Yearning for a precolonial essence traps politics in the past instead of the present

Evidence

So often in the postcolonial world the desire for some oppositional precolonial essence comes to take the place of reality. It is a desire which locks the hope for the future together with the fantasy of the past while forgetting the present, and the present is the only site of transformative action. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3435 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Postcolonial theory can generate counterpresents, not just counterhistories — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 579; Nationalism paired with populism breeds nostalgia and resentment politics — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 785; Left-behind communities’ political imagination focuses on the present, not a nostalgic past. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with…, 437 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• The longing for a precolonial essence blocks present-moment transformation #corroborates (0.97) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3435