By Toyin Falola
I was catching up on my reading list in a lounge, awaiting a long flight to New Zealand, when the new manuscript by Professor Ndlovu-Gatsheni arrived by email. The title was fascinating, “Turmoil in the Republic of Letters.” The twelve chapters are half theory, half narrative, framed in terms of ideologies and structures, all embedded in the domain of knowledge. I intend to introduce an unpublished manuscript to generate a conversation within an ecosystem of decolonization.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s recent interrogation of global affairs has led to the uncovering of a fact worth learning from for the re-imagination of thoughts and the reevaluation of resurfaced ideals which a large body of human family has been immersed in or confronted with for a long time. Although scholars of different ages and identities have talked about capitalism and, of course, its overbearing influence on global culture, the dimensions from which this is viewed by Ndlovu-Gatsheni call for a deepened examination. Capitalism has ceded power to the unbridled powerbrokers who are perpetually committed to the invasion of every human endeavour for control.
Of course, control remains primal in the engagements of capitalist activities as it confers on them the power to determine and even intensify the problems available in the human world. Meanwhile, when it borders on material production and distribution, one’s moral intuition is not expected to protest this condition in a very dramatic manner because it appears that human are actually required to produce something so that they can expect a level of return on their investment. However, when such production is now weaponized to ooze only exploitative habits for which it would be systematically difficult for humans to enjoy the sanity of existence, then capitalism would be seen as a clog which stands in the way of actual human liberation. But then, in modern times, capitalists have extended their domain of activity. They have advanced their desires by seeking to control knowledge or epistemic traditions of people for obvious reasons.
The modern state has become another viable agency infested with the consuming desires of control, which necessitated their appropriation of capitalist adventures to control and determine what occurs even in the domain of knowledge. In essence, knowledge production has encountered a once-in-a-lifetime issue in that any epistemic tradition that challenges the foundations of these hegemonic knowledge systems is marked for fierce demolition in a bid to protect the status quo. By making unrelenting attempts to control knowledge (re-)sources and content that people consume, the capitalist frontline ideologues are trying to restrict the general democratic ethos that has been maintained for generations about knowing and understanding. Apparently, when your process of knowing is tampered with, it goes without saying that what you assume to know cannot be a genuine representation of knowledge as it has been subjected to a malaise of control, making it impossible for humans to enjoy their humanity.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni reckons in this manuscript that the capitalists, meanwhile, have the tools required to pursue their devious ambition at their disposal. With the proliferation of media platforms in contemporary times, it becomes relatively easier for the triangulation of epistemic debates in ways that would only accentuate disingenuous aspirations. As such, truth in contemporary times becomes further elusive. Ndlovu-Gatsheni is concerned, as so is everyone familiar with the destructive politics of epistocratic governance, that this condition would inevitably lead to tremblement in the domain of knowledge everywhere in the globe.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni raises a very critical opinion that is worth sharing. In the age of capitalist adventures, the roles played by social media cannot be overemphasized. People challenge others by throwing every modicum of moral principle to the thin air. You are exposed to cancel culture for speaking differently on general topics. You ultimately become a target of verbal abuse and traumatic bullying when you raise your voice against obvious injustices. By ushering into existence a culture of naming dissenters, the capitalist industry has set up a foundation for the annulment of ideas which contradict their own. This has led to the policing of knowledge and ideas, even human thoughts, to the extent that they begin to doubt the authenticity of their ideological convictions. At the forefront of their attacks against every other epistemic identity is the fact of condemning the foundation of their knowing in ways that would make them reduce their confidence in themselves. Without the ability to consolidate what they know by other verifiable agencies, all of which have been subjected to a number of attacks, tremblement becomes inevitable because not only do the affected become disturbed by the awareness of their vulnerability, but they also become more traumatized in the game because they are indeed at the end of the bargain with no power of their own. The general atmosphere of knowledge, which has welcomed ideas and contributions from people since the beginning of time, is now witnessing constant threats leading to their systematic disorganization and declining of their confidence.
Some measure of understanding about the efficacy of an all-encompassing tradition of resistance rooted first in decoloniality and the knowledge that capitalist conundrums would receive commensurate backlash has erupted volcanic tremblement in the camp of the oppressors with the knowledge that the successful indoctrination of marginalized minds to a consciousness that challenges domination, hegemonies and all kinds of control would spell doom for their efforts towards homogenization of thoughts and the centralization of ideas. In the deployment of their well-loaded weaponry, they have sighted failure and realized it is possible for the continual weakening of their stronghold. This has, therefore, necessitated the aggressive intensification of their efforts towards the dislocation of potential alternatives, demonstrated in how they are fond of naming dissenters to reduce their legitimacy and undermine their authority. In essence, the tag of various -isms which have been invariably deployed against dissenters in modern times is geared towards the instantiation of their thoughts by infuriating existing systems meant to challenge their propositions, positions, postulations and proliferation. Ndlovu-Gatsheni takes no prisoner when he argues that tremblement, much as it has a grave effect on the Global South, which has been perpetually marginalized, equally has foreboding and tremendous consequences for the initiators of this attack. This cannot be overemphasized, considering the awareness that the tradition of silencing others sustains the hegemonic dominance.
Meanwhile, they have devised the ways through which the volatility of their insouciance can be managed, if not masked entirely. The global power dynamics lean towards multiplicities, pluralities and diversities to the extent that anything which the indigenous people produce, the subaltern and the voiceless would fulfil a liberatory mandate in ways that would alleviate the fears of the non-fundamentalists who are fronting divisive and abusive relationship that could enable them to have their ways. In essence, it is not strange that the accelerating pace of misinformation and even disinformation in contemporary times is a deliberate attempt to disturb the landscapes of epistemic democracy so that it would be uncomfortable for the institutionalization of thoughts that would emancipate anyone outside the ideological geography of capitalism. By deliberating orchestrating the venom from the social media platforms, the intention is to challenge the legitimacy of traditional knowledge production centres and make their position doubtful, if not entirely questionable, in order that it would lose its authority to uncontested information wielding to warrant its maximum functioning in the current time. In essence, the sharer of information on the media is not particularly concerned about the reliability of information, and neither are they concerned about the authenticity of claims therein. Instead, they are interested in decentering the place of knowledge, thereby increasing the confusion of the unassuming ones. Achieving this inevitably means increasing the tremor of tremblement.
Ironically, the wild expectation after this condition is that people’s foundation of epistemic truth would be ultimately challenged and ruthlessly misrepresented to the extent that the consumers of the modified or castrated information available on the social media platforms would begin to fraternize with assumptions generated and upheld by Western epistemic ideologues. Contrary to what would have been imagined, this site of dominance is alien to the subaltern, and they would continue to wallow in their fears, submerged in their trepidations because they are already incapacitated in the evolving capitalist machinations that they cannot comprehend its massive capacity to destroy. More and more, the issue of race becomes nuanced under such structures, while geography, body, identity, and biology, among others, would continue to generate maximum heat that would keep the world busy. Ndlovu-Gatsheni expresses his fear, so as all of us who understand the import of this development, in good faith, knowing that the underlying capitalist desires are dangerous for they are premised on the excavation, extraction and the extermination of others without afterthought to what would be the consequences for them basically, and the world generally. Interestingly, the world is already feeling the apocalyptic impact of the untoward spread of pandemics, wars, bombings, killings and persecution, all of which have increased tremblement in the contemporary world. There are tremors and troubles in the land.
Sabelo is in a league of his own among his contemporaries. Thank you Prof for always amplifying the voices of our African stars. We are waiting for the publication of this book.