Hegelian Morality in Postcoloniality

I would like to propose in this blogpost that Hegel's section on Morality can be equated to the postcolonial project. That is, the tension and resolution between the Acting and Judging consciousnesses finds a parallel in the postcolonial act of 'writing back' to colonial subjugation.

Hegel's section on Morality consists of a division in the Beautiful Soul, the separation into an Acting and a Judging Consciousness. Dr J outlined briefly the way in which each sees the other as a hypocrite. The Acting Consciousness -- possibly driven by an epiphany of some kind? -- comes to see part of his/her own hypocrisy in the Judging Consciousness. In other words, like all our encounters in the world, Acting Consciousness sees part of him/herself reflected in Judging Consciousness. Despite efforts to point this out to Judging Consciousness, however, s/he is ignored. Acting Consciousness benevolently forgives Judging Consciousness for this refusal to acknowledge their similarities, and this somehow uncovers and incites in Judging Consciounsess to see part of him/herself in Acting Consciousness. In this way reciprocal recognition is achieved.

In a similar way, colonisation was characterised by a refusal to recognise the colonised as human. This was technique used for a variety of reasons, one of them being economic: by constructing the idea of race, and categorising those with non-white skin as inferior, the colonisers were exonerated from guilt for their aggressive exploitation of non-whites. Thus dehumanised, the exploitation of non-white people required no justification or apology. The beginning of this relationship, then, can be equated to the Master-Slave Dialectic discussed in our previous class. In other words, while the master is recognised by the slave, the slave him/herself remains unrecognised and is 'put to work on the world'.

This relationship, however, seems to transform, as it does in consciousness itself. The slave seems to become the Acting Consciousness/colonised and the master the Judging Consciousness/coloniser (correct me if this process doesn't actually follow in the text itself). Thus, via postcolonial writing, the colonised begins using the language of repression to 'write back' and critique their oppressors. This writing can be seen as a type of assertion of their common humanity with the coloniser, and if not a realisation of their own 'hypocrisy' in their oppressors, then definitely the apprehension of some part of thesmelves in the coloniser. As with Hegel's story of Morality, so too the coloniser ignores or refuses to see the colonised in themselves, that is, their common humanity. Though it is an extremely contestable matter as to whether the colonised would forgive at this point, there definitely have been instances of unrequited forgiveness, for example Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. In these cases, then, the hard edge of the coloniser is softened and they are led to recognise the common humanity of the colonised.

I realise that this is an idealistic picture, for many 'colonisers' still refuse to see the equal humanity of those who happen to have a different skin colour, especially in South Africa where the structure of Apartheid still reigns stronger than ever, so that even though the framework has been removed, segregatory practices continue to perpetuate themselves. This does not mean, however, that it is not an image of resolution that should be aspired towards.

As an aside, I was wondering whether I am corretc in interpreting the Judging and Acting Consciousness as a transformed continuation of the Slave and Master? If not, what is their relation?