenous
culturaland moralframeworks,
we shouldbe willingto concede that"thepeople"
could orwouldnot have spokenthe languageofnationalismwithouttransforming
itat leasttosomedegreeintoa discoursecapableofexpressing
theirownaspirations.
FollowingChatterjee,I have spokenof nationalismas a "derivative"discourse.I do notmeanbythisthatit is an "ambivalent"discourse,at leastnot in the
sensethatthistermhas been deployedrecentlybyHomi Bhabha in his influential
When Bhabha refersto colonial discourseas
writingson colonial subjectivity.
"ambivalent,"he meansto describea certainslippageat theheartofthe colonial
episteme.In his essay"SignsTakenforWonders,"thus,he arguesthatthecolonial
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NeilLazarus 1
87
modeof authority
is agonistic
ratherthanantagonistic:
"thecolonialpresenceis
as original
andauthoritative,
and
alwaysambivalent,
splitbetweenitsappearance
itsarticulation
asrepetition
anddifference"
ofcolo(169).'4ForBhabha,"theeffect
nialpower"
istoproduce
notsubmission
onthepartofthecolonized,
nor"thesilent
of nativetraditions,"
or mimicry
buthybridization,
(173). Colonial
repression
isdefined
as
"mimicry"
thedesire
fora reformed,
asa subject
is
that
Other,
recognizable
ofa difference
almost
thesame,
butnotquite.
istosay,
Which
thatthediscourse
ofmimicry
is
inorder
constructed
around
anambivalence;
tobeeffective,
must
conmimicry
itsslippage,
itsexcess,
itsdifference.
126)
tinually
produce
("Mimicry"
In theseterms,
does
not
the
describe
ofthe"native"
"hybridity"
identity
undercolonialrule,butisrather
"a problematic
ofcolonialrepresentation
andindividuation
thatreverses
theeffects
ofthecolonialist
sothatother'denied'
disavowal,
enteruponthedominant
discourse
andestrange
thebasisofitsauthorknowledges
ity-itsrulesofrecognition"
("Signs"175).Bhabha'semphasis
upontheincoherenceofthecolonialepisteme,
at thesourceoftraditional
uponthe"ambivalence
onauthority,"
discourses
enableshimtoinsist
of
uponthedestabilizing
propensities
colonialmimicry:
ofsubversion,
he speaksof"a form
founded
on thatuncertainty,
thatturns
thediscursive
conditions
ofdominance
intothegrounds
ofintervention"
thusoperates,
as BenitaParry
hasputit,torender
"visible
(173). Bhabha'swriting
thosemoments
whencolonialdiscourse
disturbed
at itssourcebya doualready
blenessofenunciation,
isfurther
subverted
whenthe
bytheobjectofitsaddress;
scenario
written
isgivena performance
bycolonialism
bythenativethatestranges
andundermines
thecolonialist
42).
script"
(Parry
YetasParry
alsonotes,theeffect
ofBhabha's
distinctive
tocolonial
approach
discourse
"istodisplacethetraditional
anti-colonialist
of
representation
antagonisticforces
lockedin struggle
witha configuration
ofdiscursive
transactions"
(42).
Sheaddsthatsince,forBhabha,"colonialpoweristheorized...as
a textual
function,
itfollows
thattheproper
form
ofcombatfora politically
critical
is
engaged
practice
to disclosetheconstruction
ofthesignifying
andthereby
system
depriveitofits
mandate
torule"(42-43).Bhabha's
textualism
andhistheoretical
idealism
prevent
himfromengaging
with
the
differential
and
thrusts,
effects,
adequately
vastly
modesofdomination/subjection
ofcolonialism
aspracticed
atdifferent
times
bydifferent
indifferent
orevenwithin
powers
partsoftheworld,
singlecoloniessubject
tothevicissitudes
of"uneven
development."
Theproblem
from
thefactthatalthough
Bhabhapredicates
derives,
arguably,
histheory
ofcolonialdiscourse
toreadhim
upontheworkofFanon,he contrives
"backto front,"
as itwere-thatis,from
TheWretched
oftheEarthto BlackSkin,
White
thetestimony
ofFanon'sownevolution
asa theoMasks-thereby
falsifying
rist.Bhabha'sessay"Remembering
Fanon"wasinitially
written
as a foreword
to a
newBritish
editionofBlackSkin,White
Masks.The subtitle
oftheessay,
"Self,Psydoesjusticetothesituation
ofcourseis
che,andtheColonialCondition,"
(theterm
ofthattext,butnotto theworkofFanonas a whole.Bhabha,however,
Sartre's)
readsBlackSkin,White
Masksnotmerely
butmorespecifically
tendentiously
against
Fanon'ssubsequent
intellectual
production,
usingitto disavowFanon'spolitical
commitments
andhistheorization
of"theAfrican
Revolution."
