by Sam Dolgoff W

This w o r k c o n c e r n s the political, economic and sodial in2

stitutions s e t up a f t e r World War I1 in economicaJly under-
developed "Third World" s t a t e s , dealing p r i m a r i l y ( f o r space
r e a s o n s ) with African s t a t e s ,
Without in the l e a s t endorsing the i m p e r i a l i s t policies of
e i t h e r the American o r Russian power blocs o r trying, in
any way whatsoever, t o justifytheir c r i m e s , the widespread
notion the "Third World1' i s a satisfactory alternative m u s t
be dispelled. The p a t t e r n of events was a l r e a d y foreshadowed
by the a n a r c h i s t Rudolf Rocker before World War 11, in t h i s
prophetic pas sage :

".. .the s a m e nationalities which before World War I,

never c e a s e d t o revolt against the foreign o p p r e s s o r ,
r e v e a l themselve S today, when they have attained in-
dependence, a s the w o r s t o p p r e s s o r s of nationalmin-
oritie S within t h e i r own jurisdiction and inflict upon
them the s a m e m o r a l and l e g a l oppressions, which
.
when they w e r e subjected peoples. . t h i s ought t o
make plain even t o the blindest, that a harmonious
living together within the f r a m e w o r k of the national
state is definitely impossible.. . T h e s e peoples who
have in the name of liberation shaken off the yoke of
the hated foreign rule have gained nothing the 'eby. ..
in m o s t c a s e s they have taken on a new yoke which
is frequently m o r e oppressive than the old. ..
.. .the change of human groups into nations, that is,
State peoples, have not opened out a new outlook. ..
it i s today one of the m o s t dangerous hindrances t o
social liberation. .. behind everything, the t e r m "Na-
tional" stands f o r the will t o power of s m a l l m i n o r i -
..
t i e s and the special i n t e r e s t s of c a s t e and c l a s s .
..
in the State. l ' (1)

F o r J o s e Marti, "apostle" of Cuban independence, and

f o r us, f o r m a l independence i s not enough. "To change the
m a s t e r i s not to be f r e e . A nation i s r e a l l y independent
only to the extent that the people f e e l f r e e t o lead t h e i r own
lives. T h e r e a r e v e r y few, if any, f r e e autonomous unions,
neighborhood councils, w o r k e r s 1 councils, cooperatives o r
other organs of popular control in the "Third World."
F o r the 420 million people of Africa, independence h a s
brought little, if any m o r e , f r e e d o m than under colonialism.
Tanzania h a s m o r e political p r i s o n e r s than South Africa.
One fourth of the population of equatorial Guinea i s in exile.
 a r m y r e v o l t s in June 1965 deposed Ahmed Ben Bella
and installed Houari Boumediene . Military revolts
swept away civilian r u l e in Burundi, Upper Volta, the
C e n t r a l A f r i c a n Republic i n 1966, S i e r r a Leone, Gha-
na, N i g e r i a , Libya i n 1969, the Malagasy Republic
in 1972, Rwanda, on July 1973. By 1973 one t h i r d of
Africa1S 300 million people we r e living under m i l i t a r y
.
r u l e , . (2)

T h e r e have b e e n 6 m i l i t a r y coups i n s o m a l i a b e t w e e n Oct-

o b e r 1970 and 1972. In Egypt on the e v e of World War U, a
group of a r m y o f f i c e r s including Abdel N a s s e r enthusiasti-
c a l l y following the example s e t by the Italian, G e r m a n and
Spanish F a s c i s t s organized the " G r e e n S h i r t Movement. "
N a s s e r s e i z e d power in 1954 and s u p p r e s s e d all opposition
t o h i s one p a r t y dictatorship.
" M a r x i s t k n i n i s t s " and o t h e r s who p r a t t l e about a " Wor-
k e r s ' State" should r e v i s e t h e i r ideas. They should take note
of the f a c t t h a t t h e r e i s a n unbreakable connection between
m i l i t a r i s m and the State, ALL STATES: c a p i t a l i s t d e m o c r a -
c i e s , "welfare states", State "socialist", m o r e a c c u r a t e l y
State c a p i t a l i s t r e g i m e s , e t c . They should take note of the
f a c t t h a t m i l i t a r i s m f l o u r i s h e s in "socialist" Cuba, in the
"Soviet" Union and the "People's Republic" of China, in
Vietnam, K o r e a , and the r e s t of the ' ' T h i r d Socialist World. l'
Ethiopia' S Mengistu and Sudan' S N u m e i r i
at May 1 9 8 0 c e l e b r a t i o n of N u m e i r i ' s coup.

MILITARISM

At l e a s t nineteen African c o u n t r i e s a r e u n d e r m i l i t a r y
r u l e . In the l a s t twenty y e a r s African c o u n t r i e s have gone
through twenty m a j o r w a r s and f o r t y m i l i t a r y coups ( s e i z u r e
of economic and politica.1 power by the a r m e d f o r c e s ) .
S e i z u r e of power by m i l i t a r y juntas i s a c h r o n i c affliction
in underdeveloped lands. M i l i t a r i s m i n African s o c ietie S
r e s e m b l e S , in g e n e r a l , thq Latin A m e r i c a n p a t t e r n . Argen-
tina, Chile, P a r a g u a y , Bolivia, P e r u , B r a z i l , Honduras,
-
Guatemala, E l Salvador, Nicauragua, - a l m o s t all- Latin -
A m e r i c a n c o u n t r i e s a r e , o r w e r e at s o m e t i m e , dominated
by m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t s .

