Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth

 Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth 

                 

Hello learners. I'm a student. I'm writing this blog as a part of thinking activity. This task is assign by Megha ma'am. This task is based on Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. So, in which I have tried to some answer in Interesting questions. 

💠What does Fanon mean when he says “the infrastructure is also a superstructure” in colonialism?

➡ When Frantz Fanon says “the infrastructure is also a superstructure” in the context of colonialism, he is making a powerful and complex argument about how colonial society functions particularly about the inseparability of economic (material) and ideological (cultural, political) domination in the colonial system.

1. Usual Meaning of Infrastructure and Superstructure (Marxist Background)

Fanon’s statement is rooted in Marxist theory, where:

Infrastructure (Base) refers to the economic foundation of society the mode of production, labor relations, ownership of resources, etc.

Superstructure refers to the ideological, political, and cultural systems built upon that base such as religion, law, education, morality, and culture.

These institutions serve to justify and maintain the economic base.

In Marxist terms, the infrastructure determines the superstructure, but they are distinct levels of reality.

2. Fanon’s Revision in the Colonial Context

Fanon, however, argues that in colonialism, this distinction collapses.

In his view, the infrastructure (economic exploitation) and the superstructure (ideological domination) are so intertwined that they function as one and the same thing.

 “The infrastructure is also a superstructure.”

This means that in a colonial society, economic control and cultural-political domination are inseparable the colonizer’s control over material resources is directly sustained and justified by the colonizer’s ideology, and vice versa.

3. How This Works in Colonialism

a) Economic Domination (Infrastructure)

The colonizers exploit the land, labor, and resources of the colonized.

The economy is structured to benefit the colonizer plantations, mines, and trade routes all extract wealth for the metropole (the colonizing country).

The colonized people are reduced to cheap labor or forced labor.

b) Ideological and Cultural Domination (Superstructure)

At the same time, the colonizers impose their culture, language, religion, education, and values to legitimize this exploitation.

The colonized are told that they are inferior, uncivilized, or childlike, needing guidance from the “superior” colonizer.

Schools, churches, and government institutions spread this ideology to maintain obedience.

c) The Merging of Both Levels

For Fanon, in colonialism, the economy itself becomes ideological.

The colonizer’s wealth, technology, and power are constantly displayed as signs of superiority.

Similarly, ideology (racism, religion, culture) becomes a material force, directly shaping social and economic life.

Thus, every aspect of colonial society from who owns land to what language is spoken expresses both economic and cultural domination at once.

4. The Colonized World as a “Manichean Structure”

In The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon describes the colonial world as divided into two zones:

The colonizer’s zone (wealth, order, light)

The colonized’s zone (poverty, chaos, darkness) 

This division is both material and symbolic:

Material: segregation, economic inequality, control of production.

Symbolic: moral hierarchies, racism, stereotypes.

So, the infrastructure (economic segregation) is also a superstructure (racial ideology)  each mirrors and reinforces the other.

5. The Political Implication of Fanon’s Idea

By saying that the infrastructure is also a superstructure, Fanon rejects the idea that decolonization can happen only through economic reform or only through cultural change.

He insists that both must happen together, because:

Economic liberation is meaningless without psychological and cultural liberation.

Cultural freedom cannot exist while economic exploitation continues.

In short, the colonized must destroy both the economic system of exploitation and the ideological system that justifies it since they are one and the same.

6. Example to Illustrate

Take British colonialism in India:

The infrastructure: the British controlled trade, industry, and agriculture; Indians were turned into subjects producing raw materials for Britain.

The superstructure: British education, law, and Christianity spread the idea that Indians were backward and needed British “civilization.”

Here, the economic base (colonial exploitation) was maintained through cultural ideology (colonial superiority)  exactly what Fanon means.

7. Conclusion

When Fanon says “the infrastructure is also a superstructure,” he means that in colonialism:

Economic oppression and cultural domination are inseparable.

The colonizer’s material power and ideological control work together as one unified system.

To dismantle colonialism, one must overthrow both the exploitative economy and the racist ideology that sustains it.

In essence:

Fanon’s statement exposes how colonialism fuses material and mental domination into a single structure of control  making the struggle for liberation both economic and psychological, both political and cultural.