The strengths
of
BlackSkin,WhiteMasksare seen,thus,to derivefromtherelatedfactsthatit
focusofcultural
racism
from
thepolitics
ofnationalism
tothepolitics
"shift[s]...the
ofnarcissism"
historicizes
thecolonial
146) and thatit "rarely
("Remembering"
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88
I
Literatures
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Research
experience.There is no masternarrativeorrealistperspectivethatprovidea backgroundofsocial and historicalfactsagainstwhichemergetheproblemsofthe individualorcollectivepsyche"(136).
of Fanof Fanon invertsthe historicaltrajectory
Bhabha's"re-membering"
a theoristof"the
on'sthoughtinorderto proposea visionofFanonas preeminently
ofcolonial discourse.Fanon's
colonial condition,"ofthe interpellative
effectivity
"searchfora dialecticofdeliverance"emergeson thisreadingas "desperate"and
"doomed" (133). Bhabha concedes the existenceof a revolutionary-redemptive
ethic in Fanon, of course,groundedin an existentialistand dialecticalMarxist
humanism,buthe insiststhattherealvalueofFanon'sworklieselsewhere,in a psyofcolonial desire.Fanon'sconstant
ofthe problematics
choanalyticinterrogation
utilizationof existentialist,
dialectical,and Marxist-humanist
categoriesis therefailure
forecast in thelightofa sequenceofunfortunate
lapses,or as a determinate
ofvision:
theexploration
ofthe...ambivaInhismoreanalytic
mode,Fanoncanimpede
which
Thestateofemergency
from
ofcolonialdesire.
lent,uncertain
questions
At
moreimmediate
identifications.
moreinsurgent
hewrites
demands
answers,
of
between
themise-en-scene
timesFanonattempts
tooclosea correspondence
and thephantoms
ofracistfearandhatethatstalkthe
unconscious
fantasy
ofidentification
to
toohastily
from
theambivalences
colonialscene;he turns
ofpoliticalalienation
andcultural
theantagonistic
identities
discrimination;
itspresence
inthelanguage
of
topersonalize
he istooquicktonametheOther,
torestore
thedreamto its
Theseattempts,
inFanon'swords,
colonialracism.
blunttheedgeofFanon's
timeandcultural
political
spacecan,attimes,
proper
inthepathologiofthecomplexity
ofpsychic
brilliant
illustrations
projections
neverpreserves
Fanonsometimes
thatparanoia
calcolonialrelation....
forgets
witha persecutory
itspositionofpower,forthecompulsive
identification
anevacuation
andemptying
ofthe"I."(142)
"They"isalways
Inasmuchas Bhabhawishestoconstruct
a portrait
ofFanonas a poststructurhis writingis fullofsuchpassages.The procedurallogicofthese
alistavantla lettre,
Fanon'sideasas accordingfundamenpassagesiscurious.Theirthrustistorepresent
tallywith Bhabha's own epistemologicaland methodologicalprinciples.To the
extent that Fanon's explicit formulations
seem to rendersuch a construction
Fanon fromsaying
implausible,however,theyneed to be reprovedforpreventing
whathe wouldhave said,had he been able-that is,had he had therightwords,or
the timeto reflect,
or thecourageto followthroughhis bestinsights.Forexample,
ofFanon'sthoughtis saidbyBhabha to consistin his attentionto
therealstrength
movementofthesubalterninstance"("Interrogating"
198); but
"[t]heantidialectical
modeofconceptualizationis prosince it cannotbe deniedthathis characteristic
foundlydialectical,Fanon "mustsometimesbe remindedthatthedisavowalofthe
Otheralwaysexacerbatesthe 'edge' ofidentification,
revealsthatdangerousplace
where identityand aggressivity
are twinned"("Remembering"144). Similarly,
Fanon issaidbyBhabhato "warn...against
theintellectualappropriation
ofthecultureof the people (whatevertheymaybe) withina representationalist
discourse
thatmaybe fixedand reifiedin the annalsofHistory"("DissemiNation"302); but
since ithas to be admittedthatFanon'sdiscourseis typically
nationemphatically
both historicistand representationalist,
Bhabha bids us
alitarian,and therefore
thathis (Fanon's) preeminent
understand
claimto ourattentionisnotas a theorist
of decolonizationor revolution,but of the "subversiveslippageof identityand
146).i5 And again,Fanon'sthoughtis said byBhabha
authority"
("Remembering"
to tendtowardtheoreticalantihumanism;
but since it has to be admittedthathis
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the
humanistic,Bhabha is obligedto proffer
languageis moreor lessunwaveringly
rationalization
that,forvariousreasons,
thatthespaceofthebodyandits
Fanonisfearful
ofhismostradicalinsights:
thatthepoliticsofracewillnotbe
isa representational
identification
reality;
or
contained
within
thehumanist
ofManoreconomic
entirely
myth
necessity
historical
foritspsychic
effects
suchforms
ofdeterminism;
progress,
question
intheorder
thatsocialsovereignty
andhumansubjectivity
areonlyrealizable
ofOtherness.
142-43)
("Remembering"
Accordingto Bhabha,in short,Fanon's"deep hungerforhumanism,despite[his]
fortheclosedconinsightintothedarksideofMan, mustbe an overcompensation
to whichhe attributes
thedepersonalization
ofcolosciousnessor 'dual narcissism'
nial man"(143)!
forBhabha'sreadingofcolothatlittlewarrant
AlthoughI believe,therefore,
nial discourseis providedby Fanon'swork--it is clear amongotherthingsthat
to Fanon himself-I wouldnot
Bhabha'sFanon wouldhave been unrecognizable
want to be misunderstood
of Bhabha's intellectual
as denyingthe suggestiveness
Bhabhahas
productionoverthe courseofthe pastseveralyears.On the contrary,
contributed
to the contemporary
of
theorization
verypositivelyand substantively
But itis necessaryto specify
the
"(post)coloniality"as an ideologicalconfiguration.
withgreatcircumspection.
