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142 THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTHquickly as possible. The underdeveloped country must takecautions not to perpetuate feudal traditions that give priority tomen over women. Women shall be given equal importance tomen, not in the articles of the consitution, but in daily life, at thefactory, in the schools, and in assemblies. If the countriesWest station their soldiers in barracks, this does not mean this isbest solution. We are not obliged to militarize recruits. Nationalservice can be civilian or military, and in any case every ablebodiedcitizen should be able to join his fighting unit at a moment'snotice to defend the freedom of the nation and its civil liberties.major public works projects of national interest shouldbe carried out by the recruits. This is a highly effective way ofstimulating stagnant regions and getting the greatest numbercitizens to learn ofthe country's realities. We should avoid transformingthe army into an autonomous body that sooner or later,and aimless, will "go into politics" and threaten the authorities.By dint of haunting the corridors of power, armchair generalsdream of pronunciamentos. The only way of avoiding this isto politicize the army, i.e., nationalize it. Likewise there is anurgent need to strengthen the militia. In the event of war, it isthe entire nation which fights or works. There should be no professionalsoldiers, and the number of career officers should bekept to a minimum; first of all, because very often the officersare selected from university graduates who would be much moreuseful elsewhere-an engineer is a thousand times more indispensableto the nation than an officer-and secondly, becauseany hint of a caste consciousness should be eliminated. We haveseen in the preceding pages how nationalism, that magnificenthymn which roused the masses against the oppressor,grates in the aftermath of independence. Nationalism is not apolitical doctrine, it is not a program. If we really want to safeguardour countries from regression, paralysis, or collapse, wemust rapidly switch from a national consciousness to a socialpolitical consciousness. The nation can only come into beingTHE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS 143in a program elaborated by a revolutionary leadership and enthusiasticallyand lucidly appropriated by the masses. The naeffortmust be constantly situated in the general contextof the underdeveloped countries. The front line against hungerand darkness, the front line against poverty and stunted consciousness,must be present in the minds and muscles of the menand women. The work of the masses, their determination tothe scourges that for centuries have excluded them fromthe history of the human mind, must be connected to the workand determination of all the underdeveloped peoples. There isa kind of collective endeavor, a common destiny amongunderdeveloped masses. The peoples ofthe Third World are notinterested in news about King Baudoin's wedding or the affairsof the Italian bourgeoisie. What we want to hear are case historiesin Argentina or Burma about the fight against illiteracy orthe dictatorial behavior of other leaders. This is the material thatus, educates us, and greatly increases our effectiveness.we have seen, a government needs a program if it really wantsto liberate the people politically and socially. Not only an economicprogram but also a policy on the distribution of wealthand social relations. In there must be a concept of man, aA~~A",..... t about the future of mankind. Which means that no sermon,no complicity with the former occupier can replace a program.The people, at first unenlightened and increasinglylucid, will vehemently demand such a program. The Mricansand the underdeveloped peoples, contrary to what is commonlybelieved, are quick to build a social and political consciousness.The danger is that very often they reach the stage of social consciousnessbefore reaching the national phase. In this case theunderdeveloped countries' violent calls for social justice arecombined, paradoxically enough, with an often primitive trib-The underdeveloped peoples behave like a starving population-whichmeans that the days of those who treat Mrica astheir playground are strictly numbered. In other words, their powercannot last forever. A bourgeoisie that has only nationalism to feed