Between 1952 and 1968 t h e r e w e r e o v e r 70 a t t e m p t e d

m i l i t a r y c o u p s and 2 0 of t h e m l e d t o the institution
of new a r m y - l e d governments. ..
Dahomey endured
6 s.uccessful m i l i t a r y coups through 1972. Algerian Demi-God Kwame Nkrumah
 T H E DEMI-GODS Lecoutre r e m a r k s that the:

Glorification of " T h i r d World" d e s p o t s follows, in gen- .. .functions of t h e f o r m e r c o l o n i a l g o v e r n o r s a r e

e r a l , the p a t t e r n s e t by twentieth c e n t u r y t y r a n t s l i k e Mus- t h o s e f i l l e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t in m o s t new and inde-
s o l i n i , H i t l e r , Stalin, and Mao T s e Tung. In h i s r e v e a l i n g p e n d e n t A f r i c a n s t a t e s . O n l y t h e t i t l e h a s changed. (9)
w o r k The Demi-Gods : C h a r i s m a t i c ~ e a d k r s h in i ~t h e ~ h i r &
World, J e a n L e c o u t r e t r a c e s the c a r e e r s of G a m e l Abdel
Nas s e r , Egypt; Habib B o u r g u i b a , T u n i s i a ; Kwame N k r u m a h , Africa Report
Ghana; and Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia.
Deification of Nkrumah, the c u l t of p e r s o n a l i t y , e x c e e d e d
e v e n the homage s h o w e r e d on Stalin and Mao. N k r u m a h got
h i m s e l f "elected" P r e s i d e n t of Ghana f o r l i f e . He b o a s t e d :

l'. ..I r e p r e s e n t not only Ghana, but A f r i c a and I

s p e a k in h e r n a m e . T h e r e f o r e , no A f r i c a n c a n have
a n opinion differing f r o m m i n e . .. It (3) ... when at-
tending a n e l e c t o r a l a s s e m b l y , N k r u m a h m a d e h i s
appearance inanelaborate t r i b a l d r e s s , c a r r i e d a l o f t
.
on the s h o u l d e r s of s i x r e d - t u r b a n e d e s c o r t s . . (4)
I f . ..in A f r i c a t h e s u n no l o n g e r r i s e s i n t h e e a s t , but
in the w e s t t h r o u g h the p e r s o n of N k r u m a h , ..Nkrumah
i s the M e s s i a h ! N k r u m a h i s the g r e a t e s t A f r i c a n of
o u r g e n e r a t i o n ! " (5)

N k r u m a h ' s p a r t y d e s i g n a t e d the house in which he w a s

b o r n a s a national s h r i n e . "A f o r t y foot s t a t u e of Nkrumah
was e r e c t e d o u t s i d e of P a r l i a m e n t house.'' (6) He s l e p t on a
golden bed and h i s f a c e i s s t a m p e d on c o i n s and e n g r a v e d on
pape r c u r r e n c y .
A psychophantic r e v i e w e r of T u n i s i a n P r e s i d e n t Habib P r e s i d e n t Mobuto S e s e Seko of Z a i r e
Bourguiba's biography e x u l t s t h a t h i s native c i t y i m m o r t a -
l i z e d h i m while s t i l l a l i v e . The s t r e e t s a r e named "Habib"
and the a v e n u e s a r e n a m e d "Bourguiba". ' l . ..
the s u n r e -
f l e c t s the cold of h i s e y e s . .. and the s t o r m winds the t i m b e r COURTING T H E MASSES: T H E ONE PARTY S T A T E
of h i s voice. .. I t (6)
A n old i m p o v e r i s h e d , s i c k l y s t u c c o w o r k e r t e s t i f i e d in " T h i r d World" d e m a g o g u e s a r e not p r i m a r i l y ideologue S .
gratitude t o Bourguiba t h a t ". .. working f o r Bourguiba on T h e y a r e , above a l l , political a d v e n t u r e r s . In t h e i r l u s t f o r
..
I
one of his building p r o j e c t s r e n e w e d h i s w i l l t o live. pride p o w e r , t h e y a r e not guided by e t h i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , a s they
and gratitude have brought h i m back t o life--an 85 y e a r old p r e t e n d . A l l d i c t a t o r s c o n c e a l t h e i r t r u e v i s a g e behind the
man!" (7) f a c a d e of a one p a r t y t o t a l i t a r i a n s t a t e , paying l i p s e r v i c e to
. .. During a v i s i t t o the Nile D e l t a in 1950 G a m e l Nas- p o p u l a r p r o g r a m s designed t o win the s u p p o r t of the m a s s e s .
s e r Egyptian Demi-God w a s swung a l o f t by the Edwin Lieuwen, f o r e x a m p l e , m a r s h a l l s i m p r e s s i v e evidence :
crowds and c a r r i e d along t o the r h y t h m of h e r o i c -
minded slogans. He i s the "Great", t h e "Generous", ... in Chile in 1924, M a j o r C a r l o s Ibanaez e s t a b l i s h e d
the "Victor", the "Just", the "National.
..
..
Liberator"
.like the people he i s e v e r y w h e r e . . .nothing e s c a p e s
a m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p t h a t w a s notably s u c c e s s f u l in
combining a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e a i m e d at m e e t i n g popu-
his e y e - - n e i t h e r good nor evil. ..
(8) lar d e m a n d s f o r g r e a t e r s o c i a l j u s t i c e .

