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Secure the Base: Making Africa Visible in the Globe
The first comprehensive collection of Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's nonfiction, spanning lectures and texts on colonialism, labor and political struggles, and the legacies of slavery.
For more than sixty years, Ngũgĩwa Thiong’o has been fearlessly writing about the questions, challenges, histories, and futures of Africans, particularly those of his homeland, Kenya. In his work, which has included plays, novels, and essays, Ngũgĩ narrates the injustice of colonial violence and the dictatorial betrayal of decolonization, the fight for freedom and subsequent incarceration, and the aspiration toward economic equality in the face of gross inequality. With both hope and disappointment, he questions the role of language in both the organization of power structures and the pursuit of autonomy and self-expression.
Ngũgĩ's fiction has been met with wide acclaim, but his nonfiction work, while equally brilliant, is more difficult to find. Secure the Base changes this by bringing together for the first time essays spanning nearly three decades. Originating as disparate lectures and texts, this complete volume will remind readers anew of Ngũgĩ's power and importance. Written in a personal and accessible style, the book covers a range of issues, including the role of the intellectual, the place of Asia in Africa, labor and political struggles in an era of rampant capitalism, and the legacies of slavery and prospects for peace. At a time when Africa looms large in our discussions of globalization, Secure the Base is mandatory reading.
For more than sixty years, Ngũgĩwa Thiong’o has been fearlessly writing about the questions, challenges, histories, and futures of Africans, particularly those of his homeland, Kenya. In his work, which has included plays, novels, and essays, Ngũgĩ narrates the injustice of colonial violence and the dictatorial betrayal of decolonization, the fight for freedom and subsequent incarceration, and the aspiration toward economic equality in the face of gross inequality. With both hope and disappointment, he questions the role of language in both the organization of power structures and the pursuit of autonomy and self-expression.
Ngũgĩ's fiction has been met with wide acclaim, but his nonfiction work, while equally brilliant, is more difficult to find. Secure the Base changes this by bringing together for the first time essays spanning nearly three decades. Originating as disparate lectures and texts, this complete volume will remind readers anew of Ngũgĩ's power and importance. Written in a personal and accessible style, the book covers a range of issues, including the role of the intellectual, the place of Asia in Africa, labor and political struggles in an era of rampant capitalism, and the legacies of slavery and prospects for peace. At a time when Africa looms large in our discussions of globalization, Secure the Base is mandatory reading.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published December 15, 2015
About the author
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
120 books2,169 followersNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o was a Kenyan author and academic, who was described as East Africa's leading novelist.
He began writing in English before later switching to write primarily in Gikuyu, becoming a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages. His works include the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright was translated into more than 100 languages.
In 1977, Ngũgĩ embarked upon a novel form of theatre in Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be "the general bourgeois education system", by encouraging spontaneity and audience participation in the performances. His project sought to "demystify" the theatrical process, and to avoid the "process of alienation [that] produces a gallery of active stars and an undifferentiated mass of grateful admirers" which, according to Ngũgĩ, encourages passivity in "ordinary people". Although his landmark play Ngaahika Ndeenda, co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, was a commercial success, it was shut down by the authoritarian Kenyan regime six weeks after its opening.
Ngũgĩ was subsequently imprisoned for more than a year. Adopted as an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, he was released from prison and fled Kenya. He was appointed Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine. He previously taught at Northwestern University, Yale University, and New York University. Ngũgĩ was frequently regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy, and the 2016 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Among his children are authors Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ and Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ.
He began writing in English before later switching to write primarily in Gikuyu, becoming a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages. His works include the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright was translated into more than 100 languages.
In 1977, Ngũgĩ embarked upon a novel form of theatre in Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be "the general bourgeois education system", by encouraging spontaneity and audience participation in the performances. His project sought to "demystify" the theatrical process, and to avoid the "process of alienation [that] produces a gallery of active stars and an undifferentiated mass of grateful admirers" which, according to Ngũgĩ, encourages passivity in "ordinary people". Although his landmark play Ngaahika Ndeenda, co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, was a commercial success, it was shut down by the authoritarian Kenyan regime six weeks after its opening.
