The Wretched of the Earth

The Wretched of the Earth (1961) is a nonfiction book by Frantz Fanon, a French West Indian psychiatrist and philosopher. Together with such texts as Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978), Gayatri Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988), and Homi Bhabha’s The Location of Culture (1994), The Wretched of the Earth is a founding text of modern postcolonial studies. It is also Frantz Fanon’s most internationally acclaimed book, translated into more than 25 languages, though he is also known for Black Skin, White Masks (1952), which explores the psychology of the colonial subject.

Written at the height of the Algerian War of Independence, Wretched of the Earth analyzes the inner workings and various stages of the decolonization process, as well as passionately defending the need for violence in the anticolonial struggle. The book marked a turn in Fanon’s thinking from his earlier preoccupation with the problems of Blackness and Black oppression to a wider, global take on the struggle between Western countries and their colonies. Inspired by Marxism and Leninism, Fanon adapts the notion of class struggle to the racialized colonial context. His analysis of the problems facing colonized societies culminates in the total rejection of European values through a cathartic violent struggle against the oppressors.

The book’s title alludes to Eugène Pottier’s 1871 “Internationale,” the song considered the anthem of left-wing parties worldwide and used as the official national anthem of the Soviet Union until 1944. The full phrase in English goes “Arise ye wretched of the earth / For justice thunders condemnation / A better world’s in birth!”

Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain extensive discussions of racism, colonial violence, and war, as well as references to rape.

Summary

The text comprises five main sections, a conclusion, and a preface by Jean-Paul Sartre that outlines why Fanon’s book is a seminal work and why it should be read by European, especially French, audiences. Additionally, Sartre uses The Wretched of the Earth to highlight his own support for national self-determination and his dissatisfaction with the French left, which he considers ineffective and hypocritical.

The first part, “Concerning Violence,” defines the notions of colonization and decolonization and delves into why violence seems inescapable in the decolonization process. The author examines the colonial logic that divides settlers from indigenous peoples and necessitates the dehumanization of the latter to facilitate their exploitation. Decolonization involves reversing this status quo, which, by its nature, is a violent and chaotic process.

The second part, “Spontaneity: Its Strength and Weakness,” describes the various segments of colonial society and how they interact. Additionally, Fanon contrasts the situation in a place such as Algeria to the one described by Friedrich Engels in 19th-century England. The Western proletariat is the most organized and politically aware social class, but urban wage workers in colonized countries are in a relatively privileged position. In colonized countries, it is instead the peasants who are the most dispossessed and dream of taking back their land from the settlers.

Moreover, in many places, traditional clan leaders, oracles, and medicine men who want to safeguard their influence work with the colonial powers rather than with city dwellers who bring to villages such progressive ideas as atheism, modern medicine, and universal education. As a result, the author appeals to nationalist parties to educate and include the peasant population in the liberation struggle rather than ignore and distrust farmers, as is usually the case.

The third part, “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness,” cautions against the dangers of unchecked nationalism. In some African countries, such as the Ivory Coast, locals discriminate against other African minorities. Ultimately, those who were oppressed by the Europeans become oppressors in turn.

The fourth part, “On National Culture,” examines why colonized peoples seem to lack a national culture. Fanon asserts that the dehumanization inherent in colonization also causes the dismissal or suppression of local culture. This part also contains a subsection that examines how colonialism obliterates local culture; decolonization is thus the ultimate form of cultural expression.

The last part, “Colonial War and Mental Disorders,” presents examples of illness witnessed by Fanon during his residency in Algeria. These range from psychological problems, such as impotence in men whose wives were raped or sociopathic tendencies in adolescents, to the long-term physical results of torture. The author debunks the myth, propagated by the French, that Algerians are born violent and unintelligent. He positions colonization not only as a social-cultural-political problem but also as a psychological malady afflicting both oppressors and oppressed.

In the Conclusion, Fanon appeals to his readers to disregard the West, both Europe and the United States, as a role model since its successes were achieved at a high human price. Great ideas and scientific discoveries do not balance out the atrocities perpetrated by white colonizers in the name of European values. The author concludes that the colonized world must find its own way forward.