4
 .. .
short-lived revolutions took place during 1936
under the l e a d e r s h i p of young officers inspired by the
ideas of s o c i a l r e f o r m s and authoritarian nationalism
.. . in Bolivia a clique of young officers c a m e t o pow-
e r , headed by Major David T o r o a n d c o l o n e l German
Busch. They c a t e r e d t o the downtrodden andpledged
to build a new nation based on t h e i r dictatorial r e -
gime's attempts t o win m a s s support. ( 1 0 )
H i s t o r i a n R o b e r t W. Julypoints outthat nationalistleaders
had :
.. . absorbed in full m e a s u r e the Marxist- Leninist
perspective, a view which instilled a n image of the
state and i t s welfare prospering through the doctrine
and activities of a single party s t a t e . . .the new gov-
e r n m e n t s inherited f r o m the colonial p a s t a position
of authoritarian control which led t o the perpetuation
of b u r e a u c r a t i c government. (11)
While superficially a political democracy, the
state was operated by a n oligarchy and the government
was shaped t o the needs of its r u l e r s . one party..
gove rnrnent came t o be the hallmark of African state S
...The Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Chad, Gabon,
Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Sudan, Z a i r e , Senegal,
Ruanda and Burundi and Kenya- --all of t h e m a r e p r e -
...
dominantly one party state S The p r o g r a m upon which
new independent state S in e v e r y region of Africa r a i s -
e s the banner of nationalism and a t the s a m e t i m e ,
accepts without question, the whole bag and baggage
of the European nation-state S . (12) ..
The CubanDemi-God F i d e l C a s t r o p r a i s e d the m i l i t a r i s t s
of Portugal, P e r u and P a n a m a f o r playing ' l . ..
a decisive
role in political change. .. implementing a g r a r i a n r e f o r m ,
social development and industrialization. ' l (13 ) Even the
F r e n c h m a r x i s t , Henri Lefevre, hailed the m i l i t a r y takeover
.
of P e r u a s I t . . one of the m o s t important historical events
of the contemporary world. (14)
When the "revolutionary" m i l i t a r y junta seized power in
P e r u , the new m i l i t a r y government proclaimed the funda-
mental principle underlying a l l "progressive" one party m i l -
itary state S :
.. .
the final a i m of the State, being the welfare of the
nation; the a r m e d f o r c e s being the instrument which
the state use S to impose i t s policie S , therefore. ..
in
o r d e r to a r r i v e a t collective p r o s p e r i t y , the a r m e d
f o r c e s have the m i s s i o n to watch o v e r the public wel-
fare--the final a i m of the State. (15)
This i s essentially the attitude of the African m i l i t a r y
r u l e r s . Thus Gamal Abdel N a s s e r a l s o justified his seizure
of power in practically the s a m e t e r m s :
.. .the a r m y , being the l e a s t c o r r u p t and m o s t r e -
form-minded organization, constituting the new re--
gime's e l i t e . . .will e x e r c i s e concerted government
efforts t o improve the people's existence and organ-
.
ize a g r a r i a n r e f o r m . . (16)
The a s s a s s i n a t e d dictator of Egypt, the late Anwar Sadat,
a graduate of the Egyptian m i l i t a r y academy and s u c c e s s o r
to N a s s e r , faithfully followed the example of his mentor.
In Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, the self-styled "builder of
African s o ~ i a l i s m ~ was
~ , awarded the Lenin P e a c e P r i z e .
His Convention People1S P a r t y was designed t o a t t r a c t multi-
tude S of dissidents by falsely "self government".
In Sudan, young a r m y officers seized power and proclaimed
a one party "Socialist State" and in Somalia the one party
dominated "Revolutionary Counc ill1 promised to "eliminate
corruption and establish socialism. .-. " Ugandan P r e s i d e n t
Obote seizing power with the support of the a r m y was d e t e r -
mined to make Uganda "a P i l l a r of Socialism1' and his Peo-
p l e l s Congress P a r t y promised to e s t a b l i s h a centralized
"welfare" state. In Tunisia Demi-God Habib Bourguibals
dictatorial Destour Socialist P a r t y a l s o proclaimed "Soc -
ialism" .
A dispatch t o the New York T i m e s ( June 18, 1982) des-
c r i b e S the c o r r u p t one-party totalitarian regime of P r e s i d e n t
Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire. Mobuto vowed that ' l . . . a s long
a s I a m alive, t h e r e will be no second political party in Zai-
re."
According to the dispatch, ". . . t h e r e i s outrageous vio-
lation of elementary civil rights, a r b i t r a r y a r r e s t s f o r po-
litical r e a s o n s and i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s of political p r i s o n e r s
a r e detained in unofficial s e c r e t prisons. .. "
Mobuto lives in grand style in aldomain t h r e e t i m e s the
size of Texas, r i c h 'n diamonds, copper a n d o t h e r m i n e r a l s .
.
While in Zaire l ' . .people live in d a r k e s t m i s e r y , Mobuto
goes off t o F l o r i d a with a delegation of t h r e e hundred.. .the
amount spent on that t r i p alone, could have fed Kinasha the
capital f o r two o r t h r e e months. ..
 WFP/FAO photo by Peyton lohnson
ECONOMIC ROLE O F THE STATE
As indicated above, the compulsion of m i l i t a r y r e g i m e s
to shape the economy a l s o indicates the increasing role of the
state to control--to a g r e a t e r or' l e s s e r degree--the econo-
my of "socialist" a s well a s "free world" s t a t e s .
In the light of the Russian and Chinese revolutions, the
preponderant role of the State in determining social and eco-
nomic life, not by the l ' ... economic f o r c e s of production.. "
(Marx) but by DECREE h a s led even m a r x i s t revisionists to
. l a r S. Good g r e e n s a r e not available in Kampala and Masaka,
repudiate Marxl S theory of the State. Economic developments
in Russia led the m a r x i s t economist Rudolf Hilferding t o r e -
vise his ideas about the nature of the State. The State i s not
only the product but a l s o the c r e a t o r of economic, political
and social ine quality.
...the p r e s e n t day state having achieved indepen-
dence, i s unfolding i t s enormous strength accbrding
t o its own laws, subjecting social f o r c e s and com-
.
pelling t h e m t o s e r v e i t s own ends.. t h e r e f o r e , nei-
t h e r the Russian, nor totalitarian s y s t e m s in general,
i s determined by the c h a r a c t e r of the economy. On
the c o n t r a r y , it i s theeconomy t h a t i s determined by
the ruling power.. . (17)
A r b i t r a r y decisions of the state determine economic life.
The industrialization of R u s s i a DECREED by Stalin was a c -
hieved a t the c o s t of millions of live S and untold millions in
slave labor c a m p s . The "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cul-
t u r a l Revolution" DECREED by Mao T s e Tung practically
paralyzed the social life of China.
A good c a s e can be made f o r the proposition that the mon-
opoly of power, ie. the state, m o r e than any other factor,
shapes a n d p e r v e r t s h u m a n society. These t r u t h s a r e u n f o r -
tunately confirmed by developments in the "Third World".
... a l l independent African state S attempt. .to manip-.
ulate a n economic revolution controlled by a rigorous
state authority. Kwame Nkrumah continually empha-
sized the close relationship between political action
and economic development. ..
Julius Nyerere, chief
of Tanzania boasted of the economic development he
engineered. ..
on a national scale.
ous economic planning.. (18) .
..
engaged in r i g o r -
ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT
I
Economic mismanagement and corruption brought Ghana
to the brink of economic d i s a s t e r . The r u l e r s failed t o take
into account the r e a l i t i e s of Ghana1S economy. In the r u s h
t o modernize, industrialization was o v e r s t r e s s e d and agri-
culture downgraded. A dispatch t o the New York ~ i m e s
(April 12, 1980) f r o m i t ' s Uganda correspondent illustrates
the desperate economic situation. An orange c o s t s one dol-
lar. A b a s s big enough t o feed only one adult c o s t s s i x dol-
the m o s t populous citie S . Coffee production, the national
mainstay, was a shamble S . Sugar lay rotting in warehouses
because t r u c k s and r o a d s w e r e not functioning. Between 1971
and 19 79 production of key export c r o p s , t e a , coffee, sugar
and cotton f e l l 51% (June 1, 1980 dispatch).
The communist "Third World" government of Cambodia
 TUNISIA
P-@-