Ngũgĩ was subsequently imprisoned for more than a year. Adopted as an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, he was released from prison and fled Kenya. He was appointed Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine. He previously taught at Northwestern University, Yale University, and New York University. Ngũgĩ was frequently regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy, and the 2016 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Among his children are authors Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ and Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 27, 2026
Ancora oggi mi sfugge perché quaranta milioni di yoruba siano una tribù e cinque milioni di danesi una nazione!
Questo volume raccoglie sette testi di Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o scritti in occasioni diverse. A partire da differenti tematiche, riflettono sulla percezione che si ha dell'Africa e degli africani nel mondo ma anche sulla percezione di sé del continente e dei suoi abitanti. Le parole che usiamo plasmano il modo in cui guardiamo il mondo ed esercitano un ruolo fondamentale nei rapporti di potere fra individui e gruppi. Ad esempio, la disumanizzazione e demonizzazione attraverso le parole anticipano le pratiche genocidarie, giustificano guerre e altri crimini.
Nel 2004 avvertiva sul pericolo degli autoritarismi a causa di un mondo in cui le disuguaglianze non fanno che crescere.
La crescente discrepanza fra le condizioni di quelli-che-hanno e di quelli-che-non-hanno, in un mondo sempre più globalizzato, è il fondamento di nuove forme di autoritarismo.
Chiama gli intellettuali a essere più responsabili, a ricucire un rapporto con le masse che si è perso negli ultimi decenni. Prima gli intellettuali avevano un rapporto organico con le masse, davano una visione di sé e del futuro che si radicava nel popolo e che compattava le persone nella lotta per i propri diritti.
Invita gli africani a guardarsi con occhi nuovi, o meglio con i propri occhi e non con quelli della memoria europea. Come in altri suoi scritti, esprime la necessità per l'Africa di utilizzare le proprie lingue - mezzo imprescindibile per poter affermare il proprio posto nel mondo.
La lingua è un mezzo per organizzare e concettualizzare la realtà; è anche un deposito dei ricordi generati dall'interazione dell'uomo con l'ambiente naturale e sociale.
Marginalizzare le lingue significa togliere valore alla memoria che esse racchiudono.
Denuncia con forza le storture del "fondamentalismo del capitalismo", di chi non ammette la possibilità di visioni e pratiche diverse su cui costruire la società. Lo sguardo con cui valutiamo il progresso, lo sviluppo, la salute delle nostre democrazie dovrebbe rivolgersi verso la base della piramide sociale; guardare il mondo dal fondo della piramide, anziché dalla cima, è l'unico modo per costruire una società più giusta e democratica.
A prescindere dall'anno in cui sono stati scritti, questi testi sono sempre molto attuali perché raccontano plasticamente la realtà in cui siamo immersi. Oltre che a far riflettere sul modo in cui siamo abituati a guardare il mondo, sono una ventata di aria fresca rispetto alla cappa che ci avvolge da un po' di anni a questa parte.
March 14, 2021
El grito de Ngūgî wa Thiong'o y debería ser de toda la humanidad, es inspirador, desolador, te deja con un peso en el corazón por la situación de África pero que no es muy diferente a la realidad de los pobres del mundo.
September 11, 2018
This collection of essays by Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a meditation upon Africa and its place in the modern world. There are two facts that underpin all these essays and they are the two fundamental facts about African history: the Atlantic slave trade and colonialism. It is impossible to consider the history and development of Africa into post-colonial independence without having a grasp of these issues. It is impossible to understand what independence in the post-colonial era actually entails without taking these two facts into account. They are the building blocks on which the history of modern Africa has been built.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s argument starts from a base that should be obvious, although it is brushed under the carpet. The Atlantic Slave Trade was a crime against humanity. It allowed the burgeoning capitalist economies of Western Europe and what became the United States. It was driven by the need to have cheap labour to produce sugar, tobacco and cotton. Slaves only needed enough food, clothing and housing to keep them, literally, producing the goods, and if they died more slaves could be purchased. Ngugi recognises that the kingdoms of the West African littoral by waging war on their neighbours, seizing captives and selling them to European traders, whether they were Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch or English. [The Scots did not benefit from the slave trade until the Act of Union of 1707, but they seem to have taken to it like ducks to water. Glasgow is built on money from the slave trade and the slave plantations]. Obviously, this loss of population and the disruption it caused had a detrimental effect on the development of Africa.
