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Night-Vision: Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain
A foundational analysis of post-modern capitalism, the decline of u.s. hegemony, and the need for a revolutionary movement of the oppressed to overthrow it all.
From Night-Vision: "The transformation to a neo-colonial world has only begun, but it promises to be as drastic, as disorienting a change as was the original european colonial conquest of the human race. Capitalism is again ripping apart & restructuring the world, and nothing will be the same. Not race, not nation, not gender, and certainly not whatever culture you used to have. Now you have outcast groups as diverse as the Aryan Nation and the Queer Nation and the Hip Hop Nation publicly rejecting the right of the u.s. government to rule them. All the building blocks of human culture—race, gender, nation, and especially class—are being transformed under great pressure to embody the spirit of this neo-colonial age."
From Night-Vision: "The transformation to a neo-colonial world has only begun, but it promises to be as drastic, as disorienting a change as was the original european colonial conquest of the human race. Capitalism is again ripping apart & restructuring the world, and nothing will be the same. Not race, not nation, not gender, and certainly not whatever culture you used to have. Now you have outcast groups as diverse as the Aryan Nation and the Queer Nation and the Hip Hop Nation publicly rejecting the right of the u.s. government to rule them. All the building blocks of human culture—race, gender, nation, and especially class—are being transformed under great pressure to embody the spirit of this neo-colonial age."
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
25 people are currently reading
895 people want to read
About the author
Butch Lee
4 books21 followersButch Lee is an Amazon theorist. Her work deals with the need to understand women's struggles in both their class and military dimensions, as well as the fundamental importance of grasping the relationship between colonialism, neo-colonialism, and patriarchy. Her books include The Military Strategy of Women and Children and Night-Vision: Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 4, 2013
Excellent. Highly readable, understandable and forceful stuff that makes some of the stuff going on today - that's usually only tip-toed around - very clear. Takes Marxist theory seriously but rejects a lot of the myths that dominate Western Marxist thought. Relates race and gender very clearly to class, something sorely needed today, without erasing the struggles themselves. Makes clear just how gendered exploitation is and just how serious the conditions of exploitation still are. A great complement to Settlers by J Sakai that I highly recommend reading.
March 1, 2018
I struggled with Night Vision. Its central thesis is that we have passed from a colonial age to a neo-colonial age in the past 70 years. Capitalism, which has always generated race, gender, and nation to suit its needs, is increasingly breaking up and reshaping old categories of race, gender, and nation. So far so good. But it makes a number of questionable points and uses mostly anecdotal evidence to back them up.
For example, Lee and Rover argue that old anti-colonial methods centered around fighting for "national self-determination" are outdated. They give the example of the New Afrikan nation, by which the authors mean the Black population of the u.s. The authors suggest that a Black bourgeoisie has developed that is just as parasitic as the white bourgeoisie and labour aristocracy, and has a material interest in Black genocide. Lee and Rover point to figures like Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, and Ice-T as evidence of this Black bourgeoisie. Certainly we can point to more recent figures like Barack Obama, Future, and Beyonce as figures of this Black bourgeoisie now in the 2010s. However, the Black bourgeoisie post-Global Financial Crisis is actually quite small. The average Black household in the u.s. has about 1/15th the wealth of the average white household, with most Black households have no or even negative wealth. Being based on J. Sakai's Settlers, Night Vision seems to underestimate the scale of proletarianization in the so-called First World. And indeed there existed a Black bourgeoisie during the old colonial era as well - like the old Talented Tenth discourse in the early 1900s. I can't help but feel like the extent to which the New Afrikan nation has been revolutionized by neo-colonialism has been overstated.
The biggest problem with Night Vision is its conception of multiculturalism. Lee and Rover see multiculturalism as one of the major features of neo-colonialism, one which is a major force for the erasing of old national distinctions. They suggest that multiculturalism will sweep away the privileges of the white male labour aristocracy in a process they call "de-settlerization" in favor of building a multinational bourgeoisie. This seems incredibly naive to me. Uncomfortably, Lee and Rover's analysis of multiculturalism is eerily similar to that of fascists. Both share the idea that multiculturalism is an incredibly powerful force that will tear apart old racial and national categories. The only difference is that Lee and Rover see this as a good, or at least inevitable thing. A better analysis to me would see that multiculturalism is not revolutionary but is a band-aid by the bourgeois class in order to preserve the violent superprofits extracted from the New Afrikan, Chicanx, Boriken, and various Indigenous nations while assimilating a small number of oppressed peoples into the ruling class. I really can't see a process of de-settlerization happening any time soon. That's ridiculous to me.
