Theor y of Nat i onal i sm
Ja es
  l aut
w t h   or ewor d by Juan Mar i  r as
Zed
 ooks
 
The Nati onal Questi on was f i r s t
publ i shed byZed
and
171 Fi r s t Avenue A l a nt i c H g hl a nd s, New
Jersey 07716, USA
i n 1987
For ewor d copyri ght  Juan
Mar i Br as,
Corbet t .
Typeset by MS Phot oset t i ng, Rochf ord, Essex  
Pr i n t e dand bound
i n t he Uni t ed K ngdom
byB ddi es Ltd .
 
r eser ved
Br i t i s h Li brary Catal oguing i n Pu bl i c at i o n Dat a
B aut , Ja mes M
The n at i o na l questi on : Decol oni zi ng t he Theor y of
Na t i o n al i t y
 
Library of
Congr ess Ca t a l o g i n g - i n - Pu bl i c a t i o n Dat a
B aut Ja mes M   James Morr i s)
The
questi on  
 
movement s   I T t l e  
HXSSO N3B53 1987
 
 
: S x
 
8
The
of Nat i onal i smand t hePr a c t i c e of Nat i onal
Li ber at i on
 
8
` The
 
13
 
Nat i onal i sm
Appr opr i ate Onl y
t o
t he
Revol ut i on?
Pr obl em
D d Nat i onal i smD f f use f r om
West er n
Thi rd
Some
 
33
Fi f t h Pr obl em I s Nat i onal St r u g gl e Out of Dat e?
I s t he
Nat i onal St a t e an Anachroni smi n t heEr a of
 
What i s
` Nat i onal M n or i t y , and
Why  o Some I mm grant
M n or i t i es Remai n
Unassi m l at ed?
 
Aut onomous Force
Cr i t i que 8
Post -cl assi cal Vari at i ons
 
Moder n
 
 
69
 
 
Fasci sm
83
 
 
 
Movement s I r r at i onal ?
 
I nt e r nat i on al
 
 
 
142
The
Theor y of M n or i t i es   n C as si c al
Marxi sm
Theory
146
 
 
 