One of the things that Ngugi argues should be considered is the trauma to the African psyche. This was compounded by the trauma of colonialism, and the barbarity with which African societies were destroyed so that resources could be extracted from the continent for the benefit of the colonial power. Part of the consequence of colonialism was that European languages became the languages of power, and that is still the case in sub-Saharan Africa, even in countries where an African language, or more than one, has been given official status. [Arabic is a separate case. It is not in origin an African language but it has been spoken in the continent for something like 1,500 years]. In these essays, Ngugi issues a call to arms. He calls upon African intellectuals to write in their own tongues. He asks for schools to teach in African languages. He challenges the use of the word “tribe”, and asks why 40,000,000 Yoruba form a tribe, but 300,000 Icelanders or 5 million Danes form a nation. The answer is both obvious and inherently racist. All you have to do is look at racial classification in apartheid South Africa where 5,000,000 whites, despite speaking different languages, formed one racial group whereas Nguni speakers, despite using variants of the same language, formed, I think, 5 racial groups.
Ngugi argues that Africans need to accord their own languages respect. The argument that there are no words in African languages for the technological advances that have been made over the last two hundred years, is one that he demolishes as nonsense. He points out that the same was said of English and French, when they began to replace Latin as the language of intellectual discourse. He could also have pointed out that there is no English word for “television”. It is derived from Greek and Latin. Words can be invented and they frequently are. Shakespeare was an expert at this.
Ngugi also argues that African achievements are overlooked in the world. He rightly argues that the greatest threat to our planet is nuclear weaponry, and that the most pressing need for securing the future of our planet is the decommissioning of those weapons. He then adds that two countries have already done this, and that they are both African countries – South Africa and Libya. One has never been credited with doing so, and the other was invaded, its infrastructure destroyed and an ongoing refugee crisis created. I remember someone on Facebook arguing in 2014 that if Scotland became independent it would be the first country to decommission its nuclear weapons, and I replied that this would not be the case because South African and Libya had already done it. The argument was based on ignorance, but it is symptomatic of the fact that Africa, when it does something good, does not get coverage in the western media.
Another argument that Ngugi puts forward is that the world is divided between the wealthy and the poor. He argues that, if the world is to live at peace and in prosperity, then those resources must be shared equally. He argues that this cannot be achieved by tinkering with the world economy, as the Christian missionaries die in the colonial period and as the NGOs do now, but needs a structural change. He argues for a world without borders, or, at least, the kind of borders that we have in place now. He argues for a world in which we ensure that the hungry are fed, the poor clothed, the homeless housed, the sick are healed and the refugees are welcomed. He argues against the expenditure by the rich nations of this world on armaments. This is a cry from the heart against the neo-colonial world in which we live. It is an argument that we have a duty to consider. I think he is right.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s argument starts from a base that should be obvious, although it is brushed under the carpet. The Atlantic Slave Trade was a crime against humanity. It allowed the burgeoning capitalist economies of Western Europe and what became the United States. It was driven by the need to have cheap labour to produce sugar, tobacco and cotton. Slaves only needed enough food, clothing and housing to keep them, literally, producing the goods, and if they died more slaves could be purchased. Ngugi recognises that the kingdoms of the West African littoral by waging war on their neighbours, seizing captives and selling them to European traders, whether they were Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch or English. [The Scots did not benefit from the slave trade until the Act of Union of 1707, but they seem to have taken to it like ducks to water. Glasgow is built on money from the slave trade and the slave plantations]. Obviously, this loss of population and the disruption it caused had a detrimental effect on the development of Africa.