Another big problem I have with Night Vision is its lack of positive proposals and solutions. The authors spend the whole book attacking old anti-colonial thinking, including a whole chapter called "Detoxing," while offering precious few actual positive proposals. The little I can glean is that they support a class-based anti-capitalist anti-imperialist mass movement. This solution is presented as some kind of huge improvement over Marxism-Leninist politics. When literally that's the same thing M-L is presenting. That's the same thing James Connolly presented over 120 years ago. As such, I can't help but feel like Lee and Rover are immensely arrogant in their confidence they're coming up with a whole new theory.
So the central thesis of Night Vision more or less holds up, but it's based on a lot of anecdotal evidence, hyperbole, and a bit of arrogance.
For example, Lee and Rover argue that old anti-colonial methods centered around fighting for "national self-determination" are outdated. They give the example of the New Afrikan nation, by which the authors mean the Black population of the u.s. The authors suggest that a Black bourgeoisie has developed that is just as parasitic as the white bourgeoisie and labour aristocracy, and has a material interest in Black genocide. Lee and Rover point to figures like Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, and Ice-T as evidence of this Black bourgeoisie. Certainly we can point to more recent figures like Barack Obama, Future, and Beyonce as figures of this Black bourgeoisie now in the 2010s. However, the Black bourgeoisie post-Global Financial Crisis is actually quite small. The average Black household in the u.s. has about 1/15th the wealth of the average white household, with most Black households have no or even negative wealth. Being based on J. Sakai's Settlers, Night Vision seems to underestimate the scale of proletarianization in the so-called First World. And indeed there existed a Black bourgeoisie during the old colonial era as well - like the old Talented Tenth discourse in the early 1900s. I can't help but feel like the extent to which the New Afrikan nation has been revolutionized by neo-colonialism has been overstated.
The biggest problem with Night Vision is its conception of multiculturalism. Lee and Rover see multiculturalism as one of the major features of neo-colonialism, one which is a major force for the erasing of old national distinctions. They suggest that multiculturalism will sweep away the privileges of the white male labour aristocracy in a process they call "de-settlerization" in favor of building a multinational bourgeoisie. This seems incredibly naive to me. Uncomfortably, Lee and Rover's analysis of multiculturalism is eerily similar to that of fascists. Both share the idea that multiculturalism is an incredibly powerful force that will tear apart old racial and national categories. The only difference is that Lee and Rover see this as a good, or at least inevitable thing. A better analysis to me would see that multiculturalism is not revolutionary but is a band-aid by the bourgeois class in order to preserve the violent superprofits extracted from the New Afrikan, Chicanx, Boriken, and various Indigenous nations while assimilating a small number of oppressed peoples into the ruling class. I really can't see a process of de-settlerization happening any time soon. That's ridiculous to me.
Another big problem I have with Night Vision is its lack of positive proposals and solutions. The authors spend the whole book attacking old anti-colonial thinking, including a whole chapter called "Detoxing," while offering precious few actual positive proposals. The little I can glean is that they support a class-based anti-capitalist anti-imperialist mass movement. This solution is presented as some kind of huge improvement over Marxism-Leninist politics. When literally that's the same thing M-L is presenting. That's the same thing James Connolly presented over 120 years ago. As such, I can't help but feel like Lee and Rover are immensely arrogant in their confidence they're coming up with a whole new theory.
So the central thesis of Night Vision more or less holds up, but it's based on a lot of anecdotal evidence, hyperbole, and a bit of arrogance.
May 15, 2017
So I finally (finally) finished "Night Vision Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain." This *is* one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read and I am going to try to say why in an attempt to convince you to read it too.
There are a shitload of movement books that we all have on our ever-growing lists, but this one should be moved toward the top of yours for these reasons.
1. This is Marxism for the neo-liberal, neo-colonial age. Butch Lee and Red Rover take the core concepts of Marx and a) define them for readers of any background and b) apply them to the 21st century world (post-colonial revolutions of the 20th century). Things like primitive accumulation, alienation, dialectics, capitalist contradictions, and more are made easy to understand and easy to see in our current situation.
The authors brush aside the pseudo-Marxist thought that has blinded leftists to the importance of race, gender, and nationality. This books is not about identity politics, but it *is* the class reductionist antidote.
2. "Night Vision" crushes the capitalist mythology that purports that the "hard times" of the transition from feudalism to capitalism have passed, and reveal that capitalism is as brutal, uncompromising, and exploitative as it ever was - it is just that the brutalized classes have been removed from view.
3. The authors argue clearly that old modes of using definable nations as centers for the exploited and exploiters is no longer possible, those borders don't matter to a global economy. Instead of a class hierarchy that can be pointed to on a map, we have a global capitalism that is lifting up capitalists of every gender, race, and identity and creating a proletariat of the rest of the planet.
Read this shit. Read. This. Shit.
There are a shitload of movement books that we all have on our ever-growing lists, but this one should be moved toward the top of yours for these reasons.