It mightbe suppreciseobjectofBhabha'stheorization
posed,on thegroundsofhisdiscussionofambivalenceand hybridization-"Almost
he punsin "OfMimicryand Man": "thedifference
thesamebutnotwhite,"
between
beingEnglishand beingAnglicized"(130)-that Bhabha'sreal object was colonizedelitism.
ofcolonialdiscourseis,indeed,manifestly
Bhabha'stheorization
pertinentto a readingofcolonizedelitism.But I wouldliketo suggestthatthecardinal
ofBhabha'sworkisthemarginal
not
figure
subjectof(post)colonialism-"marginal"
(necessarily)in the sense of being powerlessor "genuinelydisenfranchised"
thatis,"subjectto"but
(Spivak'sphrase),butin thesenseofexistingat themargins,
not"thesubjectof' dominantdiscourse.
The particular
burdenofBhabha'sworkistodemonstrate
thatinthecontemsocial identities-"strategies
ofidentification
poraryworld-system,
and...processes
of affiliation"
("Question" 90)-are not only alwayscompoundand overdetermined,theyarealso unstableat theirorigins,and incapableofbeingstabilized.On
thisreading,the problematics
ofexile,migrationand diasporaemergeas paradigmatic.Bhabha'scharacteristic
are the mohajirs,
from
concept-figures
"emigrants"
thecountriesoftheirbirthand "newcomers"
in othercountries(as SalmanRushdie
putsitin Shame[89-90]), multiply-rooted
subjectsdwellingfullyneitherwithinthe
"FirstWorld"norwithinthe"Third,"butrangedacrossthem,so to speak,athwart
theinternational
divisionoflabor.The spaceofsuchsubjectivity
islabeled"postcolonial"byBhabha:
Thepostcolonial
tothemetropolitan
centre;it
spaceisnow"supplementary"
stands
ina subaltern,
relation
thatdoesn't
ofthe
thepresence
adjunct
aggrandise
westbutredraws
itsfrontiers
in themenacing,
ofcultural
agonistic
boundary
difference
thatneverquiteaddsup,alwayslessthanonenationanddouble.
("DissemiNation"
318)
As thisformulation
makesclear,Bhabhatendsto use theconceptof"postco" as he has definedit,againstnationalism.He writesthat
loniality,
thepostcolonial
torevisethosenationalist
or"nativist"
perspective...attempts
thatsetuptherelation
ofThirdandFirst
Worldina binary
structure
pedagogies
ofopposition.
Thepostcolonial
resists
toprovide
a holisperspective
attempts
ticsocialexplanation,
a recognition
ofthemorecomplex
cultural
and
forcing
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90
I
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thatexiston thecuspoftheseoftenopposedpolitical
politicalboundaries
("Freedom"
47-48)
spheres.
"thehistoryofthe
In "DissemiNation,"Bhabha praisesEricHobsbawmforwriting
modem westernnation fromthe perspectiveof the nation's marginand the
exile" (291). His generalcontentionis thattheproblematicofnationalmigrants'
ismis exploded,
renderedbothanachronisticand incoherent,
bythequestionsthat
ofthesituationofthemarginalsubjectsofcontempostemfromanyconsideration
It isnotonlythat"colonials,postcolonials,migrants,
minorirary"postcoloniality."
ties" are "wanderingpeoples who will not be containedwithinthe Heim of the
nationalcultureand itsunisonantdiscourse,
butarethemselvesthemarksofa shiftofthe modemnation"("DissemiNation"
ingboundarythatalienatesthefrontiers
is in additionpositively
315). The "atonality"ofthediscourseof"postcoloniality"
of"thepowerful
disruptive
oratoryoftheunisonant"("Question"96). "Postcoloniality"-the standpointofthe migrant-is in thesetermsitselfextremely
powerful:
Bhabhaspeaks,thus,ofa "strange,
isat once schizoid
empowering
knowledge...that
andsubversive"
andwhichemergesas a functionoftheconditionofexile,migrancy,
diaspora("DissemiNation"319).
In his 1991 essay"A QuestionofSurvival,"Bhabhadevotesa gooddeal ofhis
timeto reflecting
on the significance
ofEdwardSaid's book AftertheLastSky.On
the basisof Said's poignantand deeplycontemplativereading,Bhabha drawsthe
butaboutthe"impossifollowingconclusions,not onlyaboutPalestinianidentity
bility"ofnationalistdiscourseingeneral:
Theopaquesilenceoftheatonaloverwritten
spaceofthePalestinian-Abandonthemetanarrative!-petrifies
thepresent,
accesstoany...reflecbarring
distance
ofknowledge,
ortimeofreturn.
Thequestions
tive,representationalist
oftheOther,
"WhatdoyouPalestinians
cannotsimply
beanswered
in
want?",
theimages
ofidentity
orthenarrative
becausetheyarealsoasked
ofhistoricism,
inthelanguage
ofDesire:He issaying
this
tomebutwhat
doeshewant?