One of the things that Ngugi argues should be considered is the trauma to the African psyche. This was compounded by the trauma of colonialism, and the barbarity with which African societies were destroyed so that resources could be extracted from the continent for the benefit of the colonial power. Part of the consequence of colonialism was that European languages became the languages of power, and that is still the case in sub-Saharan Africa, even in countries where an African language, or more than one, has been given official status. [Arabic is a separate case. It is not in origin an African language but it has been spoken in the continent for something like 1,500 years]. In these essays, Ngugi issues a call to arms. He calls upon African intellectuals to write in their own tongues. He asks for schools to teach in African languages. He challenges the use of the word “tribe”, and asks why 40,000,000 Yoruba form a tribe, but 300,000 Icelanders or 5 million Danes form a nation. The answer is both obvious and inherently racist. All you have to do is look at racial classification in apartheid South Africa where 5,000,000 whites, despite speaking different languages, formed one racial group whereas Nguni speakers, despite using variants of the same language, formed, I think, 5 racial groups.
Ngugi argues that Africans need to accord their own languages respect. The argument that there are no words in African languages for the technological advances that have been made over the last two hundred years, is one that he demolishes as nonsense. He points out that the same was said of English and French, when they began to replace Latin as the language of intellectual discourse. He could also have pointed out that there is no English word for “television”. It is derived from Greek and Latin. Words can be invented and they frequently are. Shakespeare was an expert at this.
Ngugi also argues that African achievements are overlooked in the world. He rightly argues that the greatest threat to our planet is nuclear weaponry, and that the most pressing need for securing the future of our planet is the decommissioning of those weapons. He then adds that two countries have already done this, and that they are both African countries – South Africa and Libya. One has never been credited with doing so, and the other was invaded, its infrastructure destroyed and an ongoing refugee crisis created. I remember someone on Facebook arguing in 2014 that if Scotland became independent it would be the first country to decommission its nuclear weapons, and I replied that this would not be the case because South African and Libya had already done it. The argument was based on ignorance, but it is symptomatic of the fact that Africa, when it does something good, does not get coverage in the western media.
Another argument that Ngugi puts forward is that the world is divided between the wealthy and the poor. He argues that, if the world is to live at peace and in prosperity, then those resources must be shared equally. He argues that this cannot be achieved by tinkering with the world economy, as the Christian missionaries die in the colonial period and as the NGOs do now, but needs a structural change. He argues for a world without borders, or, at least, the kind of borders that we have in place now. He argues for a world in which we ensure that the hungry are fed, the poor clothed, the homeless housed, the sick are healed and the refugees are welcomed. He argues against the expenditure by the rich nations of this world on armaments. This is a cry from the heart against the neo-colonial world in which we live. It is an argument that we have a duty to consider. I think he is right.
December 31, 2023
Este libro contiene varios ensayos y conferencias de este escritor keniata, me parece que es una voz lúcida al hablar de temas que le conciernen a sus vivencias y sus compromisos sociales que se le han despertado por ser escritor de lengua kikuyu en un país colonizado.
Tiene un gran ensayo de entrada sobre la palabra "tribu" y cómo se convirtió en un herramienta más del proceso de colonizar a las distintas naciones en África: biologiza los problemas internos y los conflictos que son causa de las desigualdades socio económicas instauradas por los países extranjeros. Muy lúcido al desentrañar algo tan hondo y que no nos cuestionamos desde estos rincones.
También tiene ensayos donde critica fuertemente el fundamentalismo capitalista, todas esas políticas provenientes del exterior que quieren unificar países ricos culturalmente en mismos idiomas, mismos planes económicos, etc. Todo regresa al mismo punto: la necesidad de elaborar sueños y realidades acorde a los propios pueblos en África.
