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The subjugation of the African masses is no mere accident of history: it is part of a structured project of global predation, in which the authoritarian regimes of the South play the role of docile intermediaries in a global system of domination. Since independence, a black comprador bourgeoisie, often trained in the former colonial metropolises, has risen to the top of the state not to liberate peoples, but to act as an interface between foreign multinationals and local resources.
This politically corrupt and economically dependent ruling class acts as the local guardian of a neo-colonial world order, in which Africa continues to be dispossessed of its wealth under the guise of stability, cooperation or development aid. As Frantz Fanon wrote in Les Damnés de la terre, these national elites have merely“ transformed the flag into Kleenex”, replacing the white colonist with black managers unable or unwilling to break with the structures of dependence. Thus, internal repression, mass manipulation and the intellectual impoverishment of populations serve not only to maintain local power, but also to guarantee unlimited access to the continent’ s resources- oil, gold, coltan, cocoa- for the benefit of a global market based on a racialized and exploitative hierarchy.
Now that we have the motive that clearly explains why things are the way they are, it’ s important to know how the psychology of the dominant is a danger to the future of humanity, and of the socalled underdeveloped countries in particular. The psychological and cultural impact of prolonged power on populations represents a more insidious danger that extends beyond presidential palaces. It’ s not just the dictatorship of one man, but that of a system that conditions minds to passivity and acceptance of the unacceptable, thus eroding collective resistance.
Flashmag! Edition 163 Aout 2025
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