Page 157 - Fighting Against the Injustice of the State and Globalization

Fighting Against the Injustice of the State and Globalization
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precolonial societies, most human groups had localized and small-scale identities.
Global capitalism and imperialism brought large-scale identities, such as ethnonational
groups, and regional identities, such as African-ness, European-ness, American-ness,
Asian-ness. Whether they are smaller or larger identities, they are not biologically
given since they have been formed and re-formed depending on the circumstances in
which they have found themselves. Since there have been cultural overlapping and
cultural borrowing among all human groups, it is impossible to have clear cultural
boundaries among them. Hence, while fighting against racism, classism, and sexism,
revolutionary democratic multiculturalism must promotes progressive integration of
all humanity.
With the development of capitalism and the nation-state, those cultural groups that
dominated the political economy of a given territory or a country tried to destroy the
cultures and identities of those groups who were conquered and dominated in order
to form a “nation” with their own images.This objective was successful in limited de-
gree when cultural and structural assimilation was combined. However, in most cases,
the objective was not successful since the dominant group only wanted to impose its
culture without structurally assimilating the dominated group by subordinating them
as second- or third-class citizens to exploit their economic and labor resources.These
conditions led to the development of ethnonational movements and multinationalism.
“Socialism,” or bourgeois democracy, failed to solve these problems. Therefore, the
state is facing challenges from above and below to its prerogatives: the intensification
of globalization from above is requiring building supranational institutions. Multina-
tionalism, particularly ethnonationalism, is challenging the existing structure of the
state from below.“The transition from nationalism to multinationalism, and its associ-
ated multiculturalism,” Anthony Richmond writes, “will not take place without a
struggle between competing power elites.” 53
Oromo nationalists need to develop sophisticated political and cultural strategies to
uproot Ethiopian settler colonialism by creating a revolutionary democratic govern-
ment while at the same time promoting a revolutionary multicultural democracy. A
revolutionary Oromo government that will reflect the Oromo democratic tradition
can be an effective central political force by making sure that Oromos achieve their
national liberation and forge a political unity that provides full freedom for those eth-
nonations that voluntarily participate in forming a revolutionary multicultural dem-
ocracy. In this way the racialization/ethnicization of state power can be eliminated in
the Horn of Africa. Oromos and Ethiopians have been in confrontation since the six-
teenth century culturally, ideologically, and militarily. Oromos and Ethiopians have
contradictory national projects. Ethiopian national projects have included selective as-
similation; ethnocide or genocide; destruction of Oromo history, culture, institutions,
and leadership; and using Oromo economic and labor resources. Oromo national pro-
jects have included maintaining Oromo territorial and cultural integrity; reviving
Oromo democracy; developing Oromo culture, history, and language; establishing an
Oromian national power; and at the same time fundamentally transforming Oromia.
While envisioning all these projects, the Oromo movement must endorse the princi-
ple of multicultural democracy in order to make sure that the problem of racializa-
tion/ethnicization of state power will be eliminated. When the Oromo reform
nationalists created the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association in the early 1960s and
the Ethiopian National Liberation Front in the early 1970s, they envisioned the pro-
gram of reforming and democraticizing Ethiopia so that Oromos could be equal cit-