Es potente Ngugi porque si bien es esperanzador, tampoco le tiembla la mano en denunciar a la propia ONU por su inacción, a las ONG por su salvadorismo blanco y la hipocresía de intelectuales. Todo esto lo hace, claro, remitiéndose a pensadores y escritores que ya lo han dicho, entre ellos Frantz Fanon. El lenguaje es otra parte importante de su discurso porque pone de manifiesto que la preferencia por hablar y escribir en lenguas coloniales (inglés, francés, portugués) es parte del racismo estructural que invisibiliza las lenguas locales.
Una vez más, wa Thiong´o ha escrito un libro de referencia para quienes quieran echarse un clavado a estos temas. Lo hace de manera muy clara, maneja bien los autores y casi diría tiene la capacidad de ser divulgativo y preciso.
Tiene un gran ensayo de entrada sobre la palabra "tribu" y cómo se convirtió en un herramienta más del proceso de colonizar a las distintas naciones en África: biologiza los problemas internos y los conflictos que son causa de las desigualdades socio económicas instauradas por los países extranjeros. Muy lúcido al desentrañar algo tan hondo y que no nos cuestionamos desde estos rincones.
También tiene ensayos donde critica fuertemente el fundamentalismo capitalista, todas esas políticas provenientes del exterior que quieren unificar países ricos culturalmente en mismos idiomas, mismos planes económicos, etc. Todo regresa al mismo punto: la necesidad de elaborar sueños y realidades acorde a los propios pueblos en África.
Es potente Ngugi porque si bien es esperanzador, tampoco le tiembla la mano en denunciar a la propia ONU por su inacción, a las ONG por su salvadorismo blanco y la hipocresía de intelectuales. Todo esto lo hace, claro, remitiéndose a pensadores y escritores que ya lo han dicho, entre ellos Frantz Fanon. El lenguaje es otra parte importante de su discurso porque pone de manifiesto que la preferencia por hablar y escribir en lenguas coloniales (inglés, francés, portugués) es parte del racismo estructural que invisibiliza las lenguas locales.
Una vez más, wa Thiong´o ha escrito un libro de referencia para quienes quieran echarse un clavado a estos temas. Lo hace de manera muy clara, maneja bien los autores y casi diría tiene la capacidad de ser divulgativo y preciso.
February 5, 2026
Secure the Base is a powerful and thought-provoking collection of non-fiction essays in which Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o reflects on Africa’s place in the world, politically, culturally, and historically. Rather than offering answers, he raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about power, representation, and historical injustice.
Throughout the book, he addresses how African societies are perceived, represented, and often ignored by global powers. He challenges the way Africa is framed by dominant narratives, reduced to “tribes”, while its intellectual, cultural, and linguistic contributions are constantly overlooked, especially by the West. Ngũgĩ argues that language, culture, and memory are not secondary but central to liberation.
At the core of these essays lies a strong belief that a better world is possible, but not under the systems we currently live in. He openly critiques global inequalities such as the divide between rich and poor, the treatment of refugees, and the failure to care for the hungry, the homeless, and the sick.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels the need to broaden their perspective on these serious issues and be reminded that the world does not consist of the West alone.
Throughout the book, he addresses how African societies are perceived, represented, and often ignored by global powers. He challenges the way Africa is framed by dominant narratives, reduced to “tribes”, while its intellectual, cultural, and linguistic contributions are constantly overlooked, especially by the West. Ngũgĩ argues that language, culture, and memory are not secondary but central to liberation.
At the core of these essays lies a strong belief that a better world is possible, but not under the systems we currently live in. He openly critiques global inequalities such as the divide between rich and poor, the treatment of refugees, and the failure to care for the hungry, the homeless, and the sick.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels the need to broaden their perspective on these serious issues and be reminded that the world does not consist of the West alone.
May 15, 2024
Raccolta di monologhi, probabilmente conferenze, a denuncia dei torti subiti dall’Africa e delle loro ripercussioni contemporanee.