1. This is Marxism for the neo-liberal, neo-colonial age. Butch Lee and Red Rover take the core concepts of Marx and a) define them for readers of any background and b) apply them to the 21st century world (post-colonial revolutions of the 20th century). Things like primitive accumulation, alienation, dialectics, capitalist contradictions, and more are made easy to understand and easy to see in our current situation.
The authors brush aside the pseudo-Marxist thought that has blinded leftists to the importance of race, gender, and nationality. This books is not about identity politics, but it *is* the class reductionist antidote.
2. "Night Vision" crushes the capitalist mythology that purports that the "hard times" of the transition from feudalism to capitalism have passed, and reveal that capitalism is as brutal, uncompromising, and exploitative as it ever was - it is just that the brutalized classes have been removed from view.
3. The authors argue clearly that old modes of using definable nations as centers for the exploited and exploiters is no longer possible, those borders don't matter to a global economy. Instead of a class hierarchy that can be pointed to on a map, we have a global capitalism that is lifting up capitalists of every gender, race, and identity and creating a proletariat of the rest of the planet.
Read this shit. Read. This. Shit.
March 4, 2018
Prophetic book. Things you will learn; women are a colony, women are more productive than men, colonized men are women, children are an oppressed gender category, capital is de-settlerizing, labour aristocracy looks to be seeing its end, drugs - and not to speak of the war on drugs - are a tool of genocide on the lower classes period, the black proletariat is predominantly lumpen, the black bourgeoisie are parasitic upon them, your protector is your exploiter or 'UNICEF rapes children'. The world economy still requires exploitation like you've never seen. The brief period where it looked like capital was not running across the globe and burrowing itself into every corner was only that, now even high industry is making its way to the backwaters. We are finally getting a global proletariat and all of the grand predictions are coming true. At the end of the day the rate of profit decides everything.
July 24, 2019
Being of the utilitarian mindset these days (umm years?) this quickly became a favorite of mine. There was a long period since 1999 that a lot quasi-leftist writing came out that disappointingly ended up being more about the message and less about the actions or analysis with action. This was always frustrating because it was full of celebratory summit hopping analysis (of which of course I played my part, when affordable) full of its limitations, such as a lack of follow through or missing a determinate concept of "next steps". Most of what the writings focused on were glorifications of what happened at the protest and then the "battle of the story" and how important it is for to win that b.s. Personally, having been in the thick of protests outside the traditional comforts of US "song and dance protests", I know that romanticizing these events serve in many ways to limit the true spirit of why people resist and ultimately what it means to actually be in resistance.
This is why when I first picked up Night-Vision (later than many for certain) I noticed a fresh breath (which was not really fresh in the new sense) of revolutionary exhilaration that seemed to be lacking in a lot the writing I was encountering. It carries a sense of understanding that where we are is not where are going to be for long. or at the very least the understanding that revolutionary potential needs to be fomented and manifested in a variety of ways leading to a serious challenge of the self and of the system. This book to me was not written by young idealists in a quest of self-discovery (and self-affirmation) but by anonymous and experienced revolutionaries in search of real answers to the wide array of angles that today's problems and historical conditions present. As a bonus it also kicks to the curb the academic niceties that permeate most scholarly writing.
This is why when I first picked up Night-Vision (later than many for certain) I noticed a fresh breath (which was not really fresh in the new sense) of revolutionary exhilaration that seemed to be lacking in a lot the writing I was encountering. It carries a sense of understanding that where we are is not where are going to be for long. or at the very least the understanding that revolutionary potential needs to be fomented and manifested in a variety of ways leading to a serious challenge of the self and of the system. This book to me was not written by young idealists in a quest of self-discovery (and self-affirmation) but by anonymous and experienced revolutionaries in search of real answers to the wide array of angles that today's problems and historical conditions present. As a bonus it also kicks to the curb the academic niceties that permeate most scholarly writing.
September 8, 2022
Butch Lee and Red River analyzes production and distribution in the world economy. They seek to understand the impact both the changes and continuities between this neocolonialism and colonialism have on class, gender and race. Night Vision is challenging, grim and terrifying but the ideas Lee and River posit must be taken seriously by those wishing to mount serious opposition to capitalism. I do think the smart and jaded writing style deployed by Lee and Rover frequently work to obfuscate their points (though this might be the point) which i am not a fan of and struggled with in the beginning.
November 29, 2018
read w the book club.... a v long haul party bc of butch lee’s repetitive style and the janky hard to read pdf i used.
still a useful read, suggesting new ways in which capitalism uses race and gender to profit, and still really on the nose twenty years after it was written.
still a useful read, suggesting new ways in which capitalism uses race and gender to profit, and still really on the nose twenty years after it was written.
