This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given by Pro. Dilip Barad sir on the topic of Conclusion 2nd and 3rd edition of ‘Colonialism/Postcolonialism’ By Ania Loomba.
Aftermath of 9/11 and the rise of the new “Empire”
The events of 9/11, the global war on terror, US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, all those events had a very significant impact on the postcolonial discourse and the phenomena called globalization. The chain of events have given fresh perspective to the relevance of postcolonial perspective to the present time and globalization on the top priorities of that new perspective.
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's Empire argues that the contemporary global order produced a new form of sovereignty which should be called ' Empire'.
“This Empire establishes no territorial Centre of power and does not rely on fixed boundaries or barriers . It is a decentralized and deterritorializing apparatus of rule that progressively incorporates the entire global realm within its open , expanding frontiers.”( Hardt and Negri 2000 : xi - xii )
"Empire," as described by Hardt and Negri, contrasts the old imperial world marked by competition among European powers with a new order characterized by a single dominating power. This power, while not explicitly identified as the United States, is seen as shaping a unitary structure and applying a common notion of right. Unlike past imperialist endeavors, the contemporary Empire doesn't seek to invade and subsume nations but aims to absorb them into a global network. The United States plays a significant role in this, with the Empire emerging through the global expansion of its internal constitutional project, emphasizing inclusion rather than exclusion. In essence, the Empire is universal but operates in a manner distinct from traditional imperialism.
The idea of this new Empire has sparked significant interest and discussions on contemporary global power dynamics and how to challenge them effectively. While some argue that comparing the United States to imperial Rome makes it hard to understand modern U.S. imperialism, others, like Susie O'Brien and Imre Szeman, find the concept of Empire helpful. They believe it allows for a more in-depth exploration of power sites and methods in the global era, moving beyond a simplistic view of globalisation as a centre-periphery dynamic.
Although critics caution that geopolitical centres and margins haven't disappeared; instead, globalisation has heightened existing global imbalances, especially those stemming from modern colonialism. Tim Brennan points out that the book "Empire" overlooks the experiences of people and histories left behind by empires, neglecting aspects like guest worker systems and uncapitalized agriculture. This omission, according to Brennan, limits the book's analysis of contemporary power operations.
Globalization and Market fundamentalism
“Market fundamentalism destroys more human lives than any other simply because it cuts across all national , cultural , geographic , religious and other boundaries”
Critics of globalization don't deny that it has changed the world and brought about significant transformations. However, they argue against the idea that it's making the world more democratic or radically positive. They point out that ignoring the historical context of globalization can hide its inequalities. While globalization has made information and technology more accessible and boosted economies in some parts of the world, P. Sainath notes (read the original work here) that the movement of money has led to a kind of fundamentalism – market fundamentalism. This rigid belief in the market as the solution to all problems doesn't recognize national, cultural, or religious boundaries. It's found everywhere and can contribute to various fundamentalist movements. Sainath describes it as a kind of religious fundamentalism with its own set of beliefs, centered on the idea of growth as the ultimate solution.
“The market is the solution to all the problems of the human race , it is , too , a very religious fundamentalism . It has its own Gospel : The Gospel of St. Growth, The Gospel of St. Choice” .
While globalization is often seen as a positive force promoting cosmopolitanism and breaking down national boundaries, an Indian research group argues differently. They say that what's happening under the label of globalization is not integration and development but rather imposition, disintegration, underdevelopment, and appropriation. This includes extracting debt payments from third-world countries, lowering prices of their exported raw materials, removing protection for their vulnerable industries, allowing big foreign corporations to control large parts of their economies, and permitting speculative international capital to dictate economic decisions. Other impacts include reduced state spending on essential services, privatization of assets, increased costs for basic needs, and negative effects on women's consumption. This research suggests that the reality of globalization involves various negative consequences for developing countries.
Noam Chomsky criticizes Globalization and says big companies make inequality worse and questions if international trade deals really benefit everyone. Chomsky thinks big companies care more about making money than doing good. He says trade deals often move wealth within countries, favoring rich people over regular people. Chomsky warns against oversimplifying trade discussions and criticizes protective trade policies that help big companies.
Moving on, postcolonial studies, especially in higher education, face challenges. The idea of a new imperialism raises questions about preparing top students for global roles. However, some say universities struggle to balance different views and national values, especially after big events like 9/11. In this situation, postcolonial studies get criticized, with some saying they spread anti-American feelings. Scholars face criticism, and some compare it to McCarthyism. The debate includes schools, where there's tension between celebrating different cultures and keeping a sense of national identity.
Despite criticisms, postcolonial studies play an important role in looking at global power and how politics and businesses connect. Scholars like Ania Loomba say universities should be places where people can disagree and think freely, staying independent from politics.
Some example of globalization in movies.
Reluctant Fundamentalist
Explores the clash between market fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism in the aftermath of 9/11, reflecting broader global tensions.
Zee5 Original 'Tigers'
Highlights the conflict of a Pakistani salesman with the giant MNC Nestle, illustrating the struggles of individuals against corporate power.
Madaari
Depicts the conflict between a common man, who loses his child in a bridge crash, and the collusion between a construction company and politicians.
New Shift in Postcolonial studies
Some well-known postcolonial scholars, like Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, have moved away from the postcolonial perspective, considering it outdated. This shift is influenced by new challenges, including environmental issues. For instance, Dipesh Chakrabarty acknowledges that his previous studies in globalization, Marxism, subaltern studies, and postcolonial criticism didn't fully prepare him to analyze the global climate crisis. In this conclusion, I'll briefly discuss these challenges and their implications for a postcolonial critique.
