● PB ●
By Panos Bolanakis
(Greece – Taiwan)
Editor's note:
Panos Bolanakis is an individual of noted intellectual and empathic esteem. Armed with a Doctorate in Religious Studies, his capacity to see things in a valid, meta-sense offers invaluable insight into both Decolonial studies as well as the zeitgeist-at-large. His mind and heart work as enlightened twin filters through which the Universe shines.
DECOLONIALITY – as an effort that aims to awaken us to the reality that modes of thought presenting themselves as natural are products of historical world order – is an admirable project. We have lived too long in the comfort of ideas aiming to sustain asymmetrical power relations between the West and Global South. However, a coherent theory or philosophy should not only occupy itself with an analysis of experience or a revelation of how our perceptions or worldview came to be as they are. I expect that a coherent philosophy will try to explain the world and suggest how the world can be better. That is because it accepts the existence of truth, contrary to those sophists or postmodernists who occupy themselves with language games, deconstructions, many "truths," and so forth. This is what philosophers like Plato did upon proposing the ideal state, which both he and others achieved varying success in articulating.
Decoloniality writers often concentrate on demolishing antiquated patterns of intersubjectivity relations, knowledge production, and the shifting of its geography. When we focus on modes of thought and keep silent on the form of economy that Decoloniality entails, the unspoken assumption is that correct education, self-reflection, and a different public discourse will form a new and better world. Unless I am wrong, this is the general attitude we meet when engaged in religious discourse.
The great power of Decoloniality discourse is its "historical" focus: it traces the origin of generally accepted ideas in specific power relations, debunking any claims for the "rational" or "panhuman" character of these ideas. However, the frequent usage of un-historical bulldozer terms like Africa or Black people where everyone is the same, regardless of history and location, seem to create difficulties in the effort of a sustained critique of the present order of things. The absence or unwillingness to engage with Marxian thought may serve to differentiate the Decoloniality movement from left thought and make the Decoloniality discourse more attractive to American audiences. However, save what might be the situation in other parallel universes, in our world, Marxian thought is the only critique we possess of the vampire called capitalism. The term "Marxian" refers here to any literature and ideas that are inspired by the work of Marx and his spiritual descendants. Personally, I do not believe in the necessity for a dictatorship of the proletariat. That would make me a Marxist. I do not claim a priority of the economic sphere. I do not claim that religion is a superstructure that perpetuates the domination of the lower classes from the capital owners. However, I accept the existence of social classes and the relevance of developments in culture to developments in the financial/societal sphere.
The work done by theorists of Decoloniality is powerful and necessary. But unless this critique is grounded in specific plans or principles about the form that the state apparatus and the economy should have, Decoloniality will remain a protest movement, a university discourse, and an effort toward the perfect selfie and the perfect tweet.
Questions for Reflection:
Amidst the utopian-like desire for a more egalitarian world, voices like Panos's are important. It is vital to recognize the viability of what can be done vis-à-vis eliciting change, and we should also consider what selfish, ego-based reasons exist behind us pushing for structural social reformation. With this in mind, what are your thoughts about the feasibility of a Decolonized world? Are you truly invested in the idea, or are you simply going along for a ride that you silently feel won't come to fruition any time soon?