Case Study: The Third Way
This lesson focuses on a second great historical movement in the post-World War II era: decolonization. The Cold War did not cause the end of the colonial empires, but new nations became entangled in the dispute between East and West. The Cold War and decolonization created a Three World order. The First World was the US and its liberal democratic, capitalist allies, the Second World was the USSR and its communist allies, and the new, decolonized nations formed the Third World, a problematic term that should be scrutinized. In this lesson, we will analyze American and Soviet efforts to influence the Third World and the attempt of leaders in the Third World to create a "Third Way" that was independent of both superpowers.
Decolonization, or the end of foreign domination and the formation of new independent nations, happened in three general ways. First, some colonies won their freedom without serious violence. Great Britain granted independence to Nigeria and Uganda because the nationalist movements in those countries were willing to let British and other Western businesses hold on to the plantations and mines they owned. However, in a second group of colonies, such as Kenya, Algeria and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), there were many white settlers, who fought hard to prevent decolonization and hold on to the land and businesses they held under colonial rule. Nationalist movements in those colonies had to fight long and bloody wars to win their freedom.
The third type of decolonization occurred when there was a nationalist movement that followed Marxism. These nationalists wanted to change their entire economy and society based on the principles of socialism and to get rid of ownership of property or resources by Western foreigners. The Marxist Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, fought against the Chinese Nationalist Party for control of China both before and after World War II. The US supported the Nationalist Party, and the Soviet Union supported the communists. In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party won the civil war and drove the Nationalist Party out of mainland China. The Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan, where they set up the "Republic of China" with Jiang Jieshi as their first president. Mao Zedong became the “premier” of the “People’s Republic of China.” While the Communists on the mainland confiscated all property, the Nationalists on Taiwan welcomed free enterprise and US business and aid.
The third type of decolonization occurred when there was a nationalist movement that followed Marxism. These nationalists wanted to change their entire economy and society based on the principles of socialism and to get rid of ownership of property or resources by Western foreigners. The Marxist Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, fought against the Chinese Nationalist Party for control of China both before and after World War II. The US supported the Nationalist Party, and the Soviet Union supported the communists. In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party won the civil war and drove the Nationalist Party out of mainland China. The Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan, where they set up the "Republic of China" with Jiang Jieshi as their first president. Mao Zedong became the “premier” of the “People’s Republic of China.” While the Communists on the mainland confiscated all property, the Nationalists on Taiwan welcomed free enterprise and US business and aid.
Source 1: Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) The Wretched of the Earth.
Fanon was born in Martinique and educated as a psychiatrist in France, and he spent much of his later life in Algeria. Fanon became a radical revolutionary and writer whose ideas about the psychological damage of colonialism were very influential on the leaders of anti-colonial national liberation movements. |
"Comrades, have we not other work to do than to create a third Europe? The West saw itself as a spiritual adventure. It is in the name of the spirit, in the name of the spirit of Europe, that Europe has made her encroachments [movement into someone else's space], that she has justified her crimes and legitimized the slavery in which she holds four-fifths of humanity..."
"It is a question of the Third World starting a new history of Man, a history which will have regard to the sometimes prodigious theses [very good ideas] which Europe has put forward, but which will also not forget Europe's crimes, of which the most horrible was committed in the heart of man, and consisted of the pathological tearing apart of his functions and the crumbling away of his unity. " "So, comrades, let us not pay tribute to Europe by creating states, institutions and societies which draw their inspiration from her. Humanity is waiting for something other from us than such an imitation, which would be almost an obscene caricature. If we want to turn Africa into a new Europe, and America into a new Europe, then let us leave the destiny of our countries to Europeans. They will know how to do it better than the most gifted among us. But if we want humanity to advance a step farther, if we want to bring it up to a different level than that which Europe has shown it, then we must invent and we must make discoveries.... For Europe, for ourselves and for humanity, comrades, we must turn over a new leaf, we must work out new concepts, and try to set afoot a new man." |
Source 2: Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), Speech
Nehru was one of the leaders of Indian Independence Movement under Mahatma Gandhi. When India gained independence in 1947, he was elected as the first Prime Minister. He remained as prime minister until he died in 1964. Nehru was a strong believer in industrialization and modernization of India, and he guided the new nation-state of India to develop along those lines. He adapted socialist ideas of a planned economy because he thought this would develop India faster. He was one of the primary world leaders who were trying to establish a Third Way. |
"We are now engaged in a gigantic and exciting task of achieving rapid and large-scale economic development of our country. Such development, in an ancient and underdeveloped country such as India, is only possible with purposive planning. True to our democratic principles and traditions, we seek, in free discussion and consultation as well as in implementation, the enthusiasm and the
willing and active cooperation of our people... We completed our first Five Year Plan 8 months ago, and now we have begun on a more ambitious scale our second Five Year Plan, which seeks a planned development in agriculture and industry, town and country, and between factory and small scale and cottage production" "... many other countries in Asia tell the same story, for Asia today is resurgent, and these countries which long lay under foreign yoke have won back their independence and are fired by a new spirit and strive toward new ideals. To them, as to us, independence is as vital as the breath they take to sustain life, and colonialism, in any form, or anywhere, is abhorrent.... " "The preservation of peace forms the central aim of India's policy. It is in the pursuit of this policy that we have chosen the path of nonalignment in any military or like pact or alliance. Nonalignment does not mean passivity of mind or action, lack of faith or conviction. It does not mean submission to what we consider evil. It is a positive and dynamic approach to such problems that confront us. We believe that each country has not only the right to freedom but also to decide its own policy and way of life. Only thus can true freedom flourish and a people grow according to their own genius. We believe, therefore, in nonaggression and non-interference by one country in the affairs of another and the growth of tolerance between them and the capacity for peaceful coexistence. We think that by the free exchange of ideas and trade and other contacts between nations each will learn from the other and truth will prevail. We therefore endeavor to maintain friendly relations with all countries, even though we may disagree with them in their policies or structure of government. We think that by this approach we can serve not only our country but also the larger causes of peace and good fellowship in the world. " |