Andthat
cannotbereplied
todirectly
becauseitleadsuspasttheplaceofmeanquestion
andleadsusto theenunciative
thatdeterlevel,to themoment
ingortruth
minesuniqueandlimited
existence
oftheutterance-the
broken,
fragmentary
ofthePalestinian:
theatonalvoid....Thesilenceorvoiddangercomposition
thenarrative
ofthenational
culture.
(97)
ouslydecomposes
Two pointsneed to be made about thisformulation.
to draw
First,it is important
attentiontothetendentiousness
ofBhabha'sreadingofSaid. As earlierwithrespect
toFanon,heretoohe seemssimplyto appropriate
Said, to assimilatehimtohisown
theoreticalinterests
and preoccupations.
In a recentessayon "Yeatsand Decolonibetweenthe"insufficient"
momentof"nationalistantization,"Said distinguishes
and "liberationist
resistance"(76). Like Fanon and
imperialism"
anti-imperialist
textlikeAftertheLast
Guha, Said emergesin his work-even in an introspective
Sky--as well as in his politicalpracticeas an open advocate of the projectof
nationalliberation;thiscommitshimto a nationalitarian
politics-that is,to a discourseofrepresentation
predicatedupon the assumptionthatit is indeedpossible
fora movementor alliance or partyto "speakforthe nation."This longstanding
commitmenton Said's partis not only ignored,but actuallytransmuted
into its
The injunctionto "[a]bandonthe metanarraopposite,in Bhabha'scommentary.
tive,"forinstance,findsno sanctionin Said's thought.
itseemstomethatBhabha'sclaimsbothforthe
Second,and moreimportant,
and forthe "disruptive"
of the kind of subjectivity
representativeness
effectivity
allegedlyembodiedin "the Palestinian"are considerablyoverstated.On the one
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and cannotbe
suigeneris,
hand,thePalestiniansituationis sociallyand historically
worldtakenas a generativemodel.On theotherhand,evenif,inthecontemporary
system,the subjectswhomBhabha addressesunderthe labelsof exile, migration,
and diaspora,are vastlymorenumerousthan at any timepreviously,
theycannot
orconstitutive
as such.By
reasonablybe saidtobe paradigmatic
of"postcoloniality"
thesametoken,even ifthecategoryofthemigrant
ordiasporicsubjectsignificantly
it
complicates
anyeasyespousalofnationalismin termsofbelongingorterritoriality,
is scarcelysufficient
to underminethecredibility
ofthosecontemporary
anti-imperialistdiscourses-in SouthAfrica,in Palestine,in El Salvador,forinstance-that
presentthemselvesas nationalist.
Bhabha contendsthatto open the questionofthe nationunderthe signof
is to push oneself"not merelyto the edge of the discourseof a
"postcoloniality"
nationalculture,butto thelimitsofa metaphorofthemodernity
ofWesternMan at
the point at which he encountersthe Other" ("Question" 96). Let me, in
to rebutthisposition,turnagainto Cabral'sessayon "NationalLiberaattempting
tion and Culture."Earlier,I cited a passagein whichCabral commentedon the
and "discoveries"(about themselvesand about"thepeople") thatthe
"realizations"
leadersof the liberationmovementmake in theirinteractionwith"the various
peasantgroupsintheheartoftheruralpopulations."ButCabralfocuses,too,on the
on theconsciousnessof"thepeople":
transformations
wrought
On theirside,theworking
massesand,inparticular,
thepeasants
whoareusuandneverhavemovedbeyondtheboundaries
oftheirvillageor
allyilliterate
whichconstrained
region,in contactwithothergroupslosethecomplexes
themin theirrelationships
withotherethnicandsocialgroups.
Theyrealize
theircrucialroleinthestruggle;
to
theybreakthebondsofthevillageuniverse
intothecountry
andtheworld;
integrate
progressively
theyacquirean infinite
amount
ofnewknowledge,
useful
fortheirimmediate
andfuture
within
activity
theframework
ofthestruggle,
andtheystrengthen
theirpolitical
awareness
by
ofnationalandsocialrevolution
theprinciples
assimilating
postulated
bythe
becomemoreabletoplaythedecisive
roleofproviding
Theythereby
struggle.
theprincipal
force
behindtheliberation
movement.
(54)
I amparticularly
interested,
here,intheideaofa movementfrom"localknowledge"
to knowledgeof"the principlesof nationaland social revolution."ForCabral, of
intelleccourse,thisis thedesiredconsequenceofthearticulationofrevolutionary
tualsand "thepeople." It reveals,therefore,
not onlyexactlywhat it is thatsuch
intellectuals(can) bringto the struggleagainst imperialism,
but also why the
momentof nationalism(and, behind and beyondit,of internationalism)
should
emergeas decisiveto thisstruggle.
Readerswillno doubtrecallthatFredricJamesonopenshiscontroversial
article on "Third-World
Literaturein the Era ofMultinationalCapitalism"bycasting
himself,oddly,as an eavesdropperon "recentconversationsamong third-world
intellectuals"
(65). The empiricalweaknessesandquestionableconceptualassumptionsofJameson's
articlehave been verywidelydiscussed:and I amsurethattheydo
notneed rehearsing
here.16What Jameson"overhears,"
ofcourse,is that"a certain
nationalismis fundamental
in the thirdworld";and this"mak[es]it legitimate"in
hisview,"to askwhetherit [nationalism]
is all thatbad in theend" (65). One would
have wanteda much morepreciseformulation,
obviously;yetthe "information"
thatJamesonrelaysto us remainsvaluable,nevertheless.