 
andcompai i eros
across aBoundar y
i n t heMarxi st
Theory of
 
External C ass St r u g gl e
 
andH sto ry
 
t hememor y of
Lozano
Four
of t he chapt ers i n t hi s book have been
;
gi ven
by t he
fo l l ow ng pub l i cat i ons t o repr i n t t hem
her e  
  Chapt er 2) ; Ant i pode
  Radi cal Journal of
and t he Puer t o
R can
  t he or i g inal vers i on of
Chapt er
Many
peopl e cont r i but ed i n i mpor t ant ways
t o t hewri t i ngof t h i s book and
t he i deas
i t s
gr a t i t u de t o Abdul
A kal i mat Jose
A ber t oA varez Ramon Ar bona Gni B aut
Sor rent i ni , t he l a t e
Raf i
C nt r6n O i s Cunni ngham Hor ace Davi s
Loi da Fi gueroa
Jose Lopez
O ga L6pez t he l a t e Rudy Lozano Manuel
Mal donado- Deni s Juan Mar i Bras,
Fr anci s Mar k t he l a t e  d Mar ksman
Rober t Mol t eno
Jose and Mari ana
Chri s
Amer i ca
Sorr ent i n i de B aut , Howar d St ant on,
Davi d St ea,
Dessi ma Wl l i ams andBen Wsner  
d
For ewor d
Good t heory i s t he accur ate general i zat i on of prac t i ce   That
i s why t here i s
no
good t heory, soci a l , pol i t i cal or what ever i f i t i s not predi cat edon aprof oundand
ext ended pract i ce of the mat t er uponwhi ch one i s t heor i z ing  
Thi s
book i s anout st andi ngcont ri but i on t o Marxi st
t heor y
str uggle   The author i s
ver y wel l equi pped f or t he t ask   I n the f i r s t pl ace, he has
been f or t he l ast 15 year s
an act i v is t
i n
t he l i ber a t i on s t r u ggl e of Puer t oR co   Thus
he has been
nat i onal
str uggle i n
one of the l ast f r ont i ers of col on i a l i sm
i n t he
a prof essi onal geogr apher he i s
sensi ble
t o t he
si gni f i cance of physi c al l ocat i on i n
af f ec t i ng t he cour se of social and hi stor i cal
processes   Thi s i s cer t ai n l y most i mpor t ant
i n
t h i s case   The geogr aphi cal f act or
spr i ngs
f r omhi s
def i ni t i on of nat i onal str uggle
as t he
f o rm
pol i t i cal cl a ss
s t r ugg le whi ch i s associat ed, i n gener al ,
w t h
gover ned
Thi s vol ume
const i t utes a c r i t i que of past
Marxi st
t heor i es of nat i onal st r uggle,
nat i onal i sm and, i n gener al ,
Thi rd
Wor l d par t i c ipat i on i n i nt e rna t i ona l c l ass
s t r ugg le   The
t heor i es devel oped deri ve general concept s f r om
par t i cul a r
experi ences,
as
any
pi ece of sound t heory shoul d   The par t i cul a r exper i ence
her e
i s t he r e f l e ct i on of t he debat es and di scussi ons i n
t he Puer t o R can
l i ber a t i on
movement and
of t h i s movement aswel l
as
among t hePuer t o R can emgr ant communi t y
i n
t he
w t h
i nte l l ec tual
l u ci di t y
and honest y t hrough some of t he most contr overs i a l t hemes of Marxi st t heory  
whet her nat i onal
str uggle i s somet hi ngseparat e f r omcl ass
str uggle or an i n tegral
and prom nent
par t of
as a
fo rm
under st ood
mai nl y w th t he
bourgeoi si e as a cl ass andw t h t he
peri od
of ear l y c api t a l i smas a st age of social
evol uti on
I n
bot h cases, he proves hi s poi nt i n f avour of a
cl as str uggle perspect i ve and
t heuniver sal s igni f i cance of nat i onal s t r u ggl e f or t he i nt e rna t i onal worki ngcl ass 
I t i s evi dent
t hat
been
so f a r t he maj or t heore t i c ian f or t hese
proposi t i ons   Cert ain l y, t he pol i t i cal geni us who l ed the f i r s t
v ic t or i ous socia l i s t
revol ut i on i n worl d hi s t or y
was hi msel f a f r on t i er man f r om
a
nat i on,
whi ch made hi mpar t i c ul ar l y
f i t t ed f or such a t heoret i cal di scovery   Pr obabl y one
of hi s maj or accompl i shment s
 
For ewor d
ki nd was
hi s rupt ure w t h t he Eurocent ri c concepti ons of Mar x
and
Engel s
i nasmuch as i t was necessary t o t r an sl a t e Marxi st t heor i es i n t o p rac t i ce i n
a
Pr of essor B aut
anal yses
ment i oned
book   s f or t he di scussions
w t h i n t he Puer t o R can I ndependence movement
t hat l ed t o t hese t heore t i cal con f r ont a t i ons , t hey have i n my est i mat i on, been
 
t han
anyone,
except
t hosew t hvery under devel oped pol i t i cal mnds, t hat t he nat i onal
l i ber a t i on s t r u ggl e of t hePuer t o
R can i ndependence
essence
of
cl ass
s t r ugg le and t hat t he achi evement of i ndependence f or Puer t o
R co
i s t he
maj or con t r i but i on t hat Puer t o
R cans can make t o t he compl et v i c t o r y of
soc i a l i smi t he
worl d
  Yet
t he t heoret i cal el aborat i on of t h i s fact , whi ch some
day w l l
be
sel f - evi den t , i s st i l l necessary   ewwor ks can be as val uable as t he
present one for the f u l l c l ar i f i c at i on of t hesepoi nts  
I t i s however ,
i n chapt er seven of
t h i s
I
consi der a
real , out st andi ng con t r i but i on t o Marxi st t heory   H s i deas about
Eurocent r i smand
geographi cal di f fusi oni smas short com ngs of
Marxi st t heory
be
ser i ous l y consi der ed and devel oped i n t he f u t u r e by
many
a mat t er
of fact , t he c r eat i v e, pol i t i c al f ocus of
Marxi st t heor y has moved
 
