settler colonialism yesterday and today: something from the marxist side of the dialectic
Hugh Williams
| Subject: | settler colonialism yesterday and today: something from the marxist side of the dialectic |
|---|---|
| Date: | Fri, 5 Sep 2025 16:37:57 -0300 |
| From: | Hugh Williams <hwil...@nbnet.nb.ca> |
| To: | Hugh & Stephanie Williams <hwil...@nbnet.nb.ca> |
Dear Folks,
I’ve hesitated on sending this link, because there is such a thing as ‘too much’ information.
https://monthlyreview.org/2025/02/01/imperialism-and-white-settler-colonialism-in-marxist-theory/
However, given certain discussions in my own circles over the past few years and the use of the phrase ‘settler colonialism’, and ‘white settler colonialism’ in particular in some of those discussions, and in relation to indigenous movements in their struggle for cultural, and in many cases even physical survival, I felt this piece of serious Marxist scholarship to be highly relevant for ‘connecting the dots’ as is often said when people are rested and have some surplus time to reflect.
By this ‘connecting the dots’ I mean providing some of the historical research and analysis that explains why frequently in certain analyses there is this connection made between what is happening now in the Israeli genocide in Palestine/GAZA and what has happened with the indigenous peoples in North America.
I’ve had to learn about this, and Pope Francis’ visit to Canada, not that long ago, and the serious debates and discussions surrounding his apology to indigenous peoples raised this issue for me which frankly was something very vague and somewhat distant in my consciousness and horizon. A seasoned theologian and friend a few discussions back, when asked about what younger theologians seemed most concerned about these days, answered, for me quite surprisingly, something about - ‘settler colonialism and its theological implications’.[1] But with the GAZA genocide becoming what it is in our own times and before our very eyes, this linked piece of research and scholarship (actually its not that long ... it’s like a ‘hard hitting’ literature review on the subject) takes on a high relevance and it is worth at least a scan ...
again, with some apologies … (pass it on where one may see fit ...)
Hugh
[1] In certain very recent conversations and efforts to ‘understand’ the Israeli genocide in GAZA, some have spoken many times of the impact of trauma and the carrying forward of ‘Jewish trauma’ into this systematic violence and destruction against the indigenous population. This linked article’s analysis provides some distance for a needed interpretation of the historical social-economic structures and forces at play. I found it particularly noteworthy to see reference to the Egyptian French Marxist economist Samir Amin’s analysis and interpretation of settler colonialism in Israel and the similarities with the 'hunting and extermination' of indigenous peoples in North America ... but with this significant and noteworthy difference in Israel’s case where there is this intrinsic relationship to what he calls a much wider capitalist-imperialist trajectory that has been actively led by the US towards global domination (i.e. - think 'oil and energy sources').