Forte critica, un accenno di autocritica e tante buone intenzioni.
Alcuni concetti sono liquidati troppo genericamente, ma lo scopo pare quello dichiarato dal titolo, scrivere per la pace.
« Scrivere per la pace dovrebbe voler dire rammentare continuamente agli esseri umani che viviamo sulla stesso pianeta e che ogni deposito di armi di distruzione di massa, in qualsiasi nazione, grande o piccola, è un atto di guerra contro il futuro dell’umanità. Che tutte le nazioni trasformino quelle armi in aratri. La terra è la nostra madre comune, oltre che il nostro futuro, e la pace è l’unica garanzia di quel futuro comune, il nostro sogno collettivo. »
Forte critica, un accenno di autocritica e tante buone intenzioni.
Alcuni concetti sono liquidati troppo genericamente, ma lo scopo pare quello dichiarato dal titolo, scrivere per la pace.
« Scrivere per la pace dovrebbe voler dire rammentare continuamente agli esseri umani che viviamo sulla stesso pianeta e che ogni deposito di armi di distruzione di massa, in qualsiasi nazione, grande o piccola, è un atto di guerra contro il futuro dell’umanità. Che tutte le nazioni trasformino quelle armi in aratri. La terra è la nostra madre comune, oltre che il nostro futuro, e la pace è l’unica garanzia di quel futuro comune, il nostro sogno collettivo. »
December 4, 2025
Collection d'essais très abordable, y compris pour les néophytes. Une bonne introduction à la pensée de Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o!
Pour une Afrique libre regroupe 8 essais et discours de Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o des années 2000-2010. Contrairement à de nombreux ouvrages au principe similaire, il reste extrêmement cohérent malgré le regroupement tardif de ses chapitres. La préface -par l'auteur- est brève, mais elle tisse efficacement les liens manquants entre ces différentes parties et replace le contexte d'écriture de chacune d'entre elle, chose que j'ai beaucoup apprécié.
Sans qu'il n'y est des répétitions trop lourdes, les thèmes principaux de la pensée de Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ressortent tout au long de l'ouvrage avec beaucoup de clarté. D'un chapitre à un autre, l'argumentaire se déploie renforcé par de nouveaux exemples historiques, économiques, ou culturels qui démontrent naturellement la pertinence du propos. L'écriture y est fluide, facile à lire et donc d'autant plus convaincante.
4,25/5
Pour une Afrique libre regroupe 8 essais et discours de Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o des années 2000-2010. Contrairement à de nombreux ouvrages au principe similaire, il reste extrêmement cohérent malgré le regroupement tardif de ses chapitres. La préface -par l'auteur- est brève, mais elle tisse efficacement les liens manquants entre ces différentes parties et replace le contexte d'écriture de chacune d'entre elle, chose que j'ai beaucoup apprécié.
Sans qu'il n'y est des répétitions trop lourdes, les thèmes principaux de la pensée de Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ressortent tout au long de l'ouvrage avec beaucoup de clarté. D'un chapitre à un autre, l'argumentaire se déploie renforcé par de nouveaux exemples historiques, économiques, ou culturels qui démontrent naturellement la pertinence du propos. L'écriture y est fluide, facile à lire et donc d'autant plus convaincante.
4,25/5
November 3, 2019
Interesting series of essays and speeches offering guidance on the path Africa should follow to assert itself and cultivate a healthy future. Definitely made me think especially his writings about using African languages instead of European ones for writing science and history, and for use in government.
November 26, 2022
Reflexiones maravillosas alrededor del colonialismo, lenguas minoritarias, el capitalismo, la idea de mercado predominante y de alternativas. Escrito desde Kenia y desde las heridas de África pero es un discurso universal. Muy necesario leerlo.
Le quito una estrella porque hay muchas ideas que se repiten. Aunque es verdad que eso ayuda a subrayar las claves de Ngugi.
Le quito una estrella porque hay muchas ideas que se repiten. Aunque es verdad que eso ayuda a subrayar las claves de Ngugi.