i s com ng
f r om
Eur ope nowt oenl i ghtent he t heory of social evol uti on
based
duri ng
t he next epoch   l t he d i s si d ent v ar i et i es
of curr ent Eur opean socia l i s t t hought are root ed i n t hesame t heoret i cal
par adi gm
caused by t he basi c defect of Marxi sm whi ch i s
i t s Eurocentr i c concept i onof the
hi s to r i ca l
and
soci al processes of class societ i es  
These l i m t a t i o ns of Marxi st
t heory as a whol e , af f i rms Pr ofessor
B aut
corr ect l y ,   are,
unsurpr i s i ngl y, f ound a lso i n t he t heory of nat i onal i smor t he
nat i onal s t r u ggl e
.
I hope t hat t h i s vol ume, and par t i c ul ar l y t he l at t er chapter s, w l l bri ng f u r the r
devel opment s
of t he basi c i deas di scussed, and t hat i t w l l s t i mu la te new
t heoret i cal e f f o r t s f r omThi rd Wor l d scholars and m l i t a n t s of revol ut i onary
ac t i on
I n every nat i onal
l i ber a t i on s t r u ggl e
there
i s concer n about t he nat i onal quest i on 
t hequesti on of how t he f i ght f or pol i t i cal soverei gnt y i s t o be car r i ed
out
and
what
r o l e
i t shoul d pl ay i n t he l arger
s t r ugg le
f o r s oc i a l
j us t i c e The i ssues
are
al ways
compl ex and di f f i cul t , and al ways
t he re i s a searchf or general pr i nci p les, fo r theory ,
t o provi de
 
~
w l l argue i n t h i s book t hat
t he Marxi st
can
ki nd
provi ded t hat we adapt
t he t heory to thecondi t i ons t hat
ar e f aced i n Thi rd Wor l d l i ber a t i on str uggles  
condi t i ons of col oni al i smandneocol onial sm I w l l a l so defend
t hebasi c or c lassi c
t heory, as i t
was f ormul ated by
Mar x, Engel s, and Leni n agai nst t hechar ge t hat i t i s
not r el evant t o nat i onal
l i ber a t i on
str uggles
i n
t he
and
t hese
str uggles as reac t i onary or
i ns igni f i cant or out of date Fi nal l y , I w l l cont ri but e some new el ements t o t he
t heory i t s e l f and t o histor i cal mat eri al i sm
The book evol ved as a seri es of separat e
essays, and I cannot
v i r t ues
of syst emati c organi zat i on 
Each chapt er i s an essay, and each essay i s a
sel f - cont ai ned ar gument
  Never t hel ess t he book
as a whol e has a singl e poi nt of
ref erence and a singl e ar gument  
The ref erence
Puer t o
 
The nat i onal quest i on i s ser i ously debated w t hi n
our
and
i nt el l ectual a l l i e s   Much of thedebat e cent res
on quest i ons of t heory   I s
t he re acont radi cti on
bet ween nat i onal s t r ugg le and class
str uggle? Bet ween
a mul t i - c l ass nat i on and
an
worki ng cl ass?
out of date?
t he exist ence and
genera l i t y of such con t r adi c t i ons are prone t o c r i t i c i z e t he Puert o R can movement
or abandon i t  
Thi s book demonst r at es, f r omt he poi nt
of vi ew
t hat
such
con t r adi c t i ons do not exi st i n t he condi t i ons w t h whi ch we ar e concerned ;
t hat
s t r ugg les fo r nat i onal l i b er a t i o n i n col oni es and
neocol oni es
areav i t a l , cen t ra l par t
of t he movement t owards soci al j u st i ce i n t hese count r i es and i n
t he worl d   The
ar gument i s put f orward at t he l evel of t heory, and I say re lat i vel y l i t t l eabout
Puer t o
R co i t se l f  whi ch I t r eat i n another
f ort hcom ng wor k
 
Puer t o
R co But here, as el sewhere, t heory i s wr i t t en
f or t he sake
of
str uggles
agai ns t c ol oni al i s m and neocoloni ali smhave
a gr eat deal i n
common w t h one
another, and i t w l l become cl ear
as t hear gument pr oceeds
t hat
t he pr obl ems
confr ont ed i n t hi s book are c r uc i a l i s sues f or nat i onal l i ber a t i o n
movement s
t hroughout he
Thi rd Wor l d; cruci al a lso f or
t heoret i cal , scho la r l y
debat es about col on ia l i sm
under devel opment , uneven devel opment , and
i mperi al i sm
I can i l l u s t r a t e
al l of t hi s by br i ef l y r ecount i ng t he way
t h i s book
evol ved 
md-1970s f ew Marxi st s
questi oned
t he
str uggles are progressive and i mpor t ant
 