Foritseemsto me that"a
certainnationalism"isfundamental
in the"ThirdWorld."It isfundamental,
arguably,because it is onlyon theterrainofthenationthatan articulationbetweencosmopolitanintellectualismand popularconsciousnesscan be forged;and thisis
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92
I
in African
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in turn,because in the era ofmultinational
capitalismit is onlyon the
important,
articulation-thatis, on the basisofnationalitarian
basis ofsuch a universalistic
can be overthrown.
struggle-thatimperialism
In his essayon "Yeatsand Decolonization,"EdwardSaid helpsus to theorize
thisdistinctiveconnectionbetweennationalism(as a derivativebutdifferent
disof intellectualism
in the contextof imperialism.
He
course) and the specificities
writesthat
achievement
ofall oftheintellectuals,
and of
[i]thas beenthesubstantial
courseofthemovements
historical
and
with,
theyworked
bytheir
interpretive,
tohaveidentified
efforts
theculture
ofresistance
as a cultural
enteranalytic
a longtradition
ofintegrity
andpowerinitsownright,
onenot
prisepossessing
as a belatedreactive
toWestern
("Yeats"
imperialism.
simply
grasped
response
73)
isthatitenablesusto envisiontheaccomThe significance
ofthispassage,arguably,
butalso ofradicalintellectualism
as
plishmentsnot onlyofanticolonialnationalism
ForSaid, itseems,whatintellectuals
havebeenable tocontribute
to the
irreducible.
ofmemories
anti-imperialist
struggle-theopeningup ofhorizons,thecrystallizing
and experiencesas legitimateaspects of a culturalheritage,the globalizingof
etc.-could nothave been providedbyanyotherformoflabor-power,
resources,
by
anyothersocialpractice,inanyotherarena.Elsewhere,Said has commentedon the
immensesignificance
oftherolethatliterature,
as one specificmediumofintellectualproduction,
has been able to playin advancingthecauseofanti-imperialism
in
thepost-1945era:
inthedecades-long
toachievedecolonisation
andindependence
from
struggle
hasplayeda crucialroleinthere-establishment
literature
of
control,
European
a nationalcultural
inthereinstatement
ofnativeidioms,
in thereheritage,
andre-figuring
oflocalhistories,
Assuch,
communities.
imagining
geographies,
notonlymobilised
activeresistance
toincursions
from
theoutthen,literature
astheshaper,
side,butalsocontributed
creator,
massively
agentofillumination
within
therealmofthecolonised.
1-2)
("Figures"
some intellectuals,could have "contributed
masObviously,some writers,
on thebasisoftheirworkas tradeunionistsorparty
sively"to thedecolonizingeffort
orcoordinators
officials
ofarmedstruggle.
as
(One thinksforexampleofsuchfigures
Sergio Ramirezor Ghassan Kanafanior JoseLuandino Vieira.) But Said's point
seemsto be thatintellectuals
have contributed
mostdecisivelytodecolonizationon
thebasisoftheirspecificlaboras intellectuals:
bywriting,
thinking,
speaking,etc.17
It is in these termsalone that theyhave been able to constitutethemselvesas
"agent[s]of illuminationwithinthe realmof the colonised."Nothing,therefore,
couldhave replacedthiskindofpractice,whoseeffects
have been bothuniqueand,
perhaps,indispensable.
It is inthisconnectionthatI wouldlike,inclosing,tourgetheorists
of(post)ofbothnationalismand radical
colonialityto thinkagain about thepotentialities
intellectualism.
Of courseI have in mindLenin'sasseverationthat"[w]ithout
revoan idea,as he putit,that
movement,"
lutionary
theorytherecan be no revolutionary
"cannotbe insistedupon too strongly
at a timewhenthefashionablepreachingof
forthenarrowest
ofpracforms
opportunism
goeshand inhandwithan infatuation
ticalactivity"(25). Butitalso seemsto me thatin thecontextofthecontemporary
theneed to constructa "countemarrative...of
liberation"is
capitalistworldsystem,
wouldnecessarily
be derivespeciallypressing(Gates 458). Such a counternarrative
ativeofthenarratives
ofbourgeoishumanismand metropolitan
nationalism,with
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But itwouldnot need to contheirresonantbutunfoundedclaimsto universality.
to theseEurocentricprojections.On the contrary,
cede the terrainofuniversality
ofbourwherepostmodernist
theoryhas reactedto the perceivedindefensibility
geoishumanismand ofcolonialnationalismbyabandoningtheveryideaoftotality,
as Fanonalreadydidin
a genuinely
postcolonialstrategy
mightbe to moveexplicitly,
concludingThe Wretched
oftheEarth,to proclaima "new"humanism,predicated
and bore embryonically
upona formalrepudiationofthedegradedEuropeanform,
in thenationalliberationmovement:
ofMan,yetmurder
men
LeavethisEuropewheretheyareneverdonetalking
inall
atthecomerofevery
oneoftheir
ownstreets,
everywhere
theyfindthem,
thecorners
oftheglobe....WhenI search
of
forManinthetechnique
andstyle
I seeonlya succession
ofnegations
ofman,andan avalancheofmurEurope,
wemustturn
ders....ForEurope,forourselves,
andforhumanity,
comrades,
outnewconcepts,
tosetafoota newman.
overa newleaf,wemustwork
andtry
(311-12,316)
Fromthisproleptically
"postcolonial"standpoint,it is vitalto retainthecategories
of"nation"and "universality."
thespecificroleofanti-imperialist
Hence, arguably,
intellectualismtoday: to constructa standpoint-nationalitarian,liberationist,
whichit ispossibleto assumetheburdenofspeakingforall
internationalist-from
humanity.
