Week 3 - Existentialism/Wretched of the Earth/Battle of Algiers

"The rebel's weapon is the proof of his humanity. This irrepressible violence is man re-creating himself." -- The Wretched of the Earth

Existentialism was seen as an agent for political change. One of it's key figures was Nietzsche and his belief that 'God is Dead', not necessarily meaning God as an individual, more the end of the idea of certainty, for so long people had looked to religion for that certainty they lacked. People didn't see the point if there was no God or religion, however Nietzsche saw it as an opportunity for freedom. He believed that only after God was dead could you decide your own fate, what values you thought crucial and different moralities, after all not everybody was the same, inside and out. He opposed Locke's idea of national rights, and instead paved the way and the much needed space for Fanon's sporadic violence, where he wanted to destroy all oppression and power.

Nietzsche also had the idea of the "Ubermench" or the "super man" as it can be translated - he believed everybody had the potential to be a super man. He thought humanity should be overcome, and only with this will to power could man be defined by the choices he made. What was being opposed was the idea of the inauthentic self - the idea that society tells you who or how to be and behave. Nietzsche and the idea of existentialism in this case was that you define yourself by your own choices in life.

What was interesting was the point of disregarding certain 'choices' in life because they were not explicitly your choice, for example, the area in which you were born. Yes, it was someone's choice in your life to be born there, however you cannot change this fact, nor should you have to be defined by it, specifically because you didn't choose it as a life. The idea of 'moral luck' comes into play - if we don't choose it, it is not important. This was crucial to Fanon, a path to escape the role of the victim.

Jean Paul Sartre was on the same page as Fanon - he believed the life of a person is not defined in advance, and the past should not be used as an excuse for the future, as you should not let your past define you. Your past is not you. Existentialism was the idea that you should make your own choices and values, and the individual must decide what is right and what is wrong. 

On to Fanon, whose 'Wretched of the Earth' was practically a guide to revolution, literally by any means possible. He believed that "national liberation is always violent", not necessarily because he was angry, he just believed in violence having a meaning and that he was justified in his thoughts, as was violence. For him violence was the only resort and the thing to do - the only choice to make - in order to enforce change.