June 9, 2025
By now, every time I finish a book, it feels like the most important message on Earth. It’s no different here. Night-Vision is an exigent warning to militants whose aspirations remain caught up in 1960s nostalgia. This ain’t the 60s no more. We’re no longer fighting colonialism, but neo-colonialism. Race and class have been divorced, as have gender and class. For many neo-colonized peoples, our biggest and closest enemy isn’t the white supremacist in the white house, but his local executor in dark skin (never mind that from 2009-2017, these two positions were held by the same man). While control over capital is increasingly centralized, this control is exercised through local intermediaries in every nation (and all that global southern debt is around as insurance). Local bourgeoisies have co-opted national liberation struggles everywhere from Atlanta to Angola. Black faces in high places milk the labor of their skinfolk for personal gain (what we call ‘Black excellence’) as capitalist class structure extends itself across the globe, exterminating all who don’t fit in its new neo-colonial frame. Our movements in the 21st century are aware of this new situation, but all too often the discourse (not to speak of the movement) of our movements seems to recall the strategies of half a century prior, when our enemy’s patterns were completely different. Butch Lee isn’t outlining a strategy in Night-Vision, but her scientific socialist, feminist analysis is crucial if we are to understand the terrain upon which our new tactics must be developed.
October 28, 2025
really incredible, and a great cap on the trilogy (together with settlers and fnfi). it was very interesting reading this in 2025, where we are seeing the back-reaction of settlerism "against ""globalism""". this book describes the globalization of both the proletariat and amerikkka itself, and how that process undermined the settler identities that ideologically center the society, and today we can see that being attempted to be reversed. this is of course not possible, they cant escape the capitalist logics that got them here and are only re-entrenching the increased proletarianization of the settlers themselves. very prescient in a funny way and very striking.
March 2, 2020
This is a simply must read book. Eye-opening in many, many ways.
June 22, 2020
I wasn't floored by this one, but it made some good points nonetheless. The highlight for me was the section on ongoing primitive accumulation (what David Harvey calls "accumulation by dispossession") while the weakest section, I think, was on finance capital.
Here's a chapter by chapter outline for reference:
CH. 1
All about need to rethink revolutionary theory and practice. Argues that the radical framework of the 60s and 70s was effective then because it was applied in the context of fighting colonialism but todays struggle is a fight against neo-colonialism ("a much more sophisticated system of oppression") and therefore requires a new approach.
CH. 2
Argues for the plasticity of social categories like race and gender and that the material base of capitalism redefines these concepts to serve the interests of the ruling class. For example, black men have been consistently feminized by white supremacist ideology in order to preserve their second class status. Even the idea of black/white races was created by capitalism to further its colonial project (historically, races aligned more with national identity than skin color).
CH. 3
Great section about primitive accumulation by capitalism of women. Highlights how witch hunts were a means by which the state and private interests amassed wealth through the theft of women's property. The whole chapter overall argues that the capitalist nation state is built on genocide on a world scale.
CH. 4
Makes the aegument that neo-colonialism is the dialectical unity produced by colonial imperialism and its opposite: the various anti-colonial struggles of the 20th century. Includes analyses from Fanon, Nkrumah, and Cabral and a survey of women's significance in various liberation struggles from the Paris Commune to Vietnam to the Alabama Bus Boycott.
CH. 5
Articulates main features of the political ecpnpmy of neo-colonialism. This, I believe, was the weakest section. While it effectively argued for the irrationality of the neocolonial market system, it was a bit disjointed and sometimes arbitrary in its examples.
CH. 6
Challenges certain myths about who does what kind of work under capitalism by arguing the global capitalist edifice is based on the hyper exploitation of women and children of the Third World. It kind of read like Marx's chapter on the Working Day but updated for today's neocolonial world. A lot of this chapter is also a review for the movie Blade Runner (I'm only like half kidding)
CH. 7
This chapter discusses the complex nature of the neo-colonial terrain. Whereas colonialism was a largely dichotomous system of oppression, neo-colonialism is a more chaotic interplay of contradictions.
CH. 8
The final chapter offers summary remarks "analyzing into the heart of the neo-colonial situation"
Here's a chapter by chapter outline for reference:
CH. 1
All about need to rethink revolutionary theory and practice. Argues that the radical framework of the 60s and 70s was effective then because it was applied in the context of fighting colonialism but todays struggle is a fight against neo-colonialism ("a much more sophisticated system of oppression") and therefore requires a new approach.
CH. 2
Argues for the plasticity of social categories like race and gender and that the material base of capitalism redefines these concepts to serve the interests of the ruling class. For example, black men have been consistently feminized by white supremacist ideology in order to preserve their second class status. Even the idea of black/white races was created by capitalism to further its colonial project (historically, races aligned more with national identity than skin color).
CH. 3
Great section about primitive accumulation by capitalism of women. Highlights how witch hunts were a means by which the state and private interests amassed wealth through the theft of women's property. The whole chapter overall argues that the capitalist nation state is built on genocide on a world scale.
