'The Wretched of the Earth' by Frantz Fanon

 'The Wretched of the Earth' by Frantz Fanon

Introduction :-

Frantz Fanon examined the psychological and political impacts of colonialism on people and countries in his 1961 book 'The Wretched of the Earth'. The book has impacted the civil rights, anti-colonial, Black consciousness, and psychiatric reform movements. It is regarded as a seminal work for activists and revolutionaries. The dehumanising impacts of colonialism, the role of violence in historical transformation, and the psychological trauma experienced by colonised peoples are all explored in this book. Black awareness, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism movements have all found support in the book. Following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, it attracted a new readership.

Now let's discuss some questions in detail...

1) What is the role of violence in colonialism with reference to the wretched of Earth?

A.1.

Frantz Fanon contends in The Wretched of the Earth that violence is a hallmark of colonialism and that committing violence in retaliation is the only way to defeat it. According to Fanon, violence formed all interactions between colonisers and colonised and served as an organising basis of the colonial system. He also thought that using violence may be a vital weapon for political involvement as well as a cathartic response to the oppression brought about by colonialism.

Colonial Violence :-

Fanon highlights that the foundation of colonialism is violence, both psychological and physical. In addition to annexing territory and resources, the colonisers maintain their power through tyranny, coercion, and military force. Fanon talks about how internalising feelings of inferiority and obedience by the colonised is a psychological cruelty that comes with colonialism. In addition to being physical, colonial violence penetrates the brains of the oppressed, causing them to experience mental pain and self-loathing.

Violence is a tool of social control :-

Fanon thought that although violence constituted a societal control mechanism, it could also be a cathartic response to the oppression brought about by colonialism. Fanon stressed that violence might be a means of expression and that it shouldn't always be seen negatively. According to Fanon, in order for the colonised subjects to regain their humanity, they had to use violence in the same ways as the colonisers.

In the Context of Colonisers and Colonised: Violence

According to Fanon, the relationship between the coloniser and the colonised is inherently violent. The persistent threat of force defines the world in which the colonised live, and their response to this violence is frequently determined by their desire to resist or survive. According to Fanon, the colonised are further dehumanised and a vicious cycle of oppression and resistance is created when colonial regimes employ violence to legitimise their use of force.

According to Fanon, people who are colonised and endure severe repression frequently believe that the colonisers only speak a language of violence. Within this worldview, centuries of brutality and exploitation are justified in using violence as a response. Although Fanon accepts that this violence occasionally has negative effects, he feels that it is an essential reaction to the brutality of the colonial system.

Violence's Effects on the Post-Colonial State

Even while Fanon supports the use of violence as a tool for emancipation, he is conscious of the risks involved. He understands that the history of violence can have an impact on post-colonial society and that it can inflict severe wounds on both colonisers and colonised people. Fanon cautions that if power is not properly redistributed, new forms of violence or authoritarianism may emerge in recently independent republics.

2) Describe what Manichaeism means in a colonial context?

A.2.

The colonial world is a “Manichaean World,” he claims, that is divided into the colonist or the light and good and the colonized or the dark and evil. The widespread racism that afflicted colonial civilisation stemmed from this fundamental conviction that Africans are bad. Imperialist ideology's binary structures are referred to as manichaeisms. Frantz Fanon's book The Wretched of the Earth compared colonialism to manichaeism.

Fanon thought that racism in colonial civilisation stemmed from the fundamental conviction that Africans are bad. Racist ideology, according to him, is a type of Manichean madness. According to Fanon, true decolonisation necessitated putting an end to a state in which the world is divided into regions and inhabited by various species. The colonisers' use of violence against the colonised is justified by the Manichean divide. Since colonised people are viewed as dangerous or subhuman, controlling them through violence is seen as vital to "civilise" them. This ideology also paints the colonised as violent and illogical, which justifies the brutal suppression of any resistance or uprising.

The 'The Wretched of the Earth' quotes below are all either spoken by Manichaeanism or refer to Manichaeanism.

"The people who in the early days of the struggle had adopted the primitive Manichaeanism of the colonizer—Black versus White, Arab versus Infidel—realize en route that some blacks can be whiter than the whites, and that the prospect of a national flag or independence does not automatically result in certain segments of the population giving up their privileges and their interests."

- Chapter 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity

3) Describe how decolonization fits into a larger global capitalist picture.

A.3.

Neocolonialism's Contribution to Economic Survival :-

Many newly independent countries remained economically dependent on other industrialised nations or their former colonial powers after decolonisation. Neocolonialism is the term used to describe this phenomena, in which wealthy capitalist nations or former colonisers' interests are still favoured by economic and financial systems even after a country gains political independence. Global firms and international financial organisations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have a significant impact on these postcolonial states' economic policies. They frequently prioritise privatisation, market liberalisation, and structural adjustments, which may be advantageous to global capitalism at the expense of regional development.

Including in Global Capitalism :-

Postcolonial states were frequently placed in a secondary role when they were assimilated into the global capitalist system. With the help of aid programs, trade agreements, and foreign investments, the capitalist world order which was dominated by nations like the United governments and Western European powers maintained control over the economies of postcolonial governments. These initiatives frequently included terms that benefited international capitalists.

Dynamics of Global Power and Resource Extraction :-

The establishment of operations by multinational firms from industrialised nations in postcolonial states resulted in the low-cost extraction of resources, which in turn sustained the exploitation of natural resources without necessarily advancing the economic growth of these nations. This trend indicates the existence of a global capitalism system that disproportionately advantages wealthier, more industrialized nations while limiting the development potential of postcolonial governments.

The role of cold war and challenges to global capitalism :-

Low-wage labour was essential to global capitalism in both the industrialised countries of the North and the developing or postcolonial countries of the South. This resulted in the continuation of exploitative labour practices in postcolonial regimes. During the Cold War, decolonisation took place, and the geopolitical rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States, as the capitalist West, greatly influenced the global capitalist system. 

The struggle between the capitalist and communist blocs during the Cold War influenced the growth of postcolonial countries as well. Through aid, military backing, and diplomatic alliances, these countries were increasingly entangled in global capitalist (or socialist) networks. By implementing socialist or nationalist economic policies, a few recently independent countries made an effort to subvert the international capitalist system.

Conclusion :-

Violence is viewed in The Wretched of the Earth as both a vital tool for liberation and the main means of colonial dominance. Fanon's writings offer a potent examination of the relationships between oppression, power, and resistance in colonial settings. It also emphasises the nuanced role that violence plays in both the pursuit of freedom and subjugation. In a setting of colonialism, manichaeism upholds the rigid and harsh distinction between coloniser and colonised, perpetuating a violent, dehumanising, and exploitative regime. Even if decolonisation was a big step towards political independence, postcolonial countries were still economically connected to the world economy through it.