Malek Bennabi’s Definition of Culture: A Conciliatory Attempt to Bridge the Gap Between the Algerian Post-colonial Elite and the State

Defining culture is an issue at stake in most post-colonial societies. This is due to the delicate moment of regaining national sovereignty, where both individuals and society, on the one hand, and the State, on the other, express the need to start the independence era on safe grounds. One of the contentious issues is national culture and what definition thereof could enjoy unanimous agreement. It is assumed that this controversy stems from the diverse ideological leanings characterizing both the ruling power and the post-colonial intellectual elite. Such that the State delivers what seems to be a static, ideologically colorless definition of culture whereas the post-colonial elite‟s one suggests a kind of definition that is partially shot through with Western precepts. If the former‟s definition lacks clarity, the former marks signs of displacement with regard to the real cultural reality of Algeria. Malek Bennabi‟s definition seems to enjoy both descriptive and explanatory power in that it links culture to the colonial legacy of underdevelopment and its avatars represented by inefficiency. This linkage renders culture a field where investigation adopts a bottom-up process aimed at unearthing the true characteristics of an endogenous culture: both faithful to reality and projected onto the future because of the safe start, after removing the lethal ideas.