CH. 4
Makes the aegument that neo-colonialism is the dialectical unity produced by colonial imperialism and its opposite: the various anti-colonial struggles of the 20th century. Includes analyses from Fanon, Nkrumah, and Cabral and a survey of women's significance in various liberation struggles from the Paris Commune to Vietnam to the Alabama Bus Boycott.
CH. 5
Articulates main features of the political ecpnpmy of neo-colonialism. This, I believe, was the weakest section. While it effectively argued for the irrationality of the neocolonial market system, it was a bit disjointed and sometimes arbitrary in its examples.
CH. 6
Challenges certain myths about who does what kind of work under capitalism by arguing the global capitalist edifice is based on the hyper exploitation of women and children of the Third World. It kind of read like Marx's chapter on the Working Day but updated for today's neocolonial world. A lot of this chapter is also a review for the movie Blade Runner (I'm only like half kidding)
CH. 7
This chapter discusses the complex nature of the neo-colonial terrain. Whereas colonialism was a largely dichotomous system of oppression, neo-colonialism is a more chaotic interplay of contradictions.
CH. 8
The final chapter offers summary remarks "analyzing into the heart of the neo-colonial situation"
July 10, 2011
much has been written about the transition from feudalism to capitalism, yet little has been written about the transition, (although not necessarily linear) currently happening between colonialism and neo-colonialsm. this is a distinction whose understanding is needed in developing strategies against imperialism, capitalism and the heterocentric white male nation.
although published almost 20 years ago now (1992), night vision should be read by anyone looking to understand better the changing terrain which neo-colonialism has brought. much of our revolutionary theory comes from analysis of the transitions to capitalism and colonialism. its time our theory and the actions we take based on it be grounded in the harsh neo-colonial reality, strongly emphasizing 'race, gender and nation' in such an endeavor.
if you're going to buy this book, you should buy it directly from kersplebedeb at
https://secure.leftwingbooks.net/inde...
although published almost 20 years ago now (1992), night vision should be read by anyone looking to understand better the changing terrain which neo-colonialism has brought. much of our revolutionary theory comes from analysis of the transitions to capitalism and colonialism. its time our theory and the actions we take based on it be grounded in the harsh neo-colonial reality, strongly emphasizing 'race, gender and nation' in such an endeavor.
if you're going to buy this book, you should buy it directly from kersplebedeb at
https://secure.leftwingbooks.net/inde...
January 29, 2008
This book is available from the Kersplebedeb Literature Rack. You can
June 9, 2025
Gutes Buch. Mehr für die Denkanstöße die es gibt und die Fragen, die die es aufwirft, als für die konkreten Analysen. Grundidee ist, dass es einen grundsätzlichen Verwandlungsprozess im Kapitalismus gibt, der sich mit den Klassen und der Weltwirtschaft vollzieht, gibt und wie den genau verstehen und ernstnehmen müssen. Kurz, wir müssen den Neokolonialismus besser verstehen und praktisch umwälzen lernen.
Das Buch ist dabei mit einem gewissen ultrarevolutionärem Habitus geschrieben, der zu überspannten Thesen und Urteilen führt. So wird beispielsweise die These von der Hexenverfolgung im Mittelalter als eigentlicher Beginn der ursprünglichen Akkumulation vertreten. Nur ist das historisch unhaltbar. Oder die Idee, dass sich das Kapital in den letzten Jahrzehnten derart internationalisiert hat, dass es sich von den Nationalstaaten losgelöst habe (die alte Kautsky-These, die immer wiederkehrt). Auch der Begriff des Genozids wird etwas undifferenziert genutzt, wobei gerade eine Unterscheidung verschiedener Formen die Thesen gestützt hätte, dass etwa die neuafrikanische Neokolonie in den USA durch den Drogenhandel und unter eigener tätiger Mithilfe schleichend vernichtet wird. Auch die Analyse hat einen voluntaristischen Zug, wenn immer davon geredet wird, dass die Verwandlung des Systems sehr bewusst von der Bourgeoisie betrieben wird. Dadurch geht die organische, die irrationale Seite, die auch erwähnt und stark gemacht, aber begrifflich nicht vermittelt wird, vergleichsweise unter. Da zeigt sich eine insgesamt vorhandene relative Schwäche in der Begriffsbildung.
