The Litany of Systematic Negation#
In the colonial mythology, the colonized is depicted as a litany of faults, most notably an “unbelievable laziness”. This characterization is not an objective observation but a functional tool. If the colonized is lazy, then their destitution is justified; if the colonizer is industrious, their privilege is earned. This mythical portrait is a “hoax” that becomes a social institution, defining concrete situations that weigh on the colonized until their conduct is forced to adapt.
The Ideology of the Nero Complex#
The colonizer must adjust to being a “usurper” in their own eyes and those of their victims. To resolve the resulting guilt, they engage in a systematic pursuit of “dehumanization”. This is known as the Nero Complex: the usurper seeks the disappearance of the usurped, whose very existence confirms their own illegitimacy. By debasing the colonized, the colonizer exalts themselves. The more they sink into injustice, the more they must hate the victim to authorize further exploitation.
The Logic of the Mythical Portrait#
The traits ascribed to the colonized—weakness, wickedness, and ingratitude—are often contradictory. The colonized is simultaneously seen as a coward and a brute, or as frugal and yet a consumer of disgusting quantities. These contradictions do not matter because the myth’s only required consistency is its utility to the colonizer. The myth authorizes severity and justifies the “protectorate” status, claiming it is in the colonized’s own interest to be excluded from management.
The Crucible of Paternalistic Control#
Paternalism is a form of “charitable racism” that seeks to extend inequality under the guise of benevolence. The paternalist treats their wife’s care for the colonized as a gift, never as a duty. This avoids the recognition of rights. Any demand for rights, such as union participation, immediately revolts the paternalist, as it threatens the master-servant order they have constructed to grant themselves absolution.
The Cascade of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies#
The result of this constant ideological aggression is that the colonized may end up recognizing the myth as a “detested nickname” that becomes a familiar description. They may muttering, “Are we not all a little guilty after all?”. This partial assent to the ideology of the governing class contributes to the stability of the oppressive society. Dehumanization thus becomes a creative and destructive bond that re-fashions both partners into their colonial roles.
The Objective Outcome of Calumny#
Ideology in the colonial system is not a belief system but a “social mechanism”. It exists to explain away the “servitude of the colonized” which would otherwise be an unbearable scandal. The colonialist “rewrites laws” and “extinguishes memories” to transform usurpation into legitimacy. Ultimately, this process pollutes the energies of both the oppressed and the oppressor, as colonization rots the colonizer while destroying the colonized.