TUNISIA
1956

TORY OF THE
S A N D ISSAS

GANDA 1962

RUNDl 1962

S A 0 TOME
GABON 1960
11111111111 ION OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE EUROPEAN CONQUEST OF AFRICA MALAWI 1964

RHODESIA 1965
SWAZILAND 1968
A c o m p a r i s o n of t h e p r e - W o r l d W a r I m a p of A f r i c a
LESOTHO 1966
with today1S . Note how t h e e m e r g i n g "independent"
s t a t e s have m o s t l y t h e s a m e b o r d e r s as the f o r m e r
colonie S.
Map above is f r o m With F r e e d o m in T h e i r E y e s ,
P e o p l e s P r e s s , 1976. M a p o n t h e r i g h t i s f r o m A H i s -
t o r y of t h e A f r i c a n P e o p l e , R o b e r t W . July, 1974. Independent Africa
~ o r t i o n ofs A f r i c a t h a t have s i n c e b e c o m e nation- s t a t e s
are : Angola - 1975, Djibouti ( A f a r s ) - 1977,. Guinea-
B i s s a u - 1974, and Mozambique - 1974. Spain with-
d r e w f r o m S p a n i s h S a h a r a in 1976 and t h e t e r r i t o r y
i s s t i l l being fought o v e r by the s u r r o u n d i n g nations.

