> > >> > >> > Tribalism, Colonialism and Capitalism >> > >> > The festering of tribalist, nationalist and racist sentiment >> > are nurtured and sustained by the capitalist system >> > >> > By Adongo Aidan Avugma >> > >> > Within the context of neo-colonial statehood, tribalism is a >> > colonial derivative based on matriarchal or patriarchal >> > relations forged in the distant past and used by an ethnic >> > group as a defensive and an offensive weapon against other >> > groups. The position of some of those who see tribalism as >> > the main cause of Africa's present social and economic >> > predicament follows a familiar pattern of thinking. The >> > colonialists, according to them, tried to make a >> > nation-state out of a hotch-potch of antagonistic and >> > uncivilised African peoples but failed in their pious >> > mission. The various tribes had age-long hatred for one >> > another and as soon as the colonial power went the natives >> > descended into barbarism maiming and killing each other. >> > >> > Nationalists in Africa see the matter differently, painting >> > idyllic pictures of the African past and blaming all the >> > tribal conflicts that have erupted after independence solely >> > on colonialism. This viewpoint is as historically incorrect >> > as it is undialectical. Facts abound on how the internal >> > evolution of some African communities before colonialism and >> > mercantile capitalism had provided groups of people the >> > opportunity to appropriate the labour of others, accumulate >> > economic surplus and consequently subjugate other >> > communities. This is a scenario that must have generated a >> > certain level of tribal animosity and discrimination based >> > on economic exploitation and wealth, even if this was on a >> > minor scale compared with the situation in colonial times >> > and the post-independence era. It was these differences that >> > were deliberately and carefully nurtured by the >> > colonialists, and later exploited by the neo-colonial >> > bourgeoisie after independence to keep the people manacled >> > to the capitalist system. >> > >> > >> > In colonial times >> > >> > Colonialism whether it was of the British, Belgian, French >> > or German variety was not meant to be a benign enterprise. >> > The motive behind its establishment was one: the >> > exploitation of labour and the accumulation of economic >> > surplus. Consequently, the driving force behind it, >> > capitalism, did not spare the exploitation of labour in both >> > the metropolis and other lands even if it meant spilling >> > blood to fulfil this sordid agenda. >> > >> > This mercenary impulse had implied increased production, >> > technological expansion, the growth of the external and >> > domestic market and ultimately the annexation and political >> > control of other territories. Tribal groups which stood in >> > the way were, in colonial parlance, pacified. But if, as >> > suggested in some quarters, the colonial enterprise had >> > meant to pacify and carve out viable nation-states capable >> > of competing with metropolitan capitalism, the monopolistic >> > tendency and vampire essence of the profit system would have >> > been still-born. Far from creating problems for itself, its >> > policy towards the people of the colonies was guided by the >> > trinitarian doctrine -- atomisation, exploitation and >> > domination. This unfolded in its pattern of social and >> > economic investment in what came to be known as Ghana and >> > before that as the Gold Coast. >> > >> > British colonial policy encouraged investments in only those >> > areas of the colony which were endowed with mineral and >> > forest resources. This pattern of investment engendered >> > considerable regional variations in terms of the provision >> > of roads, railway lines and social services. Thus the >> > Southern Sector which by virtue of its location abounded in >> > timber, gold and fertile soil benefited far more in terms of >> > infrastructural development than the Northern territories >> > which did not have any known mineral resources. But even in >> > the Southern part of the colony there was discrimination in >> > the provision of amenities on the basis of the contribution >> > to the exportable surplus. The pattern of investment that >> > characterised British economic policy was not born out of >> > any preference for the Asante over the Dagarti, but based on >> > cold capitalist reasoning. After all, some minimum >> > maintenance of workers' health and education was a >> > reasonable investment since it ensured the maximisation of >> > the extraction of surplus from the worker; and the greedy >> > capitalists by their calculations knew this too well. >> > >> > How did this promote tribalism? By annexing the Gold Coast >> > and putting the people in a subordinate status, the British >> > colonial power froze any further evolution and consolidation >> > of a national identity. For example, it destroyed the >> > principal catalyst for achieving the unity of fragmented >> > loyalties. Not only did colonialism deprive states like >> > Benin, Oyo and Asante of all their principal vassals and >> > tributary states, but it followed up the process of >> > fragmentation by smashing the basis of the hegemonic power >> > of these states thus giving full rein to all manner of >> > divisive tendencies. >> > >> > While pretending to be carrying out a mission of uniting the >> > incorrigibly warring tribes British colonial policy >> > consciously and systematically separated the various people, >> > creating conflict and ill-will among them. The colonial >> > government sometimes saw the value of stimulating tribal >> > jealousies so as to keep the colonised from dealing with >> > their principal opposition -- the colonial and the emergent >> > African bourgeoisie who together were milking the people. >> > >> > By categorising the various linguistic subgroups in the Gold >> > Coast -- Frafra, Dagarti, Ninkarsi Kusaasi, Dagomba, Akyim, >> > Asante and Fanti -- as tribes the colonial regime began to >> > nurture parochial and exclusivist consciousness among people >> > who previously had regarded themselves as one. All official >> > documents in colonial times, for example, required >> > information on the place of origin and ethnic background of >> > the individual. Names were thus suffixed with one's tribal >> > background and area of origin. Feeling regarded as a member >> > of an ethnic group by others and that they would behave >> > towards you accordingly, individuals began to feel the need >> > to identify more closely with their "kith and kin" and to >> > promote its interest relative to others. >> > >> > Racist colonial ideology ignored the fact that the people of >> > the Gold Coast shared a common heritage of colonial >> > oppression and colonially-induced capitalist exploitation >> > with its concomitant ills: poverty, ignorance, disease and >> > malnutrition. As a result, its philosophy of determining the >> > inferiority or superiority of a people in terms of the >> > extent to which they had culturally imbibed all what the >> > colonial establishment represented came to dominate the >> > worldview of some Africans. >> > >> > Colonial ideology and culture operated on the basis of a >> > hierarchy of cultures in which that of the metropolitan >> > bourgeoisie was supposed to be supreme. The culture of the >> > country of origin of the metropolitan bourgeoisie therefore >> > became the standard by which a people's level of >> > primitiveness or barbarism was determined. The more your >> > thinking, values and mannerisms were close to the >> > colonialists' the more human you were; and by implication >> > the further your behaviour and outlook were from the >> > masters' the less human you were. This explained why the >> > rich and educated elite who were products of the colonial >> > educational system did not answer questions in their African >> > dialect but in English. They talked about the opera which >> > they had never seen except from a distance, referred to >> > winter and Buckingham Palace and, above all, adopted a >> > critical attitude towards other Africans who they >> > derogatively referred to as "bush people". >> > >> > But the idea of trying to approximate to the coloniser was >> > not only to be found in the relations between the African >> > and the European coloniser. Sometimes Africans tried to >> > approximate their status to other Africans if they thought >> > those individuals enjoyed a higher status. African ethnic >> > groups which had a high number of educated and rich people >> > within them as a result of their long contact with the >> > coloniser tended to feel superior to others. Even if they >> > were poor and illiterate they identified psychologically >> > with those in their tribal group who were rich and educated. >> > It did not matter to the poor Asante, Frafra or Ewe person >> > if all of them were victims of crude exploitation by >> > colonialism and the African bourgeoisie. In their minds, the >> > identification with the tribal big boss and the fact that >> > they came from the same ethnic background was enough, even >> > if it did not ensure the enjoyment of a spoon of marmalade >> > from the master's table. These exclusivist and warped >> > thinking explained why a poor Asante for example could feel >> > deeply offended if he was mistaken for a Busanga or any >> > other tribe. This not only lead to more barriers between the >> > ethnic groups but effectively undermined their capacity to >> > confront capitalist exploitation. The inter-ethnic struggle >> > for superiority or at least to avoid the stigma of >> > inferiority dissipated the energies of the people. >> > >> > >> > Tribalism today >> > >> > The African bourgeoisie which assumed the mantle of power >> > after colonial rule also did not fail to realise the >> > usefulness of tribalism in the struggle against the African >> > masses. Like racial violence in Europe, tribalism was a >> > means to an end: deflecting the anger of the masses from the >> > neo-colonial bourgeoisie and directing it at other members >> > of the working class. In another sense it was the most >> > convenient cover for the capitalist robbers who stole >> > economic surplus from the working class and poor peasants. >> > The attitude of the African bourgeoisie towards the colonial >> > state that it inherited, therefore, was not that of >> > dismantling and radically transforming the exploitative >> > relations of production. It was guided by the desire to >> > inherit the colonial state-machine and seek accommodation >> > with international capital in the extraction of