July 25, 2021
4,5/5 sin duda un descubrimiento!
September 5, 2023
Eine wohlhergeleitete Kampfschrift für eine globale Einhaltung der Menschenrechte. Eher Forderung als Zukunftsvision.
Inhalt
- Das Zeitalter des kapitalistischen Fundamentalismus (auch: Neoliberalismus), das mit Reagan, Thatcher und Kohl begann, hat auch den Aufschwung religiöser Fundamentalismen erlebt (S. 55)
- Es herrscht eine "Pracht durch Elend", also die marxistische Theorie, dass der Wohlstand des einen nur durch die Armut des anderen entstehen kann. Dies gilt es zu überwinden, um "Verbrechen an der Menschlichkeit" zu adressieren (S. 102)
- Der kapitalistische Fundamentalismus fordert offene Grenzen für Kapitalfluss, der Rassismus ("meine Rasse ist die auserwählte Rasse", analog zu "mein Gott ist mehr Gott als deiner") fordert Barrieren gegen die Bewegungsfreiheit der Arbeitskraft (S. 126)
- Es gibt nun zwei Reaktionsmöglichkeiten
1. Die konservative Variante: Verweis auf Tolstois Erzählung von dem Mann, "der von einem anderen auf dem Rücken getragen wird und vehement beteuert, dass er bereit sei, alles zu tun, um seinem Opfer zu helfen - 'alles', das heisst, nur nicht von dessen Rücken zu steigen" (S. 136)
2. Die radikale Variante: "eine vollständige Transformation der Systeme der Ungleichheit und Unterdrückung in jeder Nation und zwischen allen Nationen" (S. 136)
Inhalt
- Das Zeitalter des kapitalistischen Fundamentalismus (auch: Neoliberalismus), das mit Reagan, Thatcher und Kohl begann, hat auch den Aufschwung religiöser Fundamentalismen erlebt (S. 55)
- Es herrscht eine "Pracht durch Elend", also die marxistische Theorie, dass der Wohlstand des einen nur durch die Armut des anderen entstehen kann. Dies gilt es zu überwinden, um "Verbrechen an der Menschlichkeit" zu adressieren (S. 102)
- Der kapitalistische Fundamentalismus fordert offene Grenzen für Kapitalfluss, der Rassismus ("meine Rasse ist die auserwählte Rasse", analog zu "mein Gott ist mehr Gott als deiner") fordert Barrieren gegen die Bewegungsfreiheit der Arbeitskraft (S. 126)
- Es gibt nun zwei Reaktionsmöglichkeiten
1. Die konservative Variante: Verweis auf Tolstois Erzählung von dem Mann, "der von einem anderen auf dem Rücken getragen wird und vehement beteuert, dass er bereit sei, alles zu tun, um seinem Opfer zu helfen - 'alles', das heisst, nur nicht von dessen Rücken zu steigen" (S. 136)
2. Die radikale Variante: "eine vollständige Transformation der Systeme der Ungleichheit und Unterdrückung in jeder Nation und zwischen allen Nationen" (S. 136)
September 9, 2022
Un po' confuso sinceramente.
Mi è piaciuto quando alla fine ha detto che non ci sarà mai la pace finché il modo si baserà su fini capitalistici e finché le popolazioni che maggiormente crescono sono quelle carcerarie.
Comunque troppo generalista.
Mi è piaciuto quando alla fine ha detto che non ci sarà mai la pace finché il modo si baserà su fini capitalistici e finché le popolazioni che maggiormente crescono sono quelle carcerarie.
Comunque troppo generalista.
January 24, 2016
great companion for Decolonizing the Mind, with action points.
March 28, 2017
Click here for my review of the second essay (“How the word ‘Tribe’ obscures the Reality of African Politics”) Below is a general review of the book.