f o r c e d people t o eva.cuate the c i t i e s , o r g a n i z e d t h e m into
s l a v e l a b o r b a t t a l i o n s t o t i l l t h e s o i l in the c o u n t r y s i d e .
Cambodia1S d e c i m a t e d population declined f r o m about e i g h t
m i l l i o n t o f o u r and a half m i l l i o n ! Millions p e r i s h e d f r o m
s t a r v a t i o n , d i s e a s e and exhaustion.
Idi Amin Dada, f o r m e r p r e s i d e n t of Uganda
CORRUPTION
Like g o v e r n m e n t m i s m a n a g e m e n t , w a s t e and b u r e a u c r a t i c
bungling, c o r r u p t i o n in the " T h i r d World" i s a n i n c u r a b l e
c h r o n i c infection. H i s t o r i a n J u l y e m p h a s i z e s t h i s f a c t :
. . .T h a t c o r r u p t i o n grew t o be a c o m m o n a l i t y through-
out independent A f r i c a h a s long b e e n a t r u i s m . . . f r o m
M o r r o c o t o Malawi, f r o m Kenya t o N i g e r i a , f r o m
Guinea t o Z a i r e , i t touched a l l r e g i m e s s o c i a l i s t o r
c a p i t a l i s t with e q u a l i m p a r t i a l i t y . It w a s p r e s e n t in
c i v i l g o v e r n m e n t s and m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t s ; a m o n g
e l e c t e d officials o r appointed c i v i l s e r v a n t s . .. (19)
...in 19 62 the wife of Krobo E d u s i a n influential m i n -
i s t e r in Nkrumah' S g o v e r n m e n t , o r d e r e d a gold plated
bed f r o m London a t t h e c o s t of $8400 and N k r u m a h
a c c u m u l a t e d a $6.5 m i l l i o n f o r t u n e on s u c h d e a l s a s
collecting $400, 000 c o m m i s s i o n f o r allowing a m u l t i -
million dollar contract. (20) ..
.. . in E a s t A f r i c a t h e Swahili t e r m "Wa Benza" de S -
c r i b e s the bureaucratic c l a s s ' fondness f o r Mercedes
Benz automobile S. .. d e s p i t e national i n c o m e S which
r a r e l y a v a r a g e $200 a y e a r , c o r r u p t officials in a l l
African countries. .. a r e able t o afford l u x e r i e s utili-
zing t h e i r position f o r p r i v a t e gain. ..(21)
The P r e s i d e n t of Togo bankrupted t h e nation, got h i m s e l f
i m m e n s e l y r i c h and indulged in t h e m o s t o u t r a g e o u s viola-
t i o n s of h u m a n r i g h t s . He w a s a b l e t o buy two town h o u s e s
in P a r i s and build a splendid P r e s i d e n t i a l P a l a c e outside t h e
c a p i t a l , Lome.
The P r e s i d e n t of Gabon built h i m s e l f a $600 m i l l i o n p a l a c e
w i t h revolving d o o r s and window S t h a t d i s a p p e a r at t h e t o u c h
of a button.
The P r e s i d e n t of b a n k r u p t Z a i r e on a n o v e r n i g h t s t a y in
N a i r o b i with h i s e n t o u r a g e , i s a c c o m p a n i e d by two d o c t o r s ,
two h e a d w a i t e r s , a chef a n d a bevy of lovely l a d i e s .
The EMPORER of t h e C e n t r a l A f r i c a n Republic, one of
t h e p o o r e s t nations in the w o r l d , c o l l e c t e d nine p a l a c e s , one
f o r e a c h of h i s nine w i v e s , a m a n s i o n in F r a n c e , and s p e n t
m i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s on h i s c o r o n a t i o n ,
In Uganda, a r m e d s o l d i e r s r o a m the c a p i t a l a t night,
demanding c a s h , j e w e l r y a n d s o m e t i m e s s e x . ( 2 2 )
Bakunin long ago pointed out t h a t c o r r u p t i o n i s a funda-
m e n t a l a t t r i b u t e of t h e s t a t e , State f u n c t i o n a r i e S c h a r g e d
w i t h e n f o r c i n g its l a w s a r e t h e m s e l v e s c o r r u p t e d by t h e e x -
c e r c i s e of \ p o w e r . ".. ,Would you m a k e i t i m p o s s i b l e f o r
anyone t o o p p r e s s h i s fellow m a n ? S e e t o it t h a t no one has
t h e power t o d o s o . . ."
NEW "THIRD WORLD" COLONIALISM
Rudolf R o c k e r s u m m e d u p the invasive c h a r a c t e r of colo-
n i a l i s m in t h i s s t r i k i n g p a s s a g e f r o m h i s N a t i o n a l i s m and
Culture :
.. . a nation e n c o m p a s s e s a whole range of d i f f e r e n t
peoples w h o h a v e by m o r e o r l e s s violent m e a n s b e e n
p r e s s e d into the f r a m e w o r k of a c o m m o n S t a t e . . .
there i s no s t a t e which d o e s not c o n s i s t of a group of
d i f f e r e n t people who w e r e o r i g i n a l l y of different
d e s c e n t a n d s p e e c h and w e r e f o r g e d into one nation
 solely by dynastic, economic and political i n t e r e s t s
, ..(23)
The a n a r c h i s t Rocker's conceptionof the nature and o r i -
gin of the state, differing sharply f r o m the m a r x i s t inter-
pretation, was sustained a s f a r back a s 1919 by the distin-
guished non-anarchist political scientist, Edward Jenks:
...the s t a t e in i t s origin was not a n economic but a
m i l i t a r y institution f o r m e d by conquest and plunder
.. .the invading hosts settled down like a s w a r m of
ple of a l l dominion over themselves" (Proudhon) i s reinforced
and perpetuated by the "Third World" independent countrie S.
Like the i m p e r i a l i s t colonial powers, the independent nations
a r e a l s o obliterating the natural diversity of indigenous cul-
t u r e s and natural communitie S. An a r t i c l e in the Encyclo-
pedia Britannica ( 19 64 edition, p. 306 ) fully substantiates
these r e m a r k s :
.. .the new African nations which e m e r g e d a t mid-
twentieth century w e r e not, however, to be based on

