Jason K. Stearns
(Photo: Alex Engwete)
Bonjour Alex -
I read your post on my book, thanks for posting. I welcome any criticism, of course, as long as you can tolerate me writing back.
First, I agree about the blurbs on the book. But you should know that this is never really the writer's choice (…). The editors foist this on you, call in favors that then result in blurbs like Le Carré's.
As for the title, I used Mzee's comment not to blame Mobutu's excesses on the Congolese people but to suggest that we need to stop looking for monsters when the structure and historical context is at least as important. By focusing on savage warlords we forget about the social context they live in, which strongly conditions their actions.
As for Arendt, she called on us to do just this: understand the system underlying the Holocaust. So what is the system underlying violence in the Congo? Homo economicus is not the only one to blame, it's not just about the money and greed. People are not just driven by financial concerns, but are social creatures in every sense of the word. I do not have the space in this book to elaborate deeper analysis - it is, above all, an anecdotal history of the war, not an academic book - but I think zooming out away from the Congo and using figures like Arendt does allow us to ponder deeper questions about violence, social organization and responsibility.
As for Lumumba, I think we will have to disagree. Gandhi had decades of time to elaborate a political and social philosophy. Lumumba had a few brief years, one great speech and perhaps three real months in power.
And the state has been eroded over centuries! As Vansina so eloquently writes, the various larger kingdoms of the Lunda, Kongo and later Luba were eroded by slavery and then colonialism. Perhaps here is the confusion: when I say state, I do not mean a Congolese state (which obviously did not exist), but the indigenous forms of political organization.
Anyway, my few morning thoughts. Thanks again for your own.
Jason
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