The Pitfalls Of National Consciousness Analysis

Writing during the height of the Algerian war, Frantz Fanon faced a divided African continent . The Wretched of the Earth reads as a warning sign to those residing in the newly independent nations of the Third World, of the threat posed by the nationalist bourgeoisie. His chapter on ‘The Pitfalls of National Consciousness’, examines how the aspirations of the colonized bourgeoisie come to overshadow the desires of the working class; and, rather cynically how this privileged elite merely seeks to overthrow colonial rule in order to usurp its position of dominance. This bourgeoisie replaces the middle class of the mother country, by convincing its compatriots that colonialism is merely a binary opposition of colonizer and colonized; and, is
According to Fanon’s suspicions, the nationalist bourgeoisie will often favor prospects for individual wealth and power over the more egalitarian and universally-reaching principles of freedom, equality and post-conflict justice. The two are presented as being mutually exclusive – the nation and the national bourgeoisie cannot both prosper, the success of one has to be sacrificed for the success of the other. In Rwanda, we saw the aggressive anxiety to occupy the posts left vacant by the departure of the Belgians, erupt into a merciless fight amongst the two dominant tribes . The violent eradication of the racial other became the only solution – the national middle class viewed the newly independent area as one which needed to be cleansed or purified of the presence of the undesirable or dangerous other. Nationalism became paradoxically allied with primitive tribalism . The Tutsi were blamed for the nation’s failures to transform the socioeconomic sphere; and were painted as an ethnic minority dedicated to racial domination and re-colonization. The claims made against the Tutsi’s were entirely fabricated by a bourgeoisie regime that was attempting to cling to power at any cost. This middle class’s inability to forge unity across the nation, created a ‘lower’ class that was viewed
While the nationalist bourgeoisie are happy to accept whatever scraps the ex-colonial powers throw their way, the lower class must not be content with this. Without social reform, political and economic transformation, national liberation will inevitably become an empty shell, ‘a crude and fragile travesty of what it might have been’ . Discovering the role that national consciousness will ultimately play in the decolonization process, can help one come to understand the motives of the nationalist bourgeoisie. If nationalism is conceptualized as something to entertain the masses in order to divert their attention from real issues, then it appears to be a stifling and suffocating culture that aids the elitist mission. However, if it is a culture that attempts to speak to the people directly in order to advance their resistance and struggles; and fosters and encourages dissent and criticism, then nationalism can create a foundation upon which mass transformative progress can come to be