Du Bois's Dark Princess, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and the Welfare State

Eric STRAND

doi:10.1632/S0030812920000036

Du Bois's Dark Princess, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and the Welfare State

Eric STRAND

Department of English

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

W. E. B. Du Bois’s Dark Princess (1928) has become a paradigmatic text for left internationalism and Afro-Asian solidarity. This essay argues that Du Bois’s “hybrid progressivism” enchants the American welfare state by giving it an intellectual genealogy that emphasizes Eastern political thought. Dark Princess engages with the Arthashastra, an ancient work of political theory that was ostensibly written by the advisor to Chandragupta, who unified India as a subcontinent. This legend stimulated a Du Boisian fantasy of global leadership, one that parallels the contemporary recuperation of the Arthashastra for power politics. However, the Arthashastra’s discussion of social programs and infrastructure also introduces the concept of the welfare state. Interweaving the Arthashastra with black life in Chicago, Du Bois gives the progressive activist Sara Andrews a surprising agency. For our contemporary moment, the most important aspect of Dark Princess is its vision of an antiracist and culturally syncretic New Deal.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	72-87
Number of pages	16
Journal	PMLA
Volume	136
Issue number	1
Early online date	27 Jan 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1632/S0030812920000036
Publication status	Published - Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

In its own modest way, this essay is a transnational effort. I'm extremely grateful to the Hong Kong Research Grants Council for funding. The University of Cape Town provided a grant and teaching relief. Although separated from me by an ocean and a great deal of time, my adviser at the University of California, Irvine, Michael P. Clark, has continued to provide invaluable support. This project began years ago in John Carlos Rowe’s boundarycrossing seminar U.S. Modernisms, at UC Irvine, and I’d like to thank John for helping me to stow away on Du Bois’s ship and undertake an illuminating sea voyage.

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10.1632/S0030812920000036

Cite this

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title = "Du Bois's Dark Princess, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and the Welfare State",

abstract = "W. E. B. Du Bois{\textquoteright}s Dark Princess (1928) has become a paradigmatic text for left internationalism and Afro-Asian solidarity. This essay argues that Du Bois{\textquoteright}s “hybrid progressivism” enchants the American welfare state by giving it an intellectual genealogy that emphasizes Eastern political thought. Dark Princess engages with the Arthashastra, an ancient work of political theory that was ostensibly written by the advisor to Chandragupta, who unified India as a subcontinent. This legend stimulated a Du Boisian fantasy of global leadership, one that parallels the contemporary recuperation of the Arthashastra for power politics. However, the Arthashastra{\textquoteright}s discussion of social programs and infrastructure also introduces the concept of the welfare state. Interweaving the Arthashastra with black life in Chicago, Du Bois gives the progressive activist Sara Andrews a surprising agency. For our contemporary moment, the most important aspect of Dark Princess is its vision of an antiracist and culturally syncretic New Deal. ",

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Du Bois's Dark Princess, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and the Welfare State

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Visions of Progress in African American Literature: The Nation-State, Pan-Africanism, and Social Reform (非裔美國文學中的進步圖景)

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Du Bois's Dark Princess, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and the Welfare State

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

Visions of Progress in African American Literature: The Nation-State, Pan-Africanism, and Social Reform (非裔美國文學中的進步圖景)

Cite this