economic >> > surplus from the working people. Consequently, >> > post-independence politics in Africa has witnessed the >> > arousal and manipulation of tribal passions and petty >> > differences among ethnic groups, for the same sordid reasons >> > that the bourgeoisie in Europe sometimes find convenient it >> > to use racism. >> > >> > The predatory character of capitalism coupled with the >> > hollowness and hypocrisy of the African bourgeoisie created >> > fertile conditions for the festering of this cancerous >> > disposition. Slogans, values and the moral high ground >> > postured by the bourgeoisie as events unfolded long after >> > independence have been blatantly self-serving. As for their >> > masters abroad, the state machinery has now become an >> > important instrument in their quest for capital accumulation >> > at the expense of the masses, whom they claim in political >> > party campaigns to be liberating from poverty, disease, etc. >> > However, given the peculiar historical and economic >> > circumstances in which it has had to evolve it is not an >> > exact carbon copy of its masters abroad. >> > >> > The African bourgeoisie is more desirous of imbibing the >> > lifestyles and privileges of its overlords in Europe and >> > America than showing the creative and strong interest in >> > production that marked the genesis of the bourgeoisie in >> > Europe. Its extravagance and neo-colonial conditions have >> > been at the core of the steep declines of production levels >> > in recent times, leading to shocking levels of destitution >> > and poverty. But it is precisely these conditions of want >> > that the bourgeoisie has shamelessly manipulated to scuttle >> > the unity of the dispossessed in the towns using tribalism >> > as a tool. >> > >> > Cruel economic conditions have forced many residents in >> > poverty-stricken suburbs to seek help and protection by >> > means of a network of social obligations, transferring some >> > of their traditional feudal loyalties and institutions to >> > the urban environment. Most ethnic groups in Accra, Kumasi >> > and Sekondi-Takordi have installed chiefs to whom they pay >> > allegiance and seek protection. Tribal associations have >> > also been formed to advance the cause of particular ethnic >> > groups and used as sources of benefit: help in finding a >> > job, accommodation, money and credit. People also stick >> > together to make common cause against other tribal groups in >> > the struggle for economic survival in the dog-eat-dog >> > environment that has been created by capitalism. >> > >> > It is these tribal associations that provide arenas for the >> > various factions of the bourgeoisie to launch offensives and >> > counter-offensives against each other in their struggle for >> > political and economic power. Events in the run-up to this >> > month's presidential election in Ghana provide ample >> > testimony of this, as many of such groups with the backing >> > of the bourgeoisie have sprung up, all seeking to advance >> > the interest of the bourgeoisie in the various ethnic >> > groups. They have organised and whipped up the sentiments of >> > the lower strata of their tribespeople against rivals >> > belonging to different ethnic groups. They have created the >> > impression that it is only when one of your tribesmen is at >> > the helm of affairs that you can have a fair share of >> > national development and individual personal advancement. >> > Consequently, where a presidential or vice-presidential >> > candidate comes from has become extremely important. >> > >> > But as it has always been the case after every election, and >> > will surely be the case after this month's elections, that >> > those factions that win the election will easily forget >> > about the ethnic support base they so subtly manipulated to >> > propel themselves to power. They will shun the company of >> > their poor tribespeople who supported them and will >> > fraternise closely with their allies in other ethnic groups. >> > The rancour and bitterness that characterised their >> > relations will soon be forgotten, except on political party >> > platforms. They will play tennis, billiards and golf >> > together and discuss lucrative business contracts in posh >> > hotels. As for their indigent brethren who had worked >> > tirelessly to put them in power, they will have to start >> > thinking seriously about how to pay school fees, feed the >> > family, and get good accommodation. >> > >> > The festering of tribalist, nationalist and racist sentiment >> > are nurtured and sustained by the capitalist system of >> > production which produces only for profits and not for >> > needs. The abolition of the profit system and its >> > replacement with socialism based on the common ownership and >> > democratic control of the means and instruments for >> > production and distribution would put an end to >> > discrimination and bigotry. But this cannot happen unless >> > people understand and see the need for this kind of change. >> > More than ever before, the formation of socialist parties in >> > Africa to take up the task of spreading the socialist >> > message has become urgent. >> > >> > Copyleft (c) 2000-2001 Socialist Party of Great Britain. >> > Redistribute Freely. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------