policy h a s . ..
.
locusts on t h e i r prey. . f r o m its e a r l i e s t s t a g e s i t s
been annexation o r plunder of i t s own
the traditional political units of the p r e -colonial e r a .
They developed instead within the colonial framework
o r alien communities. .. (24)
in which the national life the state was superimposed
on the diversity of traditional culture S. ..
Although the bourgeois h i s t o r i a n July complains that "ten- And these self-same colonial a t r o c i t i e s a r e being com-
acious t r i b a l i s m complicates a l l efforts t o build a sense of mitted by the "Third World" countries against imprisoned
security and national pride", he nevertheless m a r s h a l l s peoples trapped within the b o r d e r s of the "independent" s t a t e s
m a s s i v e evidence confirming both Rocker's and Jenks' views : s e t by both t h e i r f o r m e r and new conquerors. All this while
regional movements seeking a f r e e f e d e r a t i o n of peoples
.. .the m o s t distinctive feature of African history ( which would a s s u r e local autonomy while reaping the ben-
following the f i r s t World War.. .was the creation of
African nations laid down by the colonial powers. .. efits of unity and f r e e association in solidarity) a r e ruthle s -
sly exterminated.
the i m p e r i a l i s t s instituted law S and procedure S total-
ly a t variance and alien t o local custom. ..
powerful
ethnic groups were artificially bound together into
one nation a s a convenience of colonial administra-
tion.. . (25)

... the European relationship with traditional socie-

t i e s during the l a s t decades of the 19th century was
one of conquest, then occupation and absorption into
expanding colonial t e r r i t o r i e s . ..
(26)