Gut ist dagegen der Begriff der De-Settlerisation, dass also die weißen Siedler:innen ihre rassistische. Vorzüge durch sie Verwandlung des Systems verlieren, sich aber zugleich mit allen Mitteln und zunehmend militanter dagegen wehren. Der Einlass rassifizierter Menschen in das Kleinbürger:innentum und in die Staatsapparate facht den Zorn der Siedler:innen nur noch mehr an. Das erleben wir ja heute noch viel deutlicher. Trump ist nur die sichtbarste Spitze dieses Prozesses. Sakai hat das auch schon untersucht in seinem lesenswerten Essay The Shock of Recognition. Butch Lee, die selbst weiße Amerikanerin ist, ist nicht nur hier stark, sonder besticht im Buch generell durch eine tiefe Einsicht in das Bewusstsein der Siedler:innen. Schließlich sind auch die Analysen zum Ineinandergreifen, zur Durchdringung und wechselseitig men Verwandlung von Klasse, Rasse, Geschlecht und Nation gut und führen uns weg von verdinglichten Begriffen dieser Verhältnisse.
Das Buch ist dabei mit einem gewissen ultrarevolutionärem Habitus geschrieben, der zu überspannten Thesen und Urteilen führt. So wird beispielsweise die These von der Hexenverfolgung im Mittelalter als eigentlicher Beginn der ursprünglichen Akkumulation vertreten. Nur ist das historisch unhaltbar. Oder die Idee, dass sich das Kapital in den letzten Jahrzehnten derart internationalisiert hat, dass es sich von den Nationalstaaten losgelöst habe (die alte Kautsky-These, die immer wiederkehrt). Auch der Begriff des Genozids wird etwas undifferenziert genutzt, wobei gerade eine Unterscheidung verschiedener Formen die Thesen gestützt hätte, dass etwa die neuafrikanische Neokolonie in den USA durch den Drogenhandel und unter eigener tätiger Mithilfe schleichend vernichtet wird. Auch die Analyse hat einen voluntaristischen Zug, wenn immer davon geredet wird, dass die Verwandlung des Systems sehr bewusst von der Bourgeoisie betrieben wird. Dadurch geht die organische, die irrationale Seite, die auch erwähnt und stark gemacht, aber begrifflich nicht vermittelt wird, vergleichsweise unter. Da zeigt sich eine insgesamt vorhandene relative Schwäche in der Begriffsbildung.
Gut ist dagegen der Begriff der De-Settlerisation, dass also die weißen Siedler:innen ihre rassistische. Vorzüge durch sie Verwandlung des Systems verlieren, sich aber zugleich mit allen Mitteln und zunehmend militanter dagegen wehren. Der Einlass rassifizierter Menschen in das Kleinbürger:innentum und in die Staatsapparate facht den Zorn der Siedler:innen nur noch mehr an. Das erleben wir ja heute noch viel deutlicher. Trump ist nur die sichtbarste Spitze dieses Prozesses. Sakai hat das auch schon untersucht in seinem lesenswerten Essay The Shock of Recognition. Butch Lee, die selbst weiße Amerikanerin ist, ist nicht nur hier stark, sonder besticht im Buch generell durch eine tiefe Einsicht in das Bewusstsein der Siedler:innen. Schließlich sind auch die Analysen zum Ineinandergreifen, zur Durchdringung und wechselseitig men Verwandlung von Klasse, Rasse, Geschlecht und Nation gut und führen uns weg von verdinglichten Begriffen dieser Verhältnisse.
March 20, 2025
A very important and thought-provoking text. Refusal to engage with the third world critique is a serious error which is all too common in the imperial core left. I remain unsure on many of the core theses, but regardless it's useful prodding to reject the economist labor-movement approach. Even on the labor left, which is more serious and committed than much of the western left, there is constant failure to really do much past 'organize organize organize' without any critical analysis of *what* we are organizing. What does it mean when our union workers are quite willing to ignore the global proletariat if they can make enough to buy a house in the nice part of town? Is the working class here condemned to remain parasites allying with capital? How do the new changes in strategy of the US government impact all this? This book may not completely answer those questions, but it certainly lays down a clear and incisive analysis which you can't ignore.
March 21, 2011
re-reading in a study group. This book is too brilliant and makes links that will be relevant for decades still to come.
January 21, 2013
i think butch lee is my new favorite author
January 9, 2014
Good intersectional analysis of neo-colonialism and oppression. Written in 1993, though not super current, this book is still highly relevant.
November 25, 2016
fucking amazing book. anyone who reads english and fucks with somewhat heady shit needs to read this. i don't give a fuck what your tendency is. read this shit.
October 31, 2017
Incredibly interesting and timely. Do yourself a favor. Read this book.
June 17, 2022
La tesis fundamental del libro se resume en el concepto de «neo-colonialismo», la fase actual (y superior) del colonialismo. Una fase, según el texto, nacida de la necesidad objetiva de supervivencia de un capitalismo podrido -cuya tasa de ganancia se desploma a gran velocidad-, de revalorizarse rompiendo para ello con el modelo metrópoli-colonia. Esto ocurriría mediante un proceso de «descolonización» en el que género, raza y nación forman una simbiosis en el seno de los centros imperialistas sustentada económica y políticamente sobre la superexplotación del Sur Global.