NOTES
ofthispaperwerepresented
'Earlier
versions
ata symposium
on"ColonialDiscourse/
Post-colonial
attheUniversity
ofEssexinJuly
1991andata conference
on"EmerTheory"
attheUniversity
ofMinnesota
inApril1992.I wouldliketothank
thepartigentLiteratures"
fortheirhelpfulcomments
and criticisms.
The paperthatI
cipantsin thesemeetings
at theEssexsymposium
isdueto appearinprintsoon,underthetitle"National
presented
Consciousness
andtheSpecificity
of(Post)Colonial
Intellectualism."
2Thereference
hereis to therepresentation
ofnationalist
inNairn.Homi
ideology
Bhabhafurther
Nair's thesis
oftheJanus-face
ofnationalism
inhisessay,
"Dissemidevelops
in a continual
disNation,"wherehe arguesthat"thepoliticalunityofthenationconsists
evenhostile
placementof its irredeemably
pluralmodernspace,boundedbydifferent,
intoa signifying
the
nations,
spacethatisarchaicandmythical,
paradoxically
representing
nation's
modemterritoriality,
inthepatriotic,
atavistic
ofTraditionalism.
Quite
temporality
thedifference
ofspacereturns
as theSamenessoftime,intoTradition,
the
simply,
turning
PeopleintoOne."
3See Lazarus"NationalConsciousness."
For further
on the debate
commentary
between
seeSharpe.
SpivakandParry,
4Seealsotherevealing
of"thetownbelongpassageinwhichFanonbegins
byspeaking
butthenrevises
himself:
"...oratleastthenativetown,
theNegro
ingtothecolonized
people,"
themedina,
thereservation."
The latter,
hewrites,
is"a placeofillfame,
village,
peopledby
menofevilrepute....
Thenativetownisa hungry
starved
ofmeat,ofshoes,of
ofbread,
town,
Thenativetownisa crouching
a townonitsknees,a townwallowing
in
coal,oflight.
village,
themire.Itisa townofniggers
anddirty
Arabs"(39).
hisperceptions
becausehe renews
thepurpose
5Seealso243-44:"Thenativerebuilds
anddynamism
ofdancing
andmusic,
andofliterature
andtheoraltradition.
Hisworld
comes
toloseitsaccursed
character"
added).
(emphasis
6Thedistinction
between
dominance
andhegemony
first
elaborated
was,ofcourse,
by
Antonio
Gramsci.
I amdrawing
moreonthereconstruction
ofGramsci's
basic
Here,however,
intherecent
workofRanajit
Guha.
concepts
article"The Economy
ofManicheanAllegory:
The Function
of
7Inhisinfluential
RacialDifference
inColonialist
AbdulJanMohamed
offers
a very
Literature,"
strange
reading
oftherelationship
between
dominance
andhegemony
inthecontext
ofimperialism.
WhereI
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94
I
Researchin AfricanLiteratures
aroundtheaxisofclass,JanMohavefollowed
theseconcepts
RanajitGuhainarticulating
hamedsuggests
thattheyrefer
rather
todifferent
historical
"Dominance"
isdefined
periods.
by
ofthe"exercise
himina moreorlessorthodox
in terms
fashion,
[of]directandcontinuous
ofthenatives"
bureaucratic
control
andmilitary
coercion
asa modeofsubju(80). However,
dominance
ishistorically
delimited:
the"dominant
theperiodfrom
the
gation,
phase...spans
tothemoment
atwhicha colonyisgranted
earliest
"(80).
'independence'
European
conquest
material
Withinthisperiod,
"theindigenous
bycolonialist
peoplesaresubjugated
practices
andsoforth),
theefficacy
ofwhichfinally
onthetechnological
transfers,
(population
depends
ofEuropean
forces"
(81). This"dominant
military
phase"isthentobesetagainst
superiority
the"hegemonic
ofindependence,
within
which"thenatives
bythemoment
phase,"marked
ofthecolonizers'
entire
ofvalues,
attitudes,
institutions,
and,
system
morality,
accepta version
moreimportant,
modeofproduction.