r egard t o col oni zed peopl es
t ended t o
of
det erm ni ng whet her a gi ven communi t y
was a nat i on ( w t h t he r i gh t of s el f
det er mnat i on i ncl udi ng secessi on) or merel y a `nat i onal m n or i t y w t hi n some
l arger nat i on  
Thi s i ssue was cent ral t o t he nat i onal quest i on i n
Thi rd Wor l d
count r i es w t h ser i ous
i nte rnal secessi oni s t
movement s
i n Sri Lanka,
I r an, or Et h iopi a ) , i n t heSouth
Af ri can andPalest i n ian l i ber a t i o n movement s, and
i n t he varyi ng
str uggles of
Thi rd Wor l d m n or i t i es i n t heUni t edSt ates, oneof t hese
bei ng t he Puer t o R can
communi t y   Two m l l i on Puer t o
R cans l i v e
i n t he U ;
t h ree
l i v e i n Puer t o
R co
.
I n the 1970s, t hePuer t o R can nat i onal quest i on
concerned nei t her t he exist ence
of t he nat i on
i t se l f nor
t he l egi t i macy and progressi veness of i t s i ndependence
movement   I t concer ned   mai nl y) t he quest i onof whet her
Puert o R cans
U
were
a U `nat i onal m n or i t y For Marxi sts, the
l at t er pos i t i on i mpl i ed
an bl i gat i n
t o use
mul t i nat i ona l , not nat i onal , f orms of
communal and pol i t i cal organizat i on, and t o give absol ute p r i o r i t y t o t h e t ask of
l i ber at i ng t h eUS, not
Puer t o
R co   The mai n ar gument i n f avour of t he
`nat i onal
mnor i t y pos i t i on i nvol ved a St al i nesque i nt e r pr e t at i on of t he Marxi st t heory of
nat i ons
and
mnor i t i es , an i nt erp re ta t i onwhi ch
pos i t s t he i nev i t a bi l i t y of nat onal
as si m l at i on  
Chapt ers
5 and6
of t he pr esent book were
wr i t t en t o combat t h i s view
of Marxi st
t heor y andof
hi s to r i ca l r eal i t y . They were
wr i t t en as cont ri but i onsto
t he
debat e about Puert o R cans
i n t heUS, but thei r argument s appl y  and have
been
debat es about
`nat i onal mnor i t i es , and t o scholar l y
debat es
about
t h e t h eor y of nat i onal i s m
The nat i onal questi on became amuch l arger
i ssue
o
was i t consi der edaxi omati c t hat
nat i onal
are l egi t i mate,
j us t i f i ed, progr essi ve, and i mpor t ant . The axi om i t se l f
der i ved
Leni n s classic ar gument t hat
c ol oni al i sm i s a c ent r a l f e at u r e of
monopol y
cap i t al i sm   or i mper i al i s m , t h at
ant i -colonia l
t hey ar e
d i r ect edmai nl y agai nst t he i mper i a l i s t bourgeoi si e, and t hat
t hey are crucia l t o t he str uggle f or soc ia l i sm
Duri ng
analysi s
of t hese processes, and
of i mperi al i smas a whol e, was comng
under att ack
f r oma
number of t heore t i cal di rect i ons , and var i ous compet i ng worl d
model s
bei ng
proposed and def ended by Marxi st s, some of whomconsi der ed t hemsel ves t o be
w t hi n t h e Leni ni st t heoret i cal t r adi t i on, others out si de i t   Most of t he model s
i nt e rpre ted i mperi al i smas i n essence, a di f f us i o n of capi t a l i sm amat t er of uneven
devel opment
or uneven `moderni zat i on , and nat i onal l i ber a t i o n
str uggles were
vi ewed
as moment s i n t he r i s e of
capi t a l i sm ( or of t he bourgeoi si e) i n
per i pheral
count r i es, not str uggles
agai nst metr opol i t an capi t a l i sm and t o a
signi f i cant ext ent
agai nst
i n
t h i s l ed
t o a signi f i cant deva uat i on
:
be
r educed t o `bourgeo is nat i onal i sm,
or
`narr owna t i ona l i sm, or t o
some i deological
f asci sm
Whi l e
of
Leni n s vi ew of i mperi al i sm
devel oped s tead i l y
t hroughout t he t he 1970s  and
beyond) ,
t he der i vat i ve c r i t i que of nat i onal i smbecame i mpor t ant mai nl y af t e r t h e
f a l l of
Sai gon, symbol i cal l y a bi r t h dat e f or New- Lef t i st andNeo Marxi st c r i t i ques
of
Thi rd
Wor l d revol u t i ons f r om V etnam
t o
Angol a
was i n t h i s
at mosphere t hat
str uggle were
proposed and some ol d ones resurr ect ed  
Most of t hese theor i es f e l l
i n t o
.
str uggle i s cl ass str uggle but
i t i s associat ed mai nl y
  or onl y) w t h one cl ass, t he bourgeoisi e, and one st age of social evolut i on,
t he _
eri od
of ear l y or r i s i ng capi t a l i sm
These t wo
had cor r osi ve ef fects on
t he Puer t o R can l i ber a t i on
movement ,
and i t i s f or t h i s r eason t hat I wr ote t heessays whi ch f ormChapt ers 2, 3,
and 4 of t he present
book .
The
had
dur i ng
and 1970s i t grew rapi dl y , and became
expl i c i t l y
socia l i s t andMarxi st
i n
r esonance
w t h l i ber a t i on s t r u ggl es el sewher e i n
t he Thi rd Wor l d  
For
a t i me t h i s rapi d eff l orescence of t he movemen
l ed t o
over - conf i dence and
i l l us i oni sm about t he t i me tabl e of l i ber a t i on. When t he
expect ati ons
many
by
quest i oni ng not
onl y t he i l l us ions, and t he
errors made i n t he str uggle, but also t he basi c
l egi t i macy
of t he
reacted
also
i n t he
t hreat of
i nvasi on
at mosphere
of t h e ear l y 1980s per i od,
when Reagan-That cheri smwas ascendant ,
when t he socia l i s t worl d
was
when many new y i ndependent
count r i es wer e
:
` I s
t he
  i ndependence
