When it comes to the topic of post colonial nations, many are perplexed by the actions of the native bourgeoisie. Intellectuals have long recognized that native bourgeoisie, also known as the national middle class, have fundamental flaws. In his book, The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon in particular identifies the middle class, as a pseudo class that is in no way commensurate with the bourgeoisie of the mother country which it hopes to replace. Through an analysis of this native vs. colonial bourgeoisie power struggle presented by Fanon, it can be argued that the pitfalls of the native bourgeoisie are their parochial attempts to identify with the economic, educational and political standards of the colonial bourgeoisie.
Those unfamiliar with post colonial economies may be interested to know that the colonizers created an economic system that functioned to support the colonizing country, commonly known as the mother country. For example, the settler is concerned with the groundnut harvest, with the cocoa crop and the olive yield. Admittedly, this system exploits the indigenous peoples. However, once the colonizers abandoned the colonies, the native bourgeoisie with social capital continue the outmoded colonial methods instead of inventing a new system. Fanon agrees when he writes, "the psychology of the national bourgeoisie is that of the businessmen, not that of a Captain of Industry." Fanon's point is that the native bourgeoisie lack the innovative mentality that is abundant among the colonial bourgeoisie. This assertion is significant because it reveals that the national middle class fails to advance the national economy beyond colonial standards. However, this is not to say that the native businessmen lose profits, rather they mismanage their financial gains.
As an illustration, Fanon insists that,
"The enormous profits which it pockets, enormous if we take into account the national revenue, are never reinvested. The money-in-the stocking mentality is dominant in the psychology of these landed proprietors. Sometimes especially in the years following Independence, the bourgeoisie does not hesitate to invest in foreign banks the profits it makes out of its native soil. On the other hand large sums are spent on display: on cars, country houses, and all those things which have been described by economists as characterizing an underdeveloped bourgeoisie."
In making this comment, Fanon is insisting that the native bourgeoisie isolate their monetary gains from the nation and spend lavishly on non progressive commodities. What is more important is that these findings shed new light on the economic pitfalls of the national middle class.
With that said, let us now focus our attention on the educational pitfalls. At first glance, the native intellectuals appear to be properly educated to mobilize their nation. But on closer inspection it is clear that they misuse their mother country education. According to Fanon, "In an underdeveloped country an authentic national middle class ought to consider as it bounden duty to betray the calling fate has marked out for it, and put itself to school with the people." In other words, to put at the people's disposal the intellectual and technical capital that it has gained when going through colonial universities. Unfortunately, this is not the case in third world countries. For instance, an Algerian intellectual educated in France will send his children to French Universities and transfer his knowledge exclusively with his family. Furthermore, this pattern is continued by future generations. As a result, the populace remains uneducated while the intellectuals amass helpful knowledge. This is a clear pitfall because whereas the colonial bourgeoisie educate their countrymen to foster nationalism, the native bourgeoisie selfishly use their educations to deter nationalism.
Socially, the native bourgeoisie continue policies equally unsophisticated as their economic and educational tendencies. The national middle class have long assumed that a dictatorship is required to govern the people. The precursor to this thinking was created by the colonizers that ruled the natives by forceful dictatorship. To this end, the natives develop political parties to supervise the masses. The ruling party enlists the aid of the police and the military to hold the people and opposing parties in a constant state of fear. Fanon reminds us that "In these conditions, you may be sure, the party is unchallenged and 99.99% of the votes are cast for the government candidate." Moreover, he observes that,
All the opposition parties, which are usually progressive and would therefore tend to work for the greater influence of the public matters, and who desire that the proud, money-making bourgeoisie should be brought to heel, have been by dint of baton charges and prisons condemned first to silence and the clandestine existence.
Fanon's point is that the self-indulgent political parties spearheaded by native bourgeoisie subjugate the progressive masses to social paralysis. However, some may question how this is a pitfall of the national middle class?
Anyone familiar with the peaceful transfer of political power in the mother countries should see that, in contrast, the third world countries are akin to violent coup d'états. Accordingly, it is the dictatorships supported by the national bourgeoisie that give rise to the violent transfer political power. This is a pitfall because the progression of country is slowed by each uprising indirectly caused by the oppressive political parties.
With that point as an example, this discussion of native bourgeoisie's short comings is in fact addressing the larger matter of post colonial nations. What is more important is the illustrious examples from Fanon's, The Wretched of the Earth, add weight to the argument that the pitfalls of the national bourgeoisie are their economic, educational, and political actions that remain tendentious to colonial standards. Ultimately, the obsolete colonial leftovers are badly maintained by the native bourgeoisie.
Stumble It!