Thisstageofimperialism
doesrelyon theactiveand
ofcourse,
direct'consent'
ofthedominated,
thethreat
ofmilitary
coercion
isalways
though,
inthebackground"
notleastbecauseit
(81). I do notfindthisconceptualization
convincing,
hastheeffect
ofminimizing,
ifnotofdenying,
thesignificance
ofclassdivisions
clearly
among
thecolonizedinboththe"dominant"
andthe"hegemonic"
phases.(In hisbookManichean
hadearlier
of
that"inthecolonialsituation
thefunction
JanMohamed
Aesthetics,
proposed
classisreplaced
thatworks
todenythepertinence
byrace"[5]-a reductive
similarly
reading
ofhierarchical
divisions
within
colonizedsocieties.)Whilethemoment
ofindependence
betakentomarktheacceptance
elite
of"thecolonizers'
entire
might
bytheindigenous
system
ofvalues,"
forexample
toclaimeventhisseemstometoclaimtoomuch),itissurely
(although
toarguethatthelivesandcultural
forms
ofAfricain
ofthesubalterpopulations
implausible
thepost-independence
a conversion
tobourgeois
Nor,itseemsto
periodbetoken
ideology.
maintained
thatthesesubaltern
have"accepted"
thecolome,canitbeplausibly
populations
nizers'
"modeofproduction,"
evenwhencashcropfarming,
wagelabor,landrent,etc.have
beenimposed
uponthem.
Patrick
to defendFanon
8InhisbookTheNarrative
ofLiberation,
Taylorattempts
thischarge.
He concedesthatinBlackSkin,White
intermeMasks,"itisthecolonized
against
andeliteclassesingeneral
whosestory
istold"(44). Butheargues
thatthetextislessan
diary
ofcolonialism
as suchthanan impressionistic
andsemi-autobiographical
analysis
workingoftheproblematic
of"racialalienation"
inanattempt
to"overcome"
it.Thevalueof
through
thetext,forTaylor,
thenderives
from
thefactthat"itisnotconcerned
withoneman'salientothealienated
blackpersonintheCaribbean,
andparticularly
tothe
ation;itisaddressed
blackbourgeoisie....
Thebookisa mirror
inwhichtheycanreconstruct
their
own
dependent
totheirownparticular
situation"
stories,
(44).
according
readsFanon'sthought
Marxist9Taylor
verymuchin thelightofan existentialist
humanism.
Thushe constructs
theFanoniandistinction
between
nationalist
and
bourgeois
nationalitarian
in terms
ofa distinction
between
"thehumanistic
nationalconideologies
sciousness
aboutbytherevolutionary
movement"
and"thedegenerate
consciousness
brought
ofa dependent
that"[u]ndemeath
therolesintowhich
(Narrative
10);heargues
bourgeoisie"
thecolonized
a humanidentity
andtemporal
therectheyareforced,
preserve
beingthrough
ollectionofthepastinterms
ofa visionofthefuture"
that"thetask"
(49); andhe proposes
radicalintellectuals
is"totellthestory
ofhumanfreedom
itssituation
confronting
totalizing
insucha waythatfreedom
iscommunicated
andtheoppressive
situation
transformed"
(19).
I do notfindthesetheorizations
YetI believethatthe
Intellectually,
particularly
compelling.
ofFanon'sownproblematic
isconsiderably
moreaccurate
thanthat
representation
theyoffer
asHomiBhabhaorRobert
whowouldclaimFanonfora disproffered
bysuchtheorists
Young,
In hisbookWhite
forexample,
tinctly
contemporary
poststructuralism.
Mythologies,
Young
todistinguish
between
"theMarxist-humanist
andothattempts
attempt,
byLukacs,Sartre,
'a newhumanism'
whichwouldsubstitute,
fortheEnlightenment's
of
ers,tofound
conception
man'sunchanging
'a newhistorical
humanism'
thatwouldsee manas a product
of
nature,
himself
andofhisownactivity
in history"
whichYoung
(121), andFanon'sownposition,
characterizes
as "newhumanism"'
thatFanon(andother"non-Euro(125).Youngmaintains
suchasAimeCesaire)wereascritical
ofthehistorical
humanism
ofLukacsand
peanwriters"
Sartre
astheywereofEnlightenment
andheclaimsFanon'sstandpoint
asa theohumanism;
retical
onerootedin"therealization
ofhumanism's
involvement
inthehistory
antihumanism,
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NeilLazarus 1
95
thereis
ofcolonialism,whichshowsthatthetwoarenotso easilyseparable"(122). Certainly,
a critiqueofcertainaspectsofSartre'sphilosophyin Fanon'swork;butI do notacceptthatthe
substanceofSartre'shumanism
isevertheobjectofthesecritiques.In short,I amnotpersuaded
thatFanon'shumanismdistinguishes
itselffromthatofSartre.In myreading,Fanon never
thenewhumanismofwhich
placesa "new'newhumanism'" on theagenda.On thecontrary,
he speaksinconcludingTheWretched
oftheEarth-"ForEurope,forourselves,and forhumanity,comrades,we mustturnovera new leaf,we mustworkout new concepts,and tryto set
afoota newman"(316)--strikesme as beingmanifestly
Sartrian,and therefore
justas Taylor
it.(I shallreturnto Fanon'sformulation
in thefinalpagesofthispaper.)
