The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon’s 1961 book *The Wretched of the Earth* examines how colonisation dehumanises both individuals and entire nations from a psychoanalytic perspective. It also explores the social, cultural, and political challenges involved in building a movement to decolonise a person and a people. The French title may come from the opening line of “The Internationale,” which also influenced the English version, but biographer Adam Shatz argues it actually originates from a poem by Haitian writer Jacques Roumain, “Dirty Negroes,” published posthumously in 1945.
The book critiques nationalism and imperialism while discussing personal and societal mental health. It looks at how language is used to create imperialist identities—such as coloniser and colonised—that psychologically train the native and the colonist into roles of slave and master. It also considers the role of intellectuals in revolution. Fanon argues that revolutionaries should rely on the lumpenproletariat—the lowest, most degraded stratum of the working class in Marxist theory, including criminals, vagrants, and the unemployed—to provide the force needed to expel colonists. Unlike the urban working class, he sees the lumpenproletariat (especially the peasantry) as having enough intellectual independence from colonial ideology to revolt. One essay, “On National Culture,” stresses that each generation must discover its own mission and fight for it.
The first section, “On Violence,” explains violence in relation to the colonial world and decolonisation. Fanon states that decolonisation is always a violent process, aiming to replace one group of humans with another completely. He describes colonial structures as nested societies that are not complementary, following a “principle of reciprocal exclusivity.” Settlers dehumanise natives, seeing them as incapable of ethics and as absolute evil, opposite to the Christian settlers’ goodness. This explains why decolonisation means population replacement and why natives, knowing they are not animals, develop rebellion.
Fanon identifies three temporary groups among the colonised. First, the native worker, valued for labour. Second, the “colonised intellectual”—more educated natives recruited by settlers to defend Western ideals, ready to protect the “Graeco-Latin pedestal.” Third, the lumpenproletariat, the poorest class outside the system. While Marxists dismiss them, Fanon believes they will be the first to discover violence against the settler.
Once revolution is accepted, Fanon describes how the idea of total change gets watered down through debate and real-world application, becoming a small power shift within the existing system. Pacifists and legalists demand only more power, while the native intellectual desires assimilation. The colonialist bourgeoisie offers non-violence and compromise to blunt the movement. As an example, after Gabon’s independence from France in 1960, President Léon M’ba stated, “Gabon is independent, but between Gabon and France nothing has changed; everything goes on as before.” For Fanon, this shows a decolonisation movement weakened by hesitant leaders. He urges newly independent Third World countries not to emulate this pattern.
- title
- The Wretched of the Earth
- author
- Frantz Fanon
- original_language
- French
- field
- Philosophy, psychoanalysis, political theory
- subject
- Colonisation, decolonisation, violence, national culture
Lore & Background
The book's French title, Les Damnés de la Terre, is believed by some to derive from the opening line of 'The Internationale,' reflected in the English title. However, Fanon biographer Adam Shatz has asserted that it originates from the poem 'Sales nègres' (Dirty Negroes) by the Haitian poet Jacques Roumain. Through critiques of nationalism and imperialism, Fanon discusses personal and societal mental health, the use of language to establish imperialist identities, and the role of the intellectual in revolution. He proposes that revolutionaries should seek the help of the lumpenproletariat—the lowest stratum of the proletariat, including criminals, vagrants, and the unemployed—to provide the force required to expel colonists. Fanon applies the term lumpenproletariat to colonial subjects not involved in industrial production, especially the peasantry, because they have sufficient intellectual independence from the dominant ideology of the colonial ruling class.
Reader's Guide
The Wretched of the Earth is significant for its detailed analysis of violence in the colonial world and the process of decolonisation. Fanon argues that decolonisation is by definition a violent process, based on his observation that colonial structures are nested societies following a 'principle of reciprocal exclusivity.' He describes the dehumanising assessment of natives by settlers, leading natives to develop a feeling of rebellion. Fanon divides the native population into three groups: the native worker, the colonised intellectual, and the lumpenproletariat, whom he sees as the first to discover violence against the settler. The essay 'On National Culture' argues that a national culture should be built on material resistance against colonial domination, not on a fetishised precolonial history. Fanon warns colonised intellectuals against trying to prove a common African or 'Negro' culture, as this essentialism was originally a colonial category. The work remains a foundational text in postcolonial studies, influencing debates on revolution, identity, and the psychology of oppression.
Did You Know?
- Some believe the French-language title derives from the opening line of 'The Internationale,' but Fanon biographer Adam Shatz asserts it originates from a poem by Haitian poet Jacques Roumain.
- Fanon applies the Marxist term lumpenproletariat to colonial peasants, arguing they have sufficient intellectual independence to revolt against colonial rule.
- In 'On Violence,' Fanon describes the colonised intellectual as being recruited by settlers to defend 'the essential qualities of the West.'
- Fanon uses the example of the newly independent Republic of Gabon, whose president said 'between Gabon and France nothing has changed,' as a case of a decolonisation movement enfeebled by tentative leaders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Wretched of the Earth and who wrote it?
It is a 1961 work by Frantz Fanon, originally composed in French, that sits at the intersection of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and political theory. The book examines how colonialism psychologically degrades colonised peoples and argues for a full decolonisation of the mind, culture, and body.
What is the central argument of The Wretched of the Earth?
Fanon contends that colonialism strips colonised individuals of their humanity and that genuine liberation requires transforming the inner life of the person, not merely changing political borders. He frames decolonisation as a simultaneous project of psychological, cultural, and social renewal for an entire nation.
What role does violence play in The Wretched of the Earth?
Fanon treats armed resistance as a psychologically restorative act for colonised people who have been systematically dehumanised. In his view, the act of fighting back reclaims agency and helps restore a sense of self that the colonial order had deliberately erased.
How does The Wretched of the Earth connect psychoanalysis to politics?
The book applies psychoanalytic concepts to show that colonial relations produce deep, structural wounds in both the oppressor and the oppressed. Fanon uses this lens to argue that any lasting decolonisation must address the individual's inner experience, not only the external government or economic system.
Why is The Wretched of the Earth considered a landmark in philosophy and political theory?
It became a foundational reference for postcolonial studies and for liberation movements across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Readers and scholars value it for binding the personal psychological experience of oppression directly to the collective political project of national and cultural self-determination.
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