The Fight against Self-Determination
by Tim Baldauf-Lenschen
Why have people of color’s efforts to achieve and maintain true self-determination been brutally fought by European powers all over the globe for hundreds of years up to this day? Why is African self-determination perceived as such a threat to the rulers of these countries?
The answers to these questions are at their root tied to the historical and living legacy of white supremacy and capitalism. Nations such as the U.S., France, Germany, Spain and the UK have depended on the exploitation of people of color and the resources of their lands ever since they first stepped foot on their shores. This holds true in the Americas, Africa and Asia and virtually any island in between. Europeans used these stolen resources to build their empires, their wealth, their economies and thereby their power.
Besides material resources, their dependency on the exploitation of people of color as enslaved or vastly underpaid workers is what has allowed their corporate elites to pocket billions in profits while at the same time directly and indirectly causing the death, suffering and oppression of millions through poverty, hunger and economic and military warfare. It is no coincidence that under the 13th amendment slavery is still legal within the U.S. prison system, the largest in the world and predominantly filled with African men who make everything from Victoria Secret lingerie to University of Maryland furniture. The capitalist greed for profit and reduction of costs by any means necessary along with a white supremacist ideology is what causes this same extremely wealthy elite to do everything imaginable to prevent self-determination of oppressed people in the U.S. and abroad.
Across the globe, whenever leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Fidel Castro, Muamar Ghaddafi, Hugo Chavez, or Robert Mugabe initiate changes designed to benefit the masses of people in their countries, they are vilified by Western media at best, sanctioned economically, or at worst outright overthrown or assassinated either overtly or covertly by CIA sponsored assassins. To western capitalist elites, self-determination of oppressed peoples and nations means taking a hit to their bottom line. It means more expensive resources, more expensive labor, less profitable trade deals for them and less political power in nations outside of their own. It means less mindless consumers who will continuously buy their products. It means that its rightful owners will reclaim their stolen wealth. But ultimately, true self-determination by definition cannot exist in a capitalist system where the few dominate the many. It is therefore clear that capitalism itself is at the root of the issue, working hand in hand with white supremacist ideology to create the hell oppressed people of color face all over the globe today.
To bring about a more equitable, sustainable, peaceful and just global society, self-determination must be achieved on every front. This includes local, national and international institutions, as well as education-, health-, justice systems, and true people’s control of all government branches. Past generations have paved the way for us to continue the struggle now more effectively than ever. It is up to us to continue their legacies.