movement merel y   na t i ona l i s t , or   bourgeoi s nat i onal i s t ? I s i t out
of date? I s t here a  cont radi cti on bet ween t he s t r uggl e f o r i ndependence and t he
s t r ugg le
f or soci al i sm? Does t hePuer t o
R can
nat i on s t i l l exi st
as a
pol i t i cal r eal i t y ,
or has i t af t e r ei gh t
decades of U
col o ni al i sm di s sol v ed
i n t o t heUni t ed St ates?
S nceabout 1980 t hese
i ssues have beendebat ed
w t h i ncreasi ng i ntens i t y , and
part
of t he debat e has f ocused on t he Marxi st t heor y
of nat i onal i sm 
Chapt ers 2 3 and4
of t h i s book ar e e f fo r t s
t o
demonst r at e t hat nat i onal st r uggle
~i s cl assst ruggl e, however much i t s class nat ure may beobscured byethni c and ot her
compl i cat i ons ;
t hat
t he pri mary
cont radi c t i on i s t he one bet ween cont endi ng
cl asses, exp lo i t e rs
and exploi t ed ;
movement s ar e
progressive and
s igni f i cant when t hei r mai n class f o r c es ar e t he pro le ta r i a t andot her exploi t ed
and
margi nal i zedcl asses,
as i n str uggles agai nst col oni al i sm The essays
were
wr i t t en as
t heory, and t hey cr i t i ci z ed Marxi st t heoret i c ians, but t hei r under l yi ngpur posewas
t o show t hat
Marxi st
t heor y i s a weapon of l i bera t i on, i n
Puer t o R co as el sewhere,
and t hat i t cannot beused
t o quest i on t he
v al i d i t y
of nat i onal l i ber a t i o n
s t r uggl es, i n
Puer t o R co or anywhere
else.
ar gument
begi ns,
i n Chapter 2, w t h a t heoreti cal demonst r at i on t hat
na t i o nal i s mi s not
an
Chapt er
l e ng t h a
t heory of
put
Br i t i s h
Marxi st
R co
and
el sewhere, an i n f l ue nt i a l st at ement of
t he
pos i t i on t hat nat i onal i s m i s somet hi ng
d i s t i nc t f rom
c l ass
s t r ug gl e. Nair n s t heory
ut i l i z es t he c l a ss i c non-Marxi st ar gument t hat Th i r d Wor l d nat i on aTm ovement s
r e sul t f rom t he d i f f u s i on , f rom Eur ope, of ` moderni zat i on , al ong w t h
t he
ar gument t hat na t i o nal i s m i s a ki n t o f as ci s mand nat i onal l i ber a t i on movement s
t hemsel ves
ar e somehowa ki n t o f a sc i s t movement s. For t hese r easons, al l
of t hem
i t
seemed i mport ant t o wr i t e a t hor ough
cr i t i que of t h i s one
Marxi st t heory  
i s c l a ss str uggle, t hen
whi chcl assesmake use of
i t
i n
whi ch h i s t o r i c al epochs,
and
cr i t i que
of
t heory t hat nat i onal str uggles
ar e appropri ate
c api t a l i s m
andnat i onal
onl y
  i n
essence) t o
t her i s i n g bourgeoi si e; t ha t , i n t he 20t h Cent ury, nat i onal movement s
ar e i r r a t i onal
and at a v i s t i c   Hobsbawm posit s
a second
k i n d of c on t r a di c t i on
bet ween nat i onal : wher eas Nai r n
and conservat i ve
t h eor i s t s descri be
t he t wo as di f f erent ki nds of phenomena, Hobsbawmdescri bes
t he
l a t t e r as   i n
essence) a st age of t he f ormer, a stage t hat i s nowended nat i onal
movement s
i nc l udi ng nat i onal l i ber a t i on movement s ar e no
l onger rat i onal .
  / Hobsbawm t heory
deri ves
f romt h e e ar l y 20t h Cent ury
  mai nl y
Luxemburgi an
ar gument
t hat
al l nat i onal i s m i s bour geoi s and
t hat
c api t a l i s m havi ngbecome i nt ernat i onal ,
no
n at i o n s t a t e
  Theol d
vi ewwas att acked by Leni n and sur vi ved
t hereaft er
i n t h e wr i t i ngs of
very
t h i s
vi ewi n t he l a t e 1970s,
presenti ng i t
i n a
moder at ed
and wel l - r easoned wa y, d et a ch ed f rom
t he ol d ` a l l - n at i onal i s m i s -
bourgeoi s- and-bad
dogmat i c, andassert i ng i t t o be t he essent i al Leni ni st posi t i on,
t he i mpact of hi s
st at ement
was consi der abl e   I n Puer t o R co i t gave
suppor t
p os i t i o nswhi ch
emer ged i n t he l a t e 1970s   t he v i e wt hat i ndependence i s
mai nl y a bour geoi s
obj ect i ve, and t he v i e w t hat
t he i ndependence movement has
become ananachroni sm n a worl d
t hat
i s
.
t o count er
Hobsbawms v i e w t hat nat i onal movement s
ar e mai nl y
~ : ~bour geoi s
t hat
nat i onal s t a t es ar ebecomngout moded, and t o show
t hat
t hese
concept i ons
ar e c ont r adi c t or y t o Leni n s t heory . Thi s chapter ,
l i k e t he precedi ng
one, i s
f r amed as a c r i t i q u e of one Ma r x i s t s wr i t i n gs on t he t h eor y of
nat i ona l i s m
But
a
c r i t i que
of Hobsbawm s t heory i s a l so acr i t i que of a r ange of i mpor t ant new
Marxi st t heori es
whi ch quest i on t he under l yi ng l e gi t i ma cy of nat i onal l i ber a t i on.
TheMarxi st
t heory of nat i onal s t r u ggl e needs t o bepl aced mor e f i r m y w t hi n t he
l arger t h eor y of
soci a l evol uti on, of hi _stoncal ma er i a
s_m
and
Chapt er 7 i s an
e f f o r t t oward t h i s
end H s t or i c al materi a i sm
~s
an i ncompl ete t heorywher e i t deal s
w t h pr e - c ap i t al i s t
hi s t o r y andThi r dWor l d geography  i t i s s t i l l t o some degree
Eurocentr i c and
c l a ss
has al ways
as
an i nternal component ; t h at s t r u ggl es agai nst external or
f o r ei gn r ul i ng cl asses are, t hemsel ves, c l a ss
str uggles ; t hat t hey ar e as centr al t o
 