No es, desde luego, un texto escrito desde unas coordenadas puramente leninistas -hay pasajes en los que incluso entrecomilla la palabra «imperialismo» y lo confunde con «colonialismo»- pero sí una visión interesante (y actualizada) de cómo la burguesía -cada vez concentrando más capital en menos manos- es capaz de presentarnos el mismo imperialismo con distinto disfraz en su encarnizada lucha por sobrevivir.
Lo más destacable del libro es el tono propagandístico en el que está escrito, con modismos cargados de significado político (amerikkka, nombres propios en minúscula) y la profusa descripción que hace de la situación laboral de las mujeres del Sur Global. Destaco muy positivamente que las menciones de Marx y el marxismo son, a diferencia de muchos otros textos y autores, certeras. Lee y Rover no buscan, en una sola de las páginas del libro, tergiversar a Marx o al marxismo para retorcerlo y hacerlo encajar en su teoría: muy al contrario, apoyan sus argumentos en él y esto es un soplo de aire fresco en la miríada de ensayos que mutilan el marxismo para sustentar tesis netamente idealistas.
Aun siendo un ensayo político, es un texto sorprendentemente ágil y sencillo de leer para alguien con un nivel medio-alto de inglés.
Lo más criticable es que a veces se va por los cerros de Úbeda, te está hablando de una cosa y salta a otra que tiene poco que ver; parece a ratos un panfleto poco estructurado -no hay homogeneidad en la forma de presentar el texto- y a veces plasma citas demasiado largas (varias páginas de otros autores). Finalmente, no es especialmente concluyente: peca de lo que muchos textos pecan, de ser profundamente descriptivo y muy poco resolutivo (de hecho, excusa este hecho en las últimas páginas dejando un poco a la interpretación del lector las posibles soluciones).
Lo recomiendo: para camaradas con formación sólida en anti-imperialismo que quieran profundizar sobre las relaciones entre clase, raza y género desde una perspectiva de hace solo 30 años.
No es, desde luego, un texto escrito desde unas coordenadas puramente leninistas -hay pasajes en los que incluso entrecomilla la palabra «imperialismo» y lo confunde con «colonialismo»- pero sí una visión interesante (y actualizada) de cómo la burguesía -cada vez concentrando más capital en menos manos- es capaz de presentarnos el mismo imperialismo con distinto disfraz en su encarnizada lucha por sobrevivir.
Lo más destacable del libro es el tono propagandístico en el que está escrito, con modismos cargados de significado político (amerikkka, nombres propios en minúscula) y la profusa descripción que hace de la situación laboral de las mujeres del Sur Global. Destaco muy positivamente que las menciones de Marx y el marxismo son, a diferencia de muchos otros textos y autores, certeras. Lee y Rover no buscan, en una sola de las páginas del libro, tergiversar a Marx o al marxismo para retorcerlo y hacerlo encajar en su teoría: muy al contrario, apoyan sus argumentos en él y esto es un soplo de aire fresco en la miríada de ensayos que mutilan el marxismo para sustentar tesis netamente idealistas.
Aun siendo un ensayo político, es un texto sorprendentemente ágil y sencillo de leer para alguien con un nivel medio-alto de inglés.
Lo más criticable es que a veces se va por los cerros de Úbeda, te está hablando de una cosa y salta a otra que tiene poco que ver; parece a ratos un panfleto poco estructurado -no hay homogeneidad en la forma de presentar el texto- y a veces plasma citas demasiado largas (varias páginas de otros autores). Finalmente, no es especialmente concluyente: peca de lo que muchos textos pecan, de ser profundamente descriptivo y muy poco resolutivo (de hecho, excusa este hecho en las últimas páginas dejando un poco a la interpretación del lector las posibles soluciones).
Lo recomiendo: para camaradas con formación sólida en anti-imperialismo que quieran profundizar sobre las relaciones entre clase, raza y género desde una perspectiva de hace solo 30 años.
September 11, 2022
i learned a lot and have a lot to think about after reading this. glad to have read it in a study group bc its kinda a mysterious book and its helpful to understand the specific political movements and historical period it comes from.
their explanation of neo-colonialism and how capitalism has changed after the anti-colonial movements + civil rights movement of the 1900s is super valuable and useful. it also uncovers some cool history and teaches a lot of marxist ideas in a way that centers colonialism, women, and children. usually i hadnt done any of the original marx readings !_! soooo on the one hand it was a great way to learn those ideas from a relevant perspective,, but also it might have stuck easier if i had better groundings in those theories.
overall, i liked their inflammatory, tongue-and-cheek, zine-like writing style, but occasionally it meant they were speaking kind of crudely and bluntly about pretty intricate topics. glad i read it and just a very thought-provoking movement book. and an important voice from the 60s-80s radical movements to read,, so that we dont end up trying to just emulate things from a different time ....