Starting with ecology, environmental concerns have been important for many thinkers and activists examining the ongoing impacts of colonialism. Vandana Shiva, an environmental activist, has long highlighted the links between colonialism and ecological issues.
“In the so-called third world, they state, one cannot talk about saving the environment while ignoring the needs of human lives and communities” (Shiva 1988; Agarwal 1999).
While there are shared political challenges among disenfranchised groups globally, significant differences also exist. For instance, Native Americans or African-Americans, despite facing disenfranchisement, are citizens of a powerful nation like the United States. In contrast, immigrants from the third world, even if marginalized, may come from relatively well-off backgrounds. However, Toni Morrison notes that some immigrants participate in negative assessments of the native-born black population, hindering solidarity.
The issues of 'indigeneity' and 'ongoing colonial projects' extend beyond settler colonial societies, as seen in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Mahmoud Darwish and other activists have drawn parallels, though the topic remains contentious. Displacement and land theft affect indigenous communities in spaces privileged in postcolonial studies, such as South Asia and Africa. Environmental struggles, exemplified by movements like MOSOP in Nigeria and the Narmada Bachao Andolan in India, highlight ecological damage and large-scale displacements. The Indian Supreme Court's ruling in favor of dam construction in the Narmada valley underscores the complex intersections of globalization with these struggles. Chittaroopa Palit, a leader in the NBA, emphasizes the valuable insights gained about globalization through these experiences.
Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP)
“Soon after the SPD government in Berlin refused a guarantee to Siemens, the German multinational, for building the dam in Maheshwar, it agreed to underwrite the company’s involvement in the Tehri dam in the Himalayas and the catastrophic Three Gorges Dam in China—both just as destructive as the Narmada project; but in neither instance were there strong mass struggles on the ground. “ (Palit 2003: 91)
Palit talks about how the NBA created innovative ways to resist by learning from the local people and their understanding of the land. They were also influenced by the methods of the Gandhian anti-colonial struggle. The movement gained significant backing from women's groups, trade unions, left parties in the country, and connected with other people's movements worldwide.
In a different scenario, there's a struggle against the exploitation of forests in Central India by mining companies. This movement is led by Maoist guerrillas who control large areas and are pursued by the police and army. Arundhati Roy points out that tribal people in Central India have a history of resistance that goes back centuries, predating Mao. Even after Independence, tribal communities were at the forefront of the first Maoist uprising in Naxalbari village. Roy highlights how the Indian State is serving the interests of major corporations in iron, steel, bauxite, and aluminum, which operate at both national and global levels.
I've been emphasizing that concerns about indigeneity and the environment, often overlooked in established postcolonial studies, reveal that internal colonialism exists in formally decolonized regions as well as in previously settler colonial societies. These issues also show the connections between historical colonialism and the actions of global capital today. Focusing on the environment, indigeneity, colonial legacies, and global capital helps us understand that contemporary global capitalism continues the dynamics of exploitation and colonialism present from its beginning.
Karl Marx's concept of enclosing the commons, vital to the birth of capitalism, involved seizing communal property through violence and legislative acts. This process, akin to the takeover of Native American or Mexican territories in the U.S. or the constitutional takeover of tribal lands in India, dispossessed people and turned them into landless laborers, fueling the accumulation of wealth by a few. Marx called this process "primitive accumulation." However, Rosa Luxemburg argued for a revision, suggesting that capitalism constantly requires new markets outside its system. This necessity leads to colonial policies, international loans, spheres of interest, and sometimes war, revealing capitalism's reliance on force, fraud, and oppression.
“We need to interrogate not just the symptoms of inequality—the dis proportionate loss of jobs, housing, healthcare and more—but, more fundamentally, the systems of inequality, considering how and why corporations create and exploit hierarchies of race, gender and national status to enrich themselves and consolidate their power. “
The way wealth accumulates has evolved over time. Financial processes, like stock promotions and speculative raids by hedge funds, play a role. Dispossession has taken new forms too, involving international bodies enforcing intellectual property rights and patents, affecting vulnerable and indigenous communities. Natural resources, once considered shared (the environmental commons), are now battlefields globally.
Dispossession isn't limited to Asia, Africa, and Latin America; it's also happening in Europe and North America. Settler colonialism's exclusions persist, pushing scholars to rethink it as an ongoing process, not just a past event. The link between primitive accumulation and settler colonialism raises questions about a unique form of accumulation called settler accumulation.
Inequality is ingrained in capitalism, as seen in events like the 2008 subprime crisis in the U.S. Chakravartty and da Silva highlight how racialized logic plays a role, with black and Latino communities marked as "high-risk." Issues of debt and capitalism underscore that inequality isn't limited to one region; it's a global concern.
“Climate change, refracted through global capital, will no doubt accentuate the logic of inequality that runs through the rule of capital; some people will no doubt gain temporarily at the expense of others. But the whole crisis cannot be reduced to a story of capitalism.”
The recent concept of the Anthropocene suggests humans are now the main influencers of the planet's environment. Climate change, tied to global capital, accentuates existing inequalities. However, scholars like Chakrabarty argue that this crisis challenges our usual concepts of human freedom. The impact is so vast that it may persist long after capitalism undergoes transformations.
Some argue for a new universalism based on species thinking, emphasizing our shared existence. However, concerns arise about diminishing human differences. Examining historical moments, especially the colonial era, helps us understand the roots of current environmental challenges.
Extending our self-understanding over a longer time frame, according to Baucom, shouldn't lead to despair but to a commitment to enhancing conditions for life on the planet. Social movements, part of an "environmentalism of the poor," challenge and expand postcolonial studies' agendas and scope.
