DECOLONISATION
Colonialism must fall — but then what?
Few of colonisation’s critics are clear about what they would put in its place, writes Steven Friedman
If we don’t want to be a colony, what do we want to be? Freer people or slaves to a new tyranny? Demands for "decolonised" education are now common — some voices also insist that the entire country rid itself of colonial biases. While it is fashionable in the suburbs to dismiss this call for new ways of thinking and teaching, it does highlight an important reality: that the channels through which ideas are spread — schools, universities, media — still judge knowledge and ideas through the lens of Western Europe and North America. While minority rule in politics may have ended, its values and ideas are still in control. But not everyone who criticises colonial thinking is a champion of freedom. Which is why we need to worry when few of colonisation’s critics are clear about what they would put in its place. There is no shortage of evidence that colonial thinking is still strong here. The politics of Europe and the US are reported on and taught in depth; Africa and Asia are largely ig...
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