exter nal c l a ss
Pr eace
_ _ ~   _
str uggles assumeaqual i t a t i vel y new
fo rm t hey become nat i onal   But t hey
evol ved
hi s t o r i c al l y not
as di f f u si ons f rom
Europebut as one of t hepri mary
f orms
c l a ss
.
Chapter 1 l ays out t he si x t heoreti cal probl ems w t h
whi ch
t he book i s mai nl y
concerned: I s na t i o nal i s mc l a ss
str uggle?
I s i t bourgeoi s c l a ss
s t r u ggl eor somet hi ng
l ar g er ? D d i t di f f u se
f r omEurope?
I s   t
aki n t o
asci sm? Ar e nat i onal s ta tes and
nat i onal movement s anachroni sti c? ndwhat must
be done t o i mprovet he Marxi st
t h eor y of m n or i t i es ?
Chapt er 8si mpl y
cl oses t heargument of t hebook and
p oi n t s
t o af ewof t he many
pr obl ems
Li m t at i ons
Thi s book i s not a
compr ehensi ve t r eat i s eon t he Marxi st t heory of
nat i onal i s m I t i s
an
i nqui r y i n t o t hose aspects of t he t heory whi char e
of greatest
Wor l d l i ber a t i on
movement s Because
i s a compl ex and
cont ent i ous
ma t t er f o r Mar x i s t t h eor y and f or
Marxi st  and non-Marxi st ) p rac t i ce,
I have t o make cl ear at t he outset of t he di scussi on
hat
t hebook has t hese =l i m t ed
obj ect i ves
. I t does not att empt t o deal w t h most
aspects of t h e n at i o na l quest i on 
For
on nat i onal
l i ber at i on s t r u ggl es a gai n st c ol on i a l i s m
and
neocoloni al i sm str uggles whi ch
ar e basicall y progressi ve  There exi s t many
ot her
str uggle, some progressi ve, some react i onary, and
some
ambi guous A t hough
I di scuss t he gener al t heory underl yi ng al l f ormsof
nat i onal
say very
l i t t l e about r e a ct i o na r y andambi guous f orms Thi s
shoul d not
beconst r ued as an i ndi s cr i m n at e ar gument i n f avour
of al l nat i onal
movement s al l
str uggl esf or s t a t e i ndependence   I n f a c t , t he Marxi st t heory
of nat i onal str uggle, as
I pr esent i t here, provi des t he
best way   t hough
not an i n f a l l i b l e
one) t o f i nd whet her
a given p os i t i on on a given nat i onal str uggl e
i s
t heory
 
