114. Cos, llengua i revolució / Body, language and revolution

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o reflects on the exploitation of Africa by the West during the last centuries. The author analyzes how the hierarchical imperialist relationship that occurred was a parasitic tie, where a few lived at the cost of impoverishing the Other. Thiong'o extrapolates this utilitarian model to the world as a whole, where it is still in practice. Those in power are interested in the immutability of the status quo and therefore want us to believe that we are living in the best of worlds possible. Their greatest enemy is dissent and they see the desire for change as something to be eradicated. Thiong'o experienced this type of suppression firsthand: he spent a year in prison after publishing a work that went against the established order in his country. That was forty-five years ago and the author reiterates that dreaming and imagining other possible worlds is the seed of change. He makes it clear that we must be non-conformists and escape the incessant attempts to convince us to be content with what we have.

«Wherever we are, we humans can’t be satisfied with just what is. We must dream of what is possible and we must never stop dreaming. Change is often a result of dreaming. Let’s dream of possible worlds.»