Good morning fam! What books have you devoured this week or are about to feast on?

  • Hungover [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I am currently reading The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, I got it for Christmas, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

    It's about decolonization and the special role of the colonized people in the international context, as well as the geopolitical context of the time. Written in 1961, it isn't too far back but still shows clear signs of aging, that being the phrasing (the n-word comes up a lot) and the changing geopolitical situation. He touches on the USSR as the beacon for the colonized people, as Khrushchev threatens to defend the anticolonial Cuban revolution with a nuclear arsenal.

    He also really emphasizes how swapping the colonial bourgeoisie for a native bourgeoisie happens in some attempts of decolonization but ultimately has its very own contradictions, same with colonized people maintaining close relationships to their former colonial power. He also touches on tactics, strategy and the roles of various entities in the revolution of the colonized people and the unique historic context of colonization and decolonization.

    As far as I've read now I can fully recommend it to any Marxist

    • snott_morrison [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Have just started Wretched of the Earth as well. What did you think of the preface by Jean- Paul Satre?

      • Hungover [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I really don't have strong feelings about it, other than I think it's unnecessary and doesn't really add anything to the book (as Sartre also states). I've heard that Fanon himself didn't like it, the passage about Sartre "stealing it to make Europe better" feels pretty weird, but ultimately I don't mind it.