wretched-of-the-earth-frantz-fanon

'nn118 THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS 119for the people under you, there will no room for you in the by foreign advisors. The former metropolis therefore governshouse of God."indirectly both through the bourgeoisie it nurtures and the na­It is obvious that the national bourgeoisie is little troubled bytional army which is trained and supervised by its experts to transsuchdenunciations. Focused solely on Europe, it remains firmlyfix, immobilize and terrorize the people.resolved to get the most out of the situation. The enormous prof­The few remarks we have made concerning the national bouritmakes from exploiting the people are shipped abroad. Thegeoisie lead us to an inevitable conclusion. In the underdevelopednational bourgeoisie is very often more wary of the regimecountries the bourgeoisie should not find conditions conduciveit has installed than are the foreign companies. It refuses to investto its existence and fulfilment. In other words, the combined effortson home soil and is remarkably ungrateful to the State that pro­of the masses, regimented by a party, and of keenly conscioustects and feeds it. On the European stock exchanges it buys for­tellectuals, armed with revolutionary principles, should bar the wayeign stocks and spends weekends in Paris and Hamburg. Theto this useless and harmful bourgeoisie.behavior of the national bourgeoisie of certain underdevelopedcountries is reminiscent of members of a gang who, after everytheoretical question, which has been posed for the lastholdup, hide their share from their accomplices and wisely pre­fifty years when addressing the history of the underdevelopedpare for retirement. Such behavior reveals that the national bour­countries, i.e., whether the bourgeois phase can be effectivelygeoisie more or less realizes it will lose out in the long term. Itskipped, must be resolved through revolutionary action and notforesees that such a situation cannot last for ever, but intendsthrough reasoning. The bourgeois phase in the underdevelopedmaking the most of it. Such a level of exploitation, however,countries is only justified iEthe national bourgeoisie is sufficientlysuch distrust of the State inevitably trigger popular discontent.powerful, economically and technically, to build a bourgeoisUnder the circumstances the regime becomes more authoritar-society, to create the conditions for developing a sizeable prole­The army thus becomes the indispensable tool for systematictariat, to mechanize agriculture, and finally pave the wav for arepression. In lieu of a parliament, the army becomes the arbiter.genuine national culture.But sooner or later it realizes its influence and intimidates thegovemment with the constant threat of a pronunciamento.The bourgeoisie, which evolved in Europe, was able to elabo­As we have seen, the national bourgeoisie of certain underde­rate an ideology while strengthening its own influence. Thisveloped countries has learned nothing from history. If it hadnamic, educated, and secular bourgeoisie fully succeeded in itslooked closer at Latin America it would have no doubt identi­undertaking ofcapital accumulation and endowed the nation withfied the dangers awaiting it. We thus arrive at the conclusion thata minimum of prosperity. In the underdeveloped countries wemicrobourgeoisie, despite all the fanfare, is doomed to makehave seen that there was no genuine bourgeoisie but rather anno headway. In the underdeveloped countries a bourgeois phaseacquisitive, voracious, and ambitious petty caste, dominated bv ais out of the question. A police dictatorship or a caste of profi­small-time racketeer mentality, content with the dividendsteers may well be the case but a bourgeois society is doomed out by the former colonial power. This short-sighted bourgeoisieto failure. The band of gilded profiteers grabbing banknoteslacks vision and inventiveness. It has learned by heart what it hasagainst a background of widespread misery will sooner or laterread in the manuals of the West and subtly transforms itself notbe a straw in the hands of the army, which is cleverly manipulateda replica of Europe but rather its caricature.