Dear comrade,
When we were younger, we often played soccer barefoot in the dusty compounds. The way the spoiled ball-owners wielded their power over us mirrors perfectly what we've witnessed so far in this White House. Those kids might have been the worst players on the pitch, but you had to be watchful how you dribbled past them. One wrong move and they would just pick up the ball and it’s game-over. Privilege does have the uncanny ability of purchasing audacity. Volodymyr Zelensky overlooked this lesson when he visited the White House recently.
It was a pitiful sight evoking yet another memory at a previous institution — a student paid his destitute peer UGX 500 (less than a dollar), so he could lash him. What wealth will make you do! Later attempts to gaslight the public about what really transpired reinforces an important lesson: one must be careful who one gets into bed with.
If any serious change seeking agents were under any illusions about the world as it is, not necessarily as it ought to be, one month of this administration should have cleared the fog. Trump two has served the useful purpose of once again highlighting for the 4th generation of progressive leaders worldwide the nature of (U.S.) imperialism. If there were any mistaken notions that the wolves and sheep could now lie together peacefully, this administration has quickly dispelled such fantasies.
It has always been general policy to shy away from commenting on trending topics which in most cases are empirical manifestations of larger structural phenomena but these are extraordinary times. We can permit ourselves a cheat-column considering four “issues:”
- The concerted activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid”
- The scuffles between the U.S. and Colombia, South Africa and Ukraine
- DEI
On Ukraine
Reading the classic postcolonial theorists quickly impresses upon the mind the true nature of imperialism, particularly its neo-colonial expression. If you find this opening unsettling, think about the recent interest in and sense of entitlement to Ukraine’s mineral wealth seemingly as payment for war aid. The writing was always on the wall. By accepting U.S. military aid from day one, Zelensky, it appears, had already mortgaged his country. The lack of subtlety in the present administration has served to unmask U.S. imperialism in just a month. If you have been keenly following Mr. Merz in Germany, even Europeans are now talking of “real independence” from the U.S. — a conversation Africans began during the fight for political independence. Zelensky would have adopted this language long ago had it not been for the precarious position in which he finds himself. Ukraine, it turns out, is no Israel after all.
On South Africa
Zelensky can be forgiven for not grasping the politics of the dusty playground but not the South Africans. They assumed they could formulate their own national policies without the stamp of the U.S. president and his South African buddy. This was after they pointed out the emperor’s nakedness at the International Court of Justice. They were fortunate it was under another administration. They knew better that such misdeeds never go unpunished. This should address why the aid was pulled and some progressive actors, such as the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have been threatened with personal sanctions.
The politics of the playground helps us understand the behavior of capitalists (in the proper sense). What else, but a childish sense of entitlement, could explain the intrusive interest in the democratic politics of South Africa. The administration has sought to protect the interest of capital everywhere based on its success at home. The advocacy for white monopoly capital in South Africa and attempts to stymie the redress of historical injustices is now understandable. For a more incisive diagnosis of this system, lend an ear to the esteemed senator of Vermont. He has so much more substance than so many young people posing with fancy degrees from elite institutions today. That such an old man is that lucid in his perspective should be an indictment on us the young. Biology, of course, should not be confused for ideology, as President Museveni has always maintained.
On Colombia
The Trump administration has highlighted a few of the same old lessons that we already knew about the architecture of our world. They are mundane points, but they deserve repetition lest we forget them. Repetition, after all, is the key to mastery. The simple one from the skirmish with Colombia and all the adolescent excitement over “tariffs” is that free trade is a myth — it always has been and always will be as long as some have gunboats and printing presses that they can use to extract concessions and others don’t.
The benevolence of the powerful, it has been demonstrated, cannot be relied upon. The Chinese learnt this the hard way and said in praxis — “not again.” In 2013, Yash Tandon published “Trade is War.” He noted correctly that in this war, the West’s chosen instruments of domination are aid, trade, investment and technology. A few examples should immediately suffice: the Obama administration’s aid cuts to Uganda in 2013 (following an anti-homosexuality act that was later rescinded), the recent World Bank loan freeze following a similar law passed by a sovereign parliament and the suspension of Uganda, Gabon, Niger and the Central African Republic from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The President’s suspension of USAID, born of a similar consciousness of the power to manipulate and advance interests through aid and Colombia’s capitulation, like Uganda in 2013, all demonstrate the effectiveness of these tools.
On DEI
It was inevitable that once affirmative action and DEI came under attack here, aid abroad would follow. They have the same philosophical underpinnings. Aid through institutions like USAID is like DEI — affirmative action for those who have been systemically and structurally deprived. We will not rehash here the arguments of “development by permission.” We assume you are well aware of it. Where narrow and aggressive nationalism is concerned, these initiatives were always bound to be the first victims.
On Musk
People are sometimes unsettled hearing “Marxist” critiques of capitalism. That insecurity does not take away the man’s canonical contribution to our understanding of the nature of the capitalist state and those in its ranks. Those who thought, including workers, that class politics was dead, need to think again. A $400 million contract to Tesla after a $250 million campaign investment that needed to pay dividends at some point should be enough to clarify any lingering doubts. The question of course needs to be asked whether all the retrenchment in the federal government, cuts in government spending and external aid as well as increased tariffs will result in any serious if any redistribution.
The challenge of course with trying to run the whole world through the sort of aid diplomacy we have observed thus far is the same challenge that central planners face(d) everywhere — limited information. The folly is in not acknowledging the lacuna. We will pick up from here in the next column with a perspective on how we can extract ourselves from this muddle. Enjoy your spring break.
Olemo Gordon Brian is a senior at Notre Dame studying political economy. He is deeply interested in Africa's development and the emancipation of man. You can contact Olemo at bolemo@nd.edu.