While much of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s nonfiction works are (necessarily) dense, this collection offers more accessible language (no doubt informed by their format as lectures) that are still challenging and compelling. This comes at the cost of readily apparent depth; a reader who is unfamiliar with Ngũgĩ or the references might not grasp the full meaning of the arguments he is trying to make. In terms of editing, it would have been helpful to have a “For Further Reading” section at the end of each chapter, particularly to Ngũgĩ’s own works that expand on these heavily.
That said, the text offers a wealth of knowledge and is, I would say, a book to read after reading at least one other non-fiction work by Ngũgĩ. It does offer a nice summary of decades of intellectual thought that he offers.
On a side note, is this interesting mistake/type/not? to note: the title of the sixth essay is “Nuclear-Armed Clubsmen” but the heading when you turn to that section is “Tribesmen.” I am wondering if that is low-key shade thrown in direction of modern-day superpowers with reference to Ngũgĩ’s second section about the pejorative roots of the word ‘tribe.’ :)
Here are my favorite quotes:
“Don’t put editorial frames to their names. Just call them by the name with which they identify themselves.” (Preface, xii)
“’Tribalism’ [is] derived from the conception of the tribe as a monolithic genetic entity… If a problem is biological, its solution can only be biological… This may explain, in part, why people—including Africans—can watch genocide in Rwanda and Darfur and not feel the urgency to act, as if they were waiting for biology to sort itself out.” (“How the word ‘Tribe’ obscures the Reality of African Politics,” p. 13)
"A proper mourning of the slave trade and slavery, the very foundation of modern capitalism, may well remind people about the origins of this moral perversion of casting the possibilities for mass death on a global scale as a matter of pride, while putting a smiling face on evil." ("The Legacy of Slavery”, p. 94)
“Every imaginative act embodies a viewpoint, and the intellectual as conjuror of images wants to persuade us to view the world and our place in it a certain way… [and] there is an ethical dimension to the intellectual production.” (“Nuclear-Armed Clubsmen” p. 102)
While much of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s nonfiction works are (necessarily) dense, this collection offers more accessible language (no doubt informed by their format as lectures) that are still challenging and compelling. This comes at the cost of readily apparent depth; a reader who is unfamiliar with Ngũgĩ or the references might not grasp the full meaning of the arguments he is trying to make. In terms of editing, it would have been helpful to have a “For Further Reading” section at the end of each chapter, particularly to Ngũgĩ’s own works that expand on these heavily.
That said, the text offers a wealth of knowledge and is, I would say, a book to read after reading at least one other non-fiction work by Ngũgĩ. It does offer a nice summary of decades of intellectual thought that he offers.
On a side note, is this interesting mistake/type/not? to note: the title of the sixth essay is “Nuclear-Armed Clubsmen” but the heading when you turn to that section is “Tribesmen.” I am wondering if that is low-key shade thrown in direction of modern-day superpowers with reference to Ngũgĩ’s second section about the pejorative roots of the word ‘tribe.’ :)
Here are my favorite quotes:
“Don’t put editorial frames to their names. Just call them by the name with which they identify themselves.” (Preface, xii)
“’Tribalism’ [is] derived from the conception of the tribe as a monolithic genetic entity… If a problem is biological, its solution can only be biological… This may explain, in part, why people—including Africans—can watch genocide in Rwanda and Darfur and not feel the urgency to act, as if they were waiting for biology to sort itself out.” (“How the word ‘Tribe’ obscures the Reality of African Politics,” p. 13)
"A proper mourning of the slave trade and slavery, the very foundation of modern capitalism, may well remind people about the origins of this moral perversion of casting the possibilities for mass death on a global scale as a matter of pride, while putting a smiling face on evil." ("The Legacy of Slavery”, p. 94)
“Every imaginative act embodies a viewpoint, and the intellectual as conjuror of images wants to persuade us to view the world and our place in it a certain way… [and] there is an ethical dimension to the intellectual production.” (“Nuclear-Armed Clubsmen” p. 102)
July 13, 2017
Here is my review from Against the Current...http://www.solidarity-us.org/node/5036
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