Resisting the hegemony of lumpen intellectuals

LUMPEN INTELLECTUALISM

The uproar against Andrew Mwenda's controversial views, such as questioning whether corruption is detrimental to economic development of a Nation, may not, after all, be worthy. However, the vigor with which some Ugandans have taken to opposing Mwenda shows that there is more than the issues he raises, that is being resisted.

There is an online petition, which is almost reaching 4000 signatories, requiring that NTV removes Mwenda from its news night analysis. It was not until this morning when it downed on me that there is a prevailing hegemony perpetuated by crops of Uganda's lumpen intellectuals, thus, the resistance.

The online dictionary defines hegemony as "political or cultural dominance, or authority over others". The concept of cultural hegemony (dominance) has roots among communist intellectuals such as Antonio Gramci (1891-1937), Karl Marx (Theory of Alienation), and others.

Gramci, in particular, maintained that the working class and the peasantry depends largely on the intellectuals produced by their society. He distinguished between bourgeois-class intellectuals and working-class intellectuals in his theory of cultural hegemony. Intellectuals in every society are active ingredients in determining the dominant cultures of the time.

From Marxist perspective, cultural hegemony involves manipulation of a culture by the dominant groups (ruling class), such that their worldview is imposed and accepted as the cultural norm.

From Marxist perspective, the role of the media as a social institutions is to ensure that the working class remains contented with their working conditions even with the injustices of the capitalist system. The ideology of such groups is perpetuated through lies, deceptions and misinformation, such as those that characterise our analyses in the media to create false consciousness. The uproar against Mwenda's brand of intellectualism therefore arises from his followers refusing to accept a false consciousness, for instance, that corruption is Ok, it does not deter equal distribution of opportunities or resources.

The NRM ideology as a whole, is encumbered on perpetuating false consciousness that is how we have lumpen intellectuals baying for it. Gramci proposes that prevailing bourgeois cultural hegemony must not be perceived as natural and inevitable, but as an artificial social construct. He recommends a vigorous investigation of each to discover their philosophic roots, which are their instruments of social-class domination.

The defeat of those who perpetuate false consciousness is eminent with the advent of social media and globally accessible information portals such as Google, Google Scholars and so forth. These scientific innovations should achieve the end of liberating the dominated since it enhances timely access to factual, researched, and corroborated information. The real problem is ingrained in the minds of the dominated, which, because of a history of subjugation and being dominated, rely entirely on the lies of the ruling class and the lumpen intellectuals to appreciate their pitiful social conditions.
The media is not an ally of the working person or the proletariats; it is an instrument of domination. The institution of the media is owned and controlled by the ruling class to serve the purpose of misinforming and alienating the oppressed so as not to organize and rise against the status quo.

Uganda's population is now more elite with youth literacy rates of 89.6% among males and 85.5% among females, with overall literacy of 79% (UNICEF, 2013). With more enhanced access to the internet and education, the youths, who are more tech-savvy should be the liberating force of this country from the grip of lumpen intellectuals. 

Instead of petitioning to have Mwenda removed from NTV, these people should invest in countering obscurantism. Without presenting informed counter arguments, the rascals will dominate the intellectual space to cultivate false consciousness. It is an imperative of each listener to practice tolerance and where possible, resort to challenging old traditions to break the dominance of the status quo from the minds of its victims. It is through questioning, challenging, and engaging the system that we can become fully conscious and liberated.

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