The partition of Africa by the i m p e r i a l i s t powers was a

historical tragedywhose magnitude i s impossible to a s s e s s .
The F r e n c h , overcoming the r e s i s t a n c e of the T u a r e z
t r i b e s , occupied the g r e a t e r p a r t of the Sahara. The peoples
of Togoland, the C a m e r r o o n s , and the Chad regions w e r e
t o r n away f r o m e a c h other when t h e i r t e r r i t o r i e s w e r e divided
between the F r e n c h and English colonialists. Struggles of
the Ashanti peoples t o defend t h e i r cornmunitie S against B r i -
t i s h imperialis& w e r e paralleled in other ~ f r i c a n s o c i e t i e s .
The attempt to centralize Uganda precipitated a m a s s i v e r e -
volt of Toro, Buayaro, Ankola, Barenga, Acholi and other
people S. Biafrans protesting British a r m s sale S to
The c r i m i n a l partition of Africa which "robbed the peo- Nigeria, marching through c e n t r a l London.
 CIVIL WAR
Civil w a r in Africa's l a r g e s t country, the Sudan, was
precipitated by the revolt of the Nilotic peoples in the sou-
t h e r n provinces who demanded a federation of peoples with
equal rights. At l e a s t 500,000 died and over two hundred
thousand w e r e driven f r o m the country in a b i t t e r intractable
guerilla w a r lasting 1 7 y e a r s .
Rwanda and Burundi ( Ruanda-Urundi), two historically
s e p e r a t e regions w e r e dominated by the Belgian-propped
dictatorship of the T u t s i minority over the Hutu majority.
Rwanda seceded f r o m Burundi in 1962 a f t e r a Hutu revolt
in which thousands of T u t s i s w e r e killed and 120, 000 w e r e
driven into exile. In 1963 a n abortive invasion by T u t s i ex-
iles sparked a m a s s a c r e of 12, 000 Tutsis by the Hutus.
A c r o s s the b o r d e r in Burundi, a T u t s i minority of l570
continua5 its domination over a Hutu m a j o r i t y of 84%. In
1972 a Hutu insurrection was suppressed by a bloody w a r of
extermination in which eighty thousand r e b e l s w e r e killed.
The revolt against the Burundi government was c r u s h e d with
the m i l i t a r y and economic a s s i s t a n c e of the 'lsocialistrtcoun-
t r i e s . The North Koreans a r e building a new palace f o r P r e -
s ident Bagaza. Cubans a r e training Burundi fighter pilots.
Soviet m i l i t a r y hardware i s on display in the Capital and the
Chinese opened a textile mill.
The ten y e a r struggle t o break away f r o m the c e n t r a l Ni-
gerian government --Biafran Civil War-- was m e r c i l e s s l y
crushed. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, w e r e
killed, s t a r v e d t o death, left homeless o r banished. It i s
worth noting that both England and R u s s i a provided m i l i t a r y
aid and the United States refused t o help the rebellious peo-
ple S .
Fifty thousand oppressed Lumpus revolted against the
Zaire dictatorship in 1964. The r e b e l s abandoned villages,
refused t o pay t a x e s , r e s o r t e d t o brigandage and kidnappings
and threatened the existence of Zaire.
The u n s u c ~ e s s f ucampaign
l of ethnic Somali peoples in the
province of Ogaden t o secede f r o m Ethiopia in which a half
million were killed, was suppressed with the help of Cuban
troops a r m e d with Soviet weapons. The guerilla w a r con-
tinue s .
CULTURAL OBLITERATION
In Latin America the Spanish and Portguese "Conquis-
tadores" seized the land of the natives, plundered t h e i r com-
munities, enslaved the population, and wiped out t h e i r cul-
t u r e . By brute f o r c e the invaders imposed oppressive r e -
gimes which t o this dayweigh s o heavilyon the political and
economic institutions of s o many countrie S . In North Ame ri-
c a , European colonialists committed s i m i l a r atrocitie S
against the Indians.
In Africa, the new "Third World1[countries, to t h e i r ete r-
nal shame, a r e obliterating rich, varied culture S on the p r e -
text that they a r e out t o "modernize and civilize the inferior
savage S. " But these c u l t u r e s a r e in many r e s p e c t s f a r su-
p e r i o r , f a r m o r e humane, f a r f r e e r than the authoritarian
institutions imposed upon t h e m by would-be s a v i o r s n
We e x t r a c t the following information about the social o r -
.
ganization of millions of t r i b a l peoples in the f o r e s t belt of
West Africa and other widespread regions of the African
continent :
The relations between communities "were not regu-
lated f r o m above but depended on mutual obligations
and alliances maintained by traditions of common
descent and i n t e r m a r r i a g e , ratified by collective
c e r e m o n i e s and f e a s t s and economic exchange. l 1
"A s y s t e m of lineage S , whereby a body of Kinsmen
.. .maintained collec%.ve c l a i m s - t o r e s o u r c e s , C O -
operating. .. with s i m i l a r groups f o r v a r i o u s ends,
a p p e a r s everywhere t o have provided the f i r s t o r d e r
of political organization within a locality. ... the l a r -
..
g e r groups united on occasion. dissolved into e v e r
s m a l l e r u n i t s o n n a r r o w e r i s s u e s . . ."Disputes .were
settled "among them by arbitration.. .
"Political relations between such village S we r e
often those of give and take between indipendent
groups. But whether the social organization was one
of proliferating lineage S o r of independent village S ,
communication through t r a d e , i n t e r m a r r i a g e and
c e r e m o n i a l exchange S could maintain common speech
custom and pattern of organization over populations
of s e v e r a l thousands. Despite the s m a l l s i z e of the
independent political units, technical skills, ae sthe -
t i c style S , beliefs and r i t u a l s , a s well a s valued com-
modities, could be and were t r a n s m i t t e d over wide
areas.
".. .peoples living d i s p e r s e d in s m a l l hamlets o r
c l u s t e r e d in hill villages f o r protection, had no cen-
t r a l organization of government. As in the f o r e s t
belt the kin groups o r the village communities of a
locality allied themselves o r disputed with e a c h other
on equal t e r m s a s the occasion a r o s e . Societies of

