The victims of democracy: Malcolm X and the Black revolution

437 Pages·1981·32.06 MB·English

by  E. Victor Wolfenstein

$16.95
lMVICiins
of
Malcolm Xa nd 1M Black
Victor Wolfenstein
EugeM
The VIctims of Democracy is an analysis, from
the perspective of Marxist psychoanalytic
theory, of how racism can falsify the conscious
ness of the racially oppressed, and of how ra
cially oppressed individuals free themselves
both from falsification of their consciousness
and from racist domination of their practical
activlty. ln It, three relationships are considered:
the life of Malcolm X and the social history of
the Black Revolution; class and race, taking In
to account both racism and the struggle for ra
cial liberation; and history and human nature,
as they determine judgments concerning ra
tional and responsible choices of political
action.
Wolfensteln utilizes a revised version of
Freud's group psychology in conjunction with
Marxist class analysis in his argument that
white racism Is a mass-hypnotic social forma
tion through which the white working class Is
Identified and Identifies itself with the Interests
of the American ruling class. Black people are
trapped within this simultaneously politico
economic and psychological structure of racist
oppression. The consequence Is black rage.
The black person with falsified racial conscious
ness controls his rage through Identification
with the oppressor, precluding racial militancy.
When racial self-identification replaces Identi
fication with the oppressor, however, an emo
tional basis for militancy Is established. Such
militancy strengthens the movement toward
black liberation and tends to shatter white racist

The Victims of Democracy
The Victims of Democracy
Malcolm X and the Black Revolution
by Eugene Victor Wallenstein
University of California Press
Berkeley Los Angeles London
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 1981 The Regents of the University of California
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wallenstein, Eugene Victor.
The victims of democracy: Malcolm X and the black revolution.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
x. Little, Malcolm, 19.15-1965. .1. Black Muslirns-Biography. 3· Afro
Americans-Biography. 4· Afro-Americans- Race identity. I. Title.
BP113.z8L579 361.1'092'4 [B) 79-6355 I
ISBN o-pO-D3903·3
Contents
Preface ix
I. The.Er.oblem I
Malcolm X anclthe..Black_Rey;olution:_A
Preliminary Representation 3
Militancy vs. Radicalism: The Question
of Malcolm's Historical Significance 22
The Problematic.of Racist
Oppression 27
The Problem of False Consciousness 3 1
Comments on the Method. Limits, and
Organization of the Inquiry 36
II. The Nightmare Night 42
"Up, You Mighty Race!" 44
Class, Race, and the Great Migration 55
White..Racism.ancLCharismatic
Group-Emotion 70
Class Interests, Group Motives, and Con
scious Activity 78
Vi CONTENTS
III. The Seventh Son
The Family 88
Malcolm 96
Earl Little Dies Alone r xo
IV. The Vicious Circle rz
I
The Depression I I9
~s..bad_asLwas~._:...__ug
Straining to Integrate r 39
V. Never Trust Anybody 153
The Black Man I 54
The White Woman x 58
Hustling I64
State of War 174
The Hustling SocietY 184
The Dream World I 9 I
Charlestown Prison 2.02
VI. Only Guilt Admitted
.208
Enlightenment 209
Salvation 214
Spiritual Liberation 22.4
VII. We Have a Common Enemy 231
"A Nation Within a Nation" 2.31,
The Civil fu&Qts Movement: Decoloniza
tion as Integration 2.39
The Nation of Islam· Decolonization as
Separation 2.44
necolonization..as..Eolemical
Confrontation 2.6 5
CONTENTS vii
Vlll. Think for Yourself 270
Chickens Come Home to Roost 272
The Autiobiography of Malcolm X 284
My Sincerity Is My Credentials _!22
IX. Freedom by Any Means Necessary 300
Muslim Mosgue, Inc. 301
TheOAAU 313
"Cool It, Brothers .. ." 328
"Black Awakening in Capitalist
America" 33 6
X. The Logic of Democracy 347
:rbe_Eatent i al forSelhConscious
Activity 348
Alienated Conscious Activity 3 so
Revolutionary Activity 359
_______________________________ _J3J3
~N~o~t~es~
Bibliography 399
Index 402