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El Laberinto, 1971-1987
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8 [emblem] INSIDE THE BEAST: INTERNAL COLONIALISM AND THE CHICANO The following is a summary of a UCLA symposium held on May 26, 1974. The title of the symposium, "Internal Colonialism as an Explanation of the Chicano Experience: A Critical Discourse" and its conclusions revealed the awareness for a more radical analysis of the Chicano condition in the United States; one which would incorporate the cultural and racial interpertations provided by the first Chicano intellectuals, such as Octavio Romano of EL GRITO, with an examination of American colonialism and capitalism and the Chicano role under this system. Four raza scholars were the participant members of the symposium. They were Frank Bonilla of the City University of New York; Mario Barrera of the University of California, San Diego; Rodolfo Alvarez of the University of California, Los Angeles; and Carlos Munos of the University of California at Irvine. Frank Bonilla points out that one of the responses of the American capitalist system tot the militant nationalism of Chicanos, Blacks and other minorities has been to develop the concept of "cultural pluralism." This concept recognizes that the "melting pot" theory no longer applies and in its place presents a picture of the United States as a country distinguished by a multi-cultural, multi-social, multi-national system. The rationale for this new liberal approach consists of three factors: 1) The United States, despite problems, has prospered and because of this prosperity can afford to have "cultural coexistence," 2) the system can no longer ignore the separtist tendencies of racial nimorities and should therefore, allow for some separation to exist, and 3) because technology will in time solve most all social problems, the United States can begin to experiment with the accomodation fo the "counter cultures." The concept of "cultural pluralism" according to Bonilla has proved to be an attractive one not only for the liveral establishment, but for many ethnic groups. The fault of this argument, however, lies in the fact that real cultural pluralism can only occur if there is a major redistribution of wealth and this will not happen under the capitaliat system. In reality the United States does not have a pluralistic society, instead, a dualistic structure characterizes the system: a ruling class of capitalists supported by the two-party political structure and an increasingly complex working class. Professor Alvarez, while not disagreeing with Bonilla, believes that "organizational pluralism does exist in that there are organizations of labor, business, women, Chicanos, Blacks etc . . . Yet, the United States has never had cultural pluralism because of the absence of any decision-making power by what he calls "cultural unites" , or Chicanos, Blacks, Indians or any other group outside the ruling capitalist class. Alvarez does not suggest how this condition can be changed, but recognizes that when the Chicanos begin to move in a direction contrary to the system, the question will be whether the dominant society can accept this deviation. Alvarez leaves the question open, but given the "stake" of the capitalists in their own system, it seems doubtful they would accept the deviation, although, as Bonilla suggests, this does not preclude attempts such as cultural pluralism to subvert and co-opt any radical change or challenge. One aspect of this subversion concerns the existence of false consciousness among the Chicanos. That is, and the Bonilla emphasizes it, the acceptability by Chicanos of the concept that within the present structure of the United States a truly bicultural or multi-cultural society can be established in which the exploitation of the Chicano would no longer remain. This, according to Alvarez, can not be anything less than false consciousness or belief and represents an attempt by Chicanos to run away from their "psychic scars" or feelings of infer-
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8 [emblem] INSIDE THE BEAST: INTERNAL COLONIALISM AND THE CHICANO The following is a summary of a UCLA symposium held on May 26, 1974. The title of the symposium, "Internal Colonialism as an Explanation of the Chicano Experience: A Critical Discourse" and its conclusions revealed the awareness for a more radical analysis of the Chicano condition in the United States; one which would incorporate the cultural and racial interpertations provided by the first Chicano intellectuals, such as Octavio Romano of EL GRITO, with an examination of American colonialism and capitalism and the Chicano role under this system. Four raza scholars were the participant members of the symposium. They were Frank Bonilla of the City University of New York; Mario Barrera of the University of California, San Diego; Rodolfo Alvarez of the University of California, Los Angeles; and Carlos Munos of the University of California at Irvine. Frank Bonilla points out that one of the responses of the American capitalist system tot the militant nationalism of Chicanos, Blacks and other minorities has been to develop the concept of "cultural pluralism." This concept recognizes that the "melting pot" theory no longer applies and in its place presents a picture of the United States as a country distinguished by a multi-cultural, multi-social, multi-national system. The rationale for this new liberal approach consists of three factors: 1) The United States, despite problems, has prospered and because of this prosperity can afford to have "cultural coexistence," 2) the system can no longer ignore the separtist tendencies of racial nimorities and should therefore, allow for some separation to exist, and 3) because technology will in time solve most all social problems, the United States can begin to experiment with the accomodation fo the "counter cultures." The concept of "cultural pluralism" according to Bonilla has proved to be an attractive one not only for the liveral establishment, but for many ethnic groups. The fault of this argument, however, lies in the fact that real cultural pluralism can only occur if there is a major redistribution of wealth and this will not happen under the capitaliat system. In reality the United States does not have a pluralistic society, instead, a dualistic structure characterizes the system: a ruling class of capitalists supported by the two-party political structure and an increasingly complex working class. Professor Alvarez, while not disagreeing with Bonilla, believes that "organizational pluralism does exist in that there are organizations of labor, business, women, Chicanos, Blacks etc . . . Yet, the United States has never had cultural pluralism because of the absence of any decision-making power by what he calls "cultural unites" , or Chicanos, Blacks, Indians or any other group outside the ruling capitalist class. Alvarez does not suggest how this condition can be changed, but recognizes that when the Chicanos begin to move in a direction contrary to the system, the question will be whether the dominant society can accept this deviation. Alvarez leaves the question open, but given the "stake" of the capitalists in their own system, it seems doubtful they would accept the deviation, although, as Bonilla suggests, this does not preclude attempts such as cultural pluralism to subvert and co-opt any radical change or challenge. One aspect of this subversion concerns the existence of false consciousness among the Chicanos. That is, and the Bonilla emphasizes it, the acceptability by Chicanos of the concept that within the present structure of the United States a truly bicultural or multi-cultural society can be established in which the exploitation of the Chicano would no longer remain. This, according to Alvarez, can not be anything less than false consciousness or belief and represents an attempt by Chicanos to run away from their "psychic scars" or feelings of infer-
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