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Decolonization and Socialist Revolution are the Ways Forward

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Rainer Shea
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This disadvantage of anarchism in helping the anti-colonial cause, which is that anarchism doesn't seek to build a state, epitomizes a larger flaw in anarchism: that it's based in individualism. Individualism, as Fanon explained, is an obstacle in the movement towards decolonization. He wrote that in the political development of someone who's seriously struggling towards national liberation, "Individualism is the first to disappear," and that:

The native intellectual had learnt from his masters that the individual ought to express himself fully. The colonialist bourgeoisie had hammered into the native's mind the idea of a society of individuals where each person shuts himself up in his own subjectivity, and whose only wealth is individual thought. Now the native who has the opportunity to return to the people during the struggle for freedom will discover the falseness of this theory. The very forms of organization of the struggle will suggest to him a different vocabulary. Brother, sister, friend""these are words outlawed by the colonialist bourgeoisie, because for them my brother is my purse, my friend is part of my scheme for getting on.

Despite communism's many advantages over anarchism in how it can be used to help the anti-colonial cause, it's important for communists-specifically white communists-to recognize that after decolonization happens, socialism won't be established throughout the First Nations in a monolithic or uniform sense. No central authority will get to dictate the economic systems of these First Nations, it will be up to them to decide where they'll develop next.

Having clarified this nuance about how socialism will relate to the continent's decolonization, I shoud also mention the important role that socialism will no doubt have play in the liberation of the First Nations from colonial interests. The countries of Africa and Latin America may have officially long broken free from the imperialist countries, but imperialism and colonialism still dominate the vast majority of these countries. Specifically, imperialism and neo-colonialism; American and European corporations continue to exploit these countries in a neo-colonial fashion, while Washington still dictates who gets to lead most of these countries. In this way, they haven't truly broken free from the grip of the colonizer. But socialism can correct this situation.

When socialists have taken power in these decolonized African and Latin American countries, neo-colonialism has been blocked within them. Zimbabwe's communist president Robert Mugabe stopped the IMF and other neo-colonial forces from taking control of his country's economy. Libya's socialist leader Muammar Gaddafi greatly raised his country's living standards before NATO ousted him in a regime change war for defying the imperialists. Bolivia's socialist president Evo Morales did the same for his country before he was ousted in a U.S. coup. The socialist governments of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba continue to protect their peoples from the forces of imperialism.

If the First Nations get their land back, multinational corporations and the remnants of the imperialist regime change network will try to gain a different form of control over them. So socialism will prove to be a useful tool for making the anti-colonial process complete, as it's proven to be in other places. It's because of this highly beneficial relationship which socialism has with anti-colonialism that Fanon himself was a communist, and wrote about socialist nations in ways which implied an allyship with them in their shared struggle against imperialism; this quote from The Wretched of the Earth is one example: "The liberation of Africa and the growth of consciousness among mankind have made it possible for the Latin American peoples to break with the old merry-go-round of dictatorships where each succeeding regime exactly resembled the preceding one. Castro took over power in Cuba, and gave it to the people. This heresy is felt to be a national scourge by the Yankees."

Given all these lessons from history, and from assessing the present material conditions, the tasks of someone who wants to help achieve decolonization in the continent now called "America" are clear: work towards the transferring of land to the indigenous peoples, support the cause of socialism (specifically Marxism-Leninism), and counter the arguments of those who seek to distort these lessons.

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Rainer Shea is writing articles that counter the propaganda of the capitalist/imperialist power establishment, and that help move us towards a socialist revolution. Donate to me on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11988744

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