I t appli es t h eor y t o j u st oneempi r i cal cat egory,
nat i onal str uggles
aga i n st c ol oni a l i s mand neocol oni al i sm andone speci f i c
case
:
Puer t o R co   The book does not at t empt t o anal yse,
much
j udgment on,
any ot her concret e cases of t h e nat i onal ques t i on, el sewher e
i n
t he worl d   Theory
w l l not s ol v e t h es e n at i o na l problems, but i t w l l hel p t owards
t hei r
  3
t he
nat i onal pr obl ems
whi ch cont i nue t o exi s t i n
p ar t s of t he soc i a l i s t worl d These very real
pr obl ems cannot be d i s m s s ed as
bourgeoi s r emnant s, but t hey do r e f l ec t t he fac t
t hat c api t a l i s m
s t i l l
r u l e s over mor e
t han hal f
t he book   Chapt er s2, 7, and8 I
w l l
t ha t , al t hough nat i onal
s t r ugg l e i s cl ass str uggle, i n t oday s worl d i t a l s o
af f e ct s
s oc i et i es i n whi ch ex pl oi t i ng cl asses have
been
deposed  
1
. Thepr esent vol ume deal s w t h t he
i ssues
a
c r i t i que of p os i t i on s
t aken by
p ar t i c i p ant s   I do so i n La
cuesti dn nat i onal
en
 