💠What is the relation Fanon describes between culture and combat?

➡  1. Background: The Context of Fanon’s Argument

In the chapter “On National Culture” from The Wretched of the Earth (1961), Fanon examines how colonial domination affects the culture of the colonized people and how, during the struggle for liberation, culture and combat become inseparably linked.

He argues that colonialism not only exploits the colonized people economically and politically, but also tries to destroy their culture  their traditions, language, art, and collective memory.

The colonized are made to feel that their culture is inferior, primitive, and stagnant, while the colonizer’s culture is superior, rational, and civilized.

2. The Colonizer’s Strategy: Cultural Erasure

Fanon explains that colonialism begins by:

Distorting and degrading the native culture.

Declaring the native as cultureless or barbaric.

Rewriting history to make it appear that the colonized had no past worth remembering.

He writes:

 “Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip... it turns to the past of the oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures and destroys it.”

Thus, cultural domination becomes a psychological weapon it weakens the colonized people’s sense of identity and dignity.

3. The Three Phases of Native Cultural Expression

Fanon outlines three stages through which the colonized intellectual passes before reaching a true revolutionary consciousness:

Phase 1: The Assimilation Phase

The native intellectual imitates the colonizer’s culture.

He writes, paints, or speaks in the colonizer’s language and style.

His goal is to prove that he is as “civilized” as the European.

Phase 2: The Return-to-Roots Phase

Gradually, the intellectual rejects imitation and turns toward rediscovering indigenous culture.

He becomes nostalgic and glorifies pre-colonial traditions, folklore, and heroes.

However, this phase is often romanticized and passive it looks backward rather than forward. 

Phase 3: The Fighting Phase

The intellectual realizes that true cultural revival cannot exist without political liberation.

Culture now becomes a weapon of struggle  a part of the combat for national liberation.

The artist, poet, or intellectual joins the people in their fight against colonial rule.

At this point, culture and combat fuse.

4. The Core Idea: Culture and Combat Are Inseparable

Fanon’s most famous claim here is that:

 “A national culture is the whole body of efforts made by a people in the sphere of thought to describe, justify, and praise the action through which that people has created itself and keeps itself in existence.”

In other words:

Culture is not static or traditional it grows out of the people’s struggle for freedom.

Combat gives birth to a new culture that reflects the people’s dignity, courage, and unity.

Culture, in turn, sustains the combat, giving people a sense of purpose and identity.

So, combat (armed struggle) is not separate from culture; it revives and recreates it.

5. Culture Before and During the Struggle

Stage Condition of Culture Relation to Combat

Under colonial rule Culture is suppressed, fragmented, or devalued No open combat culture survives in hidden or folkloric forms

During awakening Intellectuals rediscover native traditions and heroes Culture becomes a source of inspiration and identity

During armed struggle Culture is recreated through action and solidarity Combat itself becomes culture a collective expression of freedom

6. Fanon’s Revolutionary View of Culture

Fanon rejects the idea that culture is simply about art, literature, or customs.

For him, culture is a living, dynamic expression of a people’s historical existence.

He writes:

 “The struggle itself in its development and in its internal progression sends culture along different paths and traces out entirely new ones for it.”

That means every act of resistance  from refusing colonial authority to fighting for independence  is a cultural act.

It is through revolt, not nostalgia, that a new national culture is born.

7. Practical Example: Algeria

Fanon’s argument is based on his experience as a psychiatrist and revolutionary in the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962).

The Algerian people, under French rule, had their language (Arabic, Berber) and religion (Islam) suppressed.

Through combat, they reasserted their collective identity  reclaiming the dignity of being Algerian.

The struggle itself became the new culture: songs, stories, rituals, and memories of resistance unified the people.

Thus, the battlefield became the birthplace of national culture.

8. Conclusion

For Fanon, the relationship between culture and combat can be summarized as follows:

Colonialism destroys culture, but in doing so, it creates the conditions for its rebirth.

True national culture is not a museum of traditions; it is the living product of revolutionary struggle.

Combat revives, renews, and transforms culture, making it a weapon against domination.

The liberation of the nation and the creation of a national culture are simultaneous acts.

Thank you...!!! 

Be learners.