their explanation of neo-colonialism and how capitalism has changed after the anti-colonial movements + civil rights movement of the 1900s is super valuable and useful. it also uncovers some cool history and teaches a lot of marxist ideas in a way that centers colonialism, women, and children. usually i hadnt done any of the original marx readings !_! soooo on the one hand it was a great way to learn those ideas from a relevant perspective,, but also it might have stuck easier if i had better groundings in those theories.
overall, i liked their inflammatory, tongue-and-cheek, zine-like writing style, but occasionally it meant they were speaking kind of crudely and bluntly about pretty intricate topics. glad i read it and just a very thought-provoking movement book. and an important voice from the 60s-80s radical movements to read,, so that we dont end up trying to just emulate things from a different time ....
December 6, 2025
completed the trilogy. Quick, vague thoughts: Very biting & pithy, though some pages are filled up with giant block quotations. Tries to encompass a very massive scope, but falters in that project compared to Sakai & Co’s other book False Nationalism, False Internationalism, and it definitely doesn’t measure up to the theoretical and historical richness of Settlers. It’s very empirical at times, like shoving the spectacles of the nineties in your face. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you think it’s all still Black v.s. White. The answer would be yes and no. But like many have said, it’s more questions than answers here.
It’s also fascinating to read this as the current neoliberal management of the prison house is imploding from within, from the striking down of Bakke and affirmative action, to the substitution of the gospel of multicultural free trade with insular protectionism, to the victory horns of #GamerGate over popular culture (war). There are myriad breaks and continuities from Sakai’s time. How much is this a spectacular new shell for the old and how much is really moribund? Keep watching!
It’s also fascinating to read this as the current neoliberal management of the prison house is imploding from within, from the striking down of Bakke and affirmative action, to the substitution of the gospel of multicultural free trade with insular protectionism, to the victory horns of #GamerGate over popular culture (war). There are myriad breaks and continuities from Sakai’s time. How much is this a spectacular new shell for the old and how much is really moribund? Keep watching!
November 4, 2019
Excellent and prophetic, a book from the early 90's that lays out the shift from traditional forms of colonialism towards a more integrated global financial system that is still based on misery, and the use and misuse and identity as a way of pacifying forms of resistance.
This is a movement work through and through, much of it challenges traditional fixed categories, and raises provocative questions without offering flushed out definitions, and there's some spelling choices that look kinda goofy in a printed book. In a political landscape with far too much self-congratulation, this book is a necessary intervention and broadly applicable.
This is a movement work through and through, much of it challenges traditional fixed categories, and raises provocative questions without offering flushed out definitions, and there's some spelling choices that look kinda goofy in a printed book. In a political landscape with far too much self-congratulation, this book is a necessary intervention and broadly applicable.
March 9, 2021
This book has a very heterodox style of writing - 1/3rd of the book are just quotes, unedited, just pasted. The writing style is fairly 'casual'. However, despite this, it does put forward some interesting notes towards the neo-colonial turn, i.e. 'multiculturalism', within a framework of u.s. black nationalism, while putting a big focus on women and children, which i found very interesting, as well as the points of the 'de-settlerisation' of the u.s. would recommend it giving a read, even if practical conclusions from it are hard to grasp.
December 31, 2023
While the first 4 chapters felt like a kind of drag, which I assume is because a lot of “The Military Organization of Women and Children” prepped me for a lot of what is discussed, the final 4 chapters shaped those ideas and posited theories that are incredibly true in our current capitalist world. The level of dot connecting is truly commendable, and while there are points I don’t agree with fully, I think anyone who carry’s anti-capitalist beliefs should pick this up, as it is still incredibly relevant 20 years later.
July 7, 2022
not sure if i agree w the bit at the end about multiculturalism but the majority of the book included incredibly insightful bits on the current stage of neocolonialism + the process of primitive accumulation / the hyper-exploitation of women and children in the third world and was overall a really good read! butch lee was so real for raving about this book
June 5, 2024
If this book were reorganized a bit (chapter titles and subtitles didnt explain much of what went on in each) and had the minor spelling/grammar/formatting issues cleaned up, it would be required reading.
I found the beginning and other pieces a bit difficult to parse through but the second half was great.
I found the beginning and other pieces a bit difficult to parse through but the second half was great.
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December 1, 2020A crazy book that I was not quite ready for... I aim to re-read it in a year or two once I have a better general understanding of the ideas behind the colonial and neo-colonial paradigms. I really appreciated the non- (anti-?) academic tone.
January 2, 2025
Everything Butch Lee writes is 100% correct and delivered in sharp and unmincing analysis. We constantly need to expand our understanding of neocolonialism as it is our current circumstances and this is an important piece of the repertoire which covers this topic.
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