Empire of Liberty: Power, Desire, and Freedom

by Anthony Bogues

In this thoughtful and timely consideration of the nature of American power and empire, Anthony Bogues argues that America’s self-presentation as the bastion of liberty is an attempt to force upon the world a single universal truth, which has the objective of eradicating the radical imagination. Central to this project of American supremacy is the elaboration and construction of a language of power in which a form of self-government appears as the form of sovereignty. Grappling with issues of power, race, slavery, violence, and the nature of postcolonial criticism and critical theory, Bogues offers reconsiderations of the writings of W. E. B. DuBois and Frantz Fanon in order to break holes in this accepted structure of empire. At its heart this is a work of radical humanistic theory that seeks to glean from the postcolonial world and empire an alternative to its imperial form of freedom.

Genres: History

168 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2010

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bogues cites Sadiya Hartman, Michel Foucault, Franz Fanon, W.E.B. Du Bois, and others in a succinct analysis of the dangers of colonial modernity (and post-colonial thought, though the crux of the arguments necessitate a consideration of our present moment as a result of colonialism and not at all beyond it and thus, not "post"-colonial at all) in our contemporary historical moment. To my understanding, Bogues posits racial slavery and the development of the modern world as ongoing events to which Western powers have proposed 'liberty' as the telos of the political, social, and historical problems that affect people's everyday lives. It's certainly a more nuanced argument than this, and reading Bogues's work reveals that which this review cannot. I think, though, that Bogues would have a more radical plea a decade after this collection of lectures was published, especially because the weight of the problems that he mentions always already become heavier with time.

Moreover, Bogues seems optimistic to me (and that's not necessarily a bad thing); critiquing the "empire of liberty," which seeks to attain a universal understanding of freedom in such a way as to inherently politicize a discourse that ought to be instead considered as an innate series of actions and abilities for all human beings that are contingent on and responsive to localized circumstances, presupposes that systems of power will understand themselves as flawed and in need of revision. I think systems of contemporary power are pretty self-satisfied and thus will not entertain the questions that Bogues offers. These very questions, though, are insightful for those who seek to undo the work of colonialism and hegemonic political and social systems. By posing the questions, too, Bogues hints that a solution is possible. Overall, I think it's an extremely compelling text that situates the necessary questions of freedom in a 'post-emancipatory' context built on traditions of racial slavery, exploitation, and violence.

[Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Empire of Liberty is a very interesting take again on the need to consider American slavery a catastrophic event not just in American history and nation building, but a world changing event whose affect effected had global ramifications and continues to negatively impact the African diaspora and diasporas of people of color generally. Bogues' fourth chapter discusses remaking critical thinking and recognizing our, even person's of color, myopic Western lens through which polity and policy are seen. A dialectical critical thinking is necessary to acknowledge the impact and continuing discriminations implanted in Western, American thought.