Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfman
That may be so but that's the long term cost of colonialist policies that have a very definite cultural construct to French identity and citizenship and you want to siphon off the resources of the colony and then not not want to deal with the economic (and cultural) ramifications regarding the emigration of peoples from the colonies.
|
Actually, what I think is so interesting is the French hope that essential French identity (the cultural construct, as you put it) was so powerful that it could be wholly transfered to former Colonial subjects.
When you contrast the French Post-Colonial attitude with any other former colonial power, France seemed to make a much stronger effort at being race neutral and egalitarian in terms of full citizenship for the citizens of former colonies.
(Can you imagine Brazilians or Angolans attempting to live in the suburbs outside of Lisbon with the expectation of financial prosperity or citizenship?)
But France seemed to think that being French was powerful enough that it would override a person's identity as a North African Muslim (or any other identity). It's kind of beautiful this faith in transcendent Frenchness, but because of the failure of their better post-colonial efforts, they confront contemporary domestic issues that other former colonial powers who just shut the door when they left never had to face.