Sant i ago ` La
c ues t i 6 n n ac i o na l :
A gunas t e s i s i gnor adas ,
Pr oceso
Colect i voSo ci al i s t a deSan
Juan, ` Mar xi smo 0
i ndependent i smo Soci ali sta? , Pensam ento
Cr i t i co
5 35 1983)  
For a r e pl y t o t he
Col ecti vo p os i t i o n,
see
` Cr i t i c a a l a
ponenci a
del Col ecti vo So ci a l i s t a de San Juan ,
Pensam ent o C i t i c o
7
36
  1984)  
The vi ew t hat t he nat i onal i sm
of
t he Na t i o na l i s t
Part y
about 1930
t o 1950) was not c l a ss s t r u gg l e i s hel d
by
f ew
t he l at t er
i dent i f y t h e Na t i o na l i s t
Part y
e
  1963)   O hers
who f i n d
a c on t r a di c t i o n
bet ween t h i s nat i onal i smand
class
s t r u gg l e i ncl ude Jose Lui s
Gonz~l ez, EI pais de
cuatr o
pi sos
  1980) and
Campos   1976)   The
opposi ng vi ew t hat   i n
essence) t henat i onal i smof the
Na t i o na l i s t Part y was a
cl ass
s t r u gg l e and
p r o gr e s s i v e f or i t s per i od - a t i me, we
shoul d note, when f ewant i -
c ol o ni a l
movement s
had devel oped
.,
marxi st a
de l a hi s t o r i a dePuert o R coy ot ros ensayos
  1977) ; JuanMar i
H s H s t or i c al
S g ni f i c an ce , i n I  
Zaval a and R Rodri guez
  eds . , The
I n t e l l ec t u al Root s of I ndependence   1980) ;
and Ta l l e r de
Formaci on Po l i t i c a, La
cuest i on naci onal   el
Part i do Na ci o na l i s t a
y el movi m ent o
obrero puert orr i queno
  1982)
i ndependence s t r u gg l e as,
i n
are pro- i ndependence
R vera f or i n st a nc e
argues   i n e ss enc e) t hat stat e-f orm ng
movement s are
appr opri ate
t o
t he per i od of e ar l y c api t a l i s m t he r i s eof
t he bourgeoi si e t hat Puer t o
R co
was not f ul l y capi t al i st when t he
US i nvaded
i n 1898 ; t hat Puer t o R co
a c co r d i n gl y , experi enced onl y an ` i ncompl ete
bourgeoi s r e v ol u t i o n and f or
t h i s
other
  but no
r e v ol u t i o n ) :
see hi s Conf l i ctos de cl ase y
pol l t i c a en
Puer t o R c o   1977)
and `Not es
Devel opment
: C ass and Nati on i n a Col oni al
Cont ext , Marxi st
Perspect i ves 3
Puer t o
whi ch t he
i ndependence
s t r u gg l e i s seen as an evolvi ng pr ocess,
see
MMal donado-Deni s,
Puer t o
R co :   Soc i o - H s t or i I nt er p r et at i on
  1972) ,
pasado,
  1984)  
The
f o l l ow ng t he
l ogi c of
devel opment f r om
a nat i onal
t o an i n t e r n at i o na l
c on di t i o n,
i s put
F
. Boni l l aandR
 ampos   See Bo ni l l a s ` E t h ni c
Obi t s : The
of Ca pi t a l s
and Peopl es , Cont empor ar y
Marxi sm10
f or i nstance,
t hat
nat i ons are d i s s ol v i n g as c api t a l i s m
becomes i n t e r n at i o na l
  ` Puert o R cans i n t he
Uni t ed St ates and Puer t o R cans i n
Puer t o
Cont emporary Puert o
a l s o
Campos , and
Labor
M g r at i on Under Ca pi t a l i s m he
Puer t o R c an
Experi ence   1979)  
I
c r i t i c i z e t hese vi ews i n
La
vi ew
t he US
area ` n at i onal m nor i t y
i s put f oward, e . g
., i n
Wor ker s O gani zat i on,
` Nati onal Liberat i on of Puer t o R co
and
t h e Res pons i b i l i t i es
of t he US
  Pr o l e t a r i a t ,
Jour   Cont emp  
v i e w
Puer t orr i queno,
Desde l as
ent rap as
Puer t o
R cans a
Nat i onal M n or i t y 1 and ` E m t o de
l a as i m l a ci 6 n
r e v i s e d as
chapter s 5
and 6 of
t hepresent
vol ume
; f or a r e pl y t o `Are Puer t o
R cans   . see E
Comt e, ` Cr i t i c aa
una per spect i va na ci o na l i s t a de l a c ue st i 6 n
n ac i o na l , Pensam ent o
C i t i c o 1, 5-6
  1978)
i n Engl i sh
d es c r i b e t he Puer t oR can
i ndependence
: see, e . g.
Puer t o R c o:
The
Zaval a and
Rodri guez   eds. ,
The I n t e l l e ct u al
Root s of