represents
"lThereisa superficial
overlapherebetweenMiller'spositionand thatadvancedbythe
Moroccan writerand criticAbdelkebirKhatibi,in his important
article"Double Criticism:
The DecolonizationofArab Sociology."(Millerdoes notcite Khatibiin TheoriesofAfricans
and appearsto be unfamiliar
withhiswork.)In "Double Criticism,"
Khatibiarguesthatto the
extentthatMarxismisa universalistic
"Westernsystemofthought,"it isproneto a reductive
andotherizing
construction
ofnon-Western
societieseven thoughit"presentsitselfas,claims
tobe,and isapplied-in one wayoranother-againstimperialism"
Khat(12). In theseterms,
ibinotes,itbecomespossibleto "readMarxin thefollowingmanner:themurderofthe tradition(s) oftheotherand theliquidationofitspastarenecessaryso thattheWest,whileseizing
theworld,can expandbeyonditslimitswhileremainingunchangedin theend" (12). Unlike
Miller,however,Khatibidoes not finallyaccept thisreading-"which wouldreduceMarx's
ethnocentrism"
(13)-as legitimate.It fallsfoulbothoftheprogresthoughtto a murderous
sive thrustofMarx'sown ideasand ofthehistoricaleffects
ofMarxismas an institutionalized
thathisthought
politics:"Who can denythat[Marx]wasagainstcolonialismand imperialism,
has helped and continuesto help the Third Worldin overthrowing
and local
imperialism
powers?"(13). Ultimatelythe approachthatKhatibiadvocates is "neitherMarxistin the
strictsensenoranti-Marxist
in thenarrowsenseoftheterm,butdoesrecognizethelimitsofits
potential.Forwe wantto uprootWesternknowledgefromitscentralplace withinourselves,
to decenterourselveswithrespectto thiscenter,to thisoriginclaimedby the West.This
shouldbe done byoperatingin thesphereofa pluralandplanetary'thoughtofdifference'
that
struggles
againstitsownreductionand domestication"(13).
l Fora critiqueofAfricansocialismexplicitlyanimatedbyFanon'sreading,see Armah
"AfricanSocialism."
"'Cf. Linda Alcoff'srecentobservation,withparticularreferenceto contemporary
feministtheory,that"[a]s a typeofdiscursivepractice,speakingforothershas come under
increasingcriticism,and in some communitiesit is beingrejected.There is a strong,albeit
contested,currentwithinfeminismwhichholds thatspeakingforothersis arrogant,vain,
unethical,and politicallyillegitimate"
(6).
who notesthat"[a]ta timewhenthinkingisnottherageamongstcolonial
'3Cf.Parry,
discoursetheorists,
itis instructive
to recallhowFanon'sdialogicalinterrogation
ofEuropean
a processofculturalresistanceandculturaldisrupreconstructs
powerand nativeinsurrection
tion,participatesin a textthatcan answercolonialismback,and anticipatesanotherconditionbeyondimperialism"
("Problems"44).
'4Bhabhaaddsthat"[i]tisthisambivalencethatmakestheboundariesofcolonial'positionality'-the divisionofself/other-andthe questionofcolonial power-the differentiation ofcolonizer/colonized-different
fromboth the Hegelian master/slave
dialecticor the
phenomenologicalprojectionofOtherness"(169).
'5"Nowhere"Bhabhawrites,"isthisslippagemorevisiblethanin [Fanon's]workitself,
wherea rangeoftextsand traditions-from
theclassicalrepertoire
to thequotidian,conversationalcultureofracism-vie to utterthatlastwordthatremainsunspoken.Nowhereis this
ofinferring
fromthetextsof
slippagemoresignificantly
experiencedthanin theimpossibility
Fanon a pacificimageof'society'orthe'state'as a homogeneousphilosophicalorrepresentational unity.The 'social' is alwaysan unresolvedensembleof antagonisticinterlocutions
betweenpositionsofpowerand poverty,
surknowledgeand oppression,historyand fantasy,
veillanceand subversion.It is forthisreason-above all else-that we shouldturnto Fanon
146-47).
("Remembering"
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
96
I
in African
Research
Literatures
Rhetoricof Otherness
and the 'NationalAllegory',"
'6AijazAhmad's"Jameson's
ofJameson's
articleto be published,
is stillarguably
the most
amongthe first
critiques
thorough.
"TheResponthispointbrilliantly:
l7ThetitleofoneofE.SanJuan,
Jr.'s
essays
captures
toBeauty:
Toward
anAesthetics
ofNationalLiberation."
Inthisessay,
SanJuanoffers
sibility
in Latin
a suggestive
ofRoqueDalton'sextraordinary
andMilitancy
analysis
essay,
"Poetry
America."
from
Dalton'sessay,
SanJuanwrites
as follows:
Quotingdirectly
"Retrospectively
scars'leftbyhisJesuit
inthe
the'painful
hisirresponsible
nurtured
education,
lifestyle
noting
Salvadoran
Dalton'scareerexemplifies
thepredica'wombofthemeanspirited
bourgeoisie,'
mentoftheThirdWorldartist
bifurcated
formative
byhis'longanddeepbourgeois
period'
His textregisters
andhis'Communist
thehesitancies,
reservations,
militancy.'
misgivings,
ofthishybrid
andscruples
The writer
inself-criticism
notbyjettisoning
genealogy.
engages
thepast,butbysubsuming
itina dialectical
modeofabsorption/negation:
hebelieves
thatfar
from
itspotential,
thebourgeois
outlookoffers
'creative
so bydisexhausting
possibilities,'
itsessentially
theartist
can'useitas an instrument
tocreateideal
carding
negative
aspects,
forthenewpeople's
conditions
artthatwillspring
ofSalvadorans
up'intheprocess
fashioning
a newautonomous
lifeforthemselves"
(90).
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