this type a r e found in MANY PARTS O F WESTERN
.
SUDAN.. THE INTERIOR O F GUINEA AND LIB-
ERIA, THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES O F GHANA,
THE NORTH O F DAHOMEY AND THE HILL COUN-
TRY OF NORTHERN NIGERIA AND THE CAMER-
OONS REGION." (my e m p h a s i s ) (27)
m
P r e s i d e n t Julius N y e r e r e of Tanzania --surprisingly e -
nough-- wrote that:
"... the community of the traditional African village
was a t r u l y socialist community. Everyone worked.
Everyone s h a r e d . T h e r e w e r e no c l a s s e s , no privi-
leges e i t h e r f o r food o r self-respect. Wealth belonged
t o a l l and a l l s h a r e d in i t s a s s e t s . Only exploiters
w e r e missing. T h e r e w e r e no landlords and no i d l e r s
t o live off the labor of o t h e r s . , ." (28)
,
A
I
l
U
CONC LUSION
Indigenous movements f o r national independence, which ,
make up s o m u c h of history, p e r s i s t in one f o r m o r ano-
t h e r t o this day. What t o do about the complex problems of
independence and regional self-determination i s now being
heatedly debated everywhere.
T h e r e i s a n unbridgeable difference between the concept
of the nation- state a s a g a i n s t natural communitie S . The na-
turalcommunity, a confluence of human beings, with a com-
mon history, a common language and c u l t u r a l background,
springs f r o m f r e e social alliances.
The nation- s t a t e i s not a n a t u r a l community. The absolute
power of the state over a l l i t s subjects and t h e i r associa-
tions i s the indispensable condition f o r the survival and ex-
pansion of the s t a t e . Nationalism, the political theology of
the s t a t e , m u s t not be confounded withone1s n a t u r a l love f o r
the place and the people with whom one i s r e a r e d .
The nation-state b r e a k s up the organic unity of the na-
t u r a l community. The Basque community, f o r example, i s
artificially split up, with one p a r t under the jurisdiction of
the F r e n c h Government and the other under the rule of the
Spanish
- State.
National self-determination i s by no m e a n s synonymous
with the internal f r e e d o m of individuals, groups and com-
munities. Native regime S in "liberated" &dependent state S
( in Africa, the Middle E a s t , etc. ) a r e no l e s s despotic .- and
no lesS c o r r u p t than a r e t h e i r f o r m e r r u l e r s .
Nor i s national self-determination synonymous with social
revolution. During the Spanish Civil War (1936- 1939) both
the quasi-independent Catalonian "Generalidad" and the Bas -
que regime made common cause with t h e i r erstwhile enemy, ,
the C e n t r a l Republican Government and the capitalists, to
extirpate the revolutionary anarcho-syndicalist General Con-
federation of Labor (CNT) and to c r u s h the l i b e r t a r i a n so-
c ial revolution.
i
l
The a n a r c h i s t alternative to nationalism is a libertarian,
s t a t e l e s s federation of va,rious peoples with a l l other peoples
of the world, To survive and grow, the fluid, ever-changing
associations which con
constantly renewed a n
equally f r e e communitie
scend the unalterable a
state.
Rejecting the artific
capitalism and the state
into hostile camps, the In
 r,

t i o n (IWMA, founded 1 8 6 4 ) d e S i g n a t e d i t s a f f i l i a t e d o r g a n i z a -
*
t i o n s of d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e S REGIONAL F E D E R A T I O N S O F
T H E IWMA.
National minoritie S , struggling t o e s c a p e the domination

l of c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t s t o e s t a b l i s h s t a t e s of t h e i r own, w i l l
only find t h e m s e l v e s s h a c k l e d by new r u l e r s , T h e y W i l l c o m e
.
t o r e a l i z e , w i t h Bakunin, t h a t I t . - . d e s p o t i s m m a n i f e s t s i t s e l f
not: in the FORM, but in t h e P R I N C I P L E of t h e S t a t e . .. It

NOTES

1 ) Rudolf R o c k e r , N a t i o n a l i s m a n d C u l t u r e , p. 202
2 ) R o b e r t W . J u l y , A H i s t o r y of t h e A f r i c a n P e o p l e 2nd e d -
3) J e a n L e c o u t r e , T h e D e m i - G o d s , p . 256
4 ) ibid. p . 2 6 2
5 ) ibid. p . 263
6 ) ibid. p. 179
7 ) ibid. p. 180
8 ) ibid. p . 120
9 ) ibid. p . 102
1 0 ) Edwin Lieuwen, A r m s and P o l i t i c s in L a t i n A m e r i c a ,
pp. 6 0 , 62, 78, 79
1 1 ) J u l y , 3 r d e d i t i o n , p. 674
1 2 ) ibid. p. 680
1 3 ) F r a n k K i r b y J o n e s , With C a s t r o , pp. 195- 196
1 4 ) R e c o n s t r u i r , A r g e n t i n e A n a r c h i s t Bi-Monthly , #43
1 5 ) ibid.
1 6 ) L e c o u t r e , p. 102
1 7 ) Sidney Hook, M a r x a n d the M a r x i s t s , p. 2 4
1 8 ) J u l y , 2nd e d i t i o n , p. 650
1 9 ) J u l y , 3 r d e d i t i o n , p. 741
2 0 ) ibid. p. 742
2 1 ) J u l y , 2nd e d i t i o n , p. 679
2 2 ) New Y o r k T i m e s , J u n e 8, 1980
2 3 ) R o c k e r , p. 201
2 4 ) E d w a r d J e n k s , T h e S t a t e and t h e Nation, pp. 131- 132
25) J u l y , 2nd e d i t i o n , p, 664
2 6 ) ibid. P, 417
27) E n c y c l o p e d i a B r i t a n n i c a , 19 69 e d i t i o n , pp. 269 -270
2 8 ) quoted by J u l y , 3 r d e d i t i o n , p. 648
T h i s p a m p h l e t w a s p u b i i s h e d by t h e A n a r c h i s t C o m m u n i s t
F e d e r a t i o n of N o r t h A m e r i c a a s t h e t h i r d n u m b e r in i t s p a m -
phlet s e r i e s . A d d r e s s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a b o u t t h i s p a m p h l e t
to :
Regina A C F , P O B o x 3658, R e g i n a , S a s k . S 4 P 3N8, C a n a d a

I R e s u r g e n c e , P O B o x 2824, Station A , Charnpaign, I L 61820,

U.S.A.