So people have to get off their backsides and start doing it for themselves?
But the status quo is set up to be self-sustaining, and therefore organised against such self-motivation. Bogus authority and all that, such as the BBC or SABC. So how do you overcome or break through that barrier? James 2009/7/31 Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]>: > What could the revolutionary tasks be? > > Fine to ask that question if you accept the premise which is that without > qualitatively new tasks, agency is impossible, and descent into Economism is > practically inevitable. > > Therefore new tasks, new wants and needs, are a necessity. New needs are a > necessity. I hope you see what I mean. It's Marxism, anyway. > > Compare what you say about the terrible effects of unemployment and the > desirability of full employment, with Karl Marx in 1865 already calling for > the abolition of the wages system! > > Obviously there is a contradiction there. > > The street committees would be significant if we could see any > actually-existing street committees. So far I have not even heard of any. > > The best candidate that I can offer for a new revolutionary task is to > subvert the communication system. In the 1960s there was an "underground" > which turned out not to be one. Or maybe it was an underground but gradually > got co-opted. > > The best thing about it was the idea, which one can still appreciate, of > communications without restriction. This is the opposite of the concept of > the "public broadcaster" that is being argued over like a bone at the moment > in South Africa. I would like to see that argument about the "public > broadcaster" rendered obsolete and redundant by people acting directly. The > attraction of the broadcast media is only that it can be centralised and > uniformed. Compare the full output of DSTV for a week with one single issue > of the old "International Times" and ask: Which one contains more > imagination? Of course one scruffy edition of International Times (at two > and sixpence or whatever it was) is worth the whole 57 channels of DSTV at > R500 per month. This is a situation that is ripe for subversion in my > opinion. > > There is an article about poetry today in one of the papers. It has a photo > of Willie Kgositsile and poet Rampolokeng. These two geezers have been > bottleneckng the poetry franchise for at least 15 years. How the hell does > that happen? They are not that great. They are just copping the grants and > doing the photoshoots. See, they say, South Africa has poets! After so many > years, where are the other poets? These two are blighters, not poets. > > New wants and needs are by definition cultural, of course. > > See where I'm going with this? > > Dom\za, > > VC. > > > > > James Tweedie wrote: > > What could these new revolutionary tasks be? > > It strikes me that unemployment and informal employment are major > causes of poverty in South Africa, along with generally low wages. I > would guess that this stems from colonial underdevelopment, in some > regions more than others. Am I wrong? > > Unemployment doesn't just impoverish you financially, it degrades you > in other ways, for instance driving people into criminality. > > Can the state do anything towards creating a condition of full > employment, at decent rates of pay? Can true socialised industries be > created within capitalism, or, as has been argued here, would 'state > capitalism' be a step forward? > > What is happening about the creation of street committees? Are they > developing any of the character of soviets? Similar structures > (communal councils) are being developed in Venezuela, but we get > precious little information about them. I'm afraid that they may not > be developing at all. > > James > > 2009/7/31 Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]>: > > > That's very clear and it's relevant. > > NHI and free education are reforms worth having, even if a lot of the work > is sub-contracted. Let's make sure to score both in the term of this > government. > > I don't think such reforms amount to Economism, though. > > What I was personally after in this discussion was to make the point that > the current apparent "wave of militancy", though it could "build class > consciousness and organisation", as you say, may actually not do so. > > The reason I think it may not do so is that the degree of class > consciousness is at some sort of peak, already. It needs an injection of > something extra. The working class needs new revolutionary tasks. > > The major industrial divisions are well organised and are well capable of > uniting behind a wage claim. That we can see. > > At 2 million organised in COSATU-affiliated unions, in a country of nearly > 50 million, there is a prima facie case for quantitative growth. That's > possible. But that was not my concern. I am concerned to see how the class > is going to be "seized" with new qualitative tasks. > > No doubt the COSATU and SACP Congresses, in September and December > respectively, will try to do this. Both should be given maximum critical > attention from this point of view. > > If the working class cannot be motivated towards new, revolutionary goals > then it will tend to fall back towards pure Economism, resting on its > laurels, and it will threaten to develop political organs to suit. > > Domza! > > VC! > > > James Tweedie wrote: > > I think it may have already been said in this discussion that > economist trade union activity can build class conciousness and > organisation - if it is successful. If it fails, for instance the > trade union leads everyone out on a strike which they lose - then it > has the opposite effect. > > I personally have had good and bad experiences of trade unions (and > not due to 'bureaucracy'), so I don't hold them up as the Holy Grail > of struggle. > > Where I'm from in Britain we have state-funded free universal > healthcare (the National Health Service) and compulsory free universal > education from age 5 to 16, with voluntary free education to 18 or 19 > (in preparation for university). I am a great believer in the > principles behind both, I worked in the NHS for years. There are, > however, a great many problems in how they are run, stemming from > government policy. > > Recently attempts have been made to privatise these services > piecemeal. What this actually amounts to is sub-contracting public > service work to private companies, who have the guarantee that the > taxpayer will keep them in profit. It is just charity to businessmen, > not true privatisation. > > Some people say that these services are evidence of a past 'socialism' > in Britain under previous Labour Party governments. But of course > Britain has never been socialist. These services were founded partly > because the Labour movement fought for them, but, like the post office > or the privatisation of the railways and coal mines following the > Second World War, because they were necessary to the capitalist > economy but could not be run at a profit. In other words, the social > democracy that the British trade unions have been fighting for since > at least 1907 is just another variation of the capitalist state. > > How much do South African capitalists need a well-educated workforce? > How much investment do they put into training their employees that > they cannot afford to lose a large number of them to illness? Are not > the majority of people employed in low-skilled, low-paid jobs, with an > army of unemployed waiting to take their places if they fall ill? > > James > > 2009/7/31 Thabang Ngcozela <[email protected]>: > > > to end > and a revolutionary organisation > > > > Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:05:36 +0200 > Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Re: Anti-poverty protests in SA ? > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > CC: [email protected]; [email protected] > > > There is no foreign hand behind the protests. South Africa along with > Brazil and Botswana is one of the most unequal societies in the world. > The majority of the people are working class, poor and black and they > are tired of the neo-liberal economic mess the country is in because > they are the ones expected to accept poverty, degradation and > exploitation while the new non-racial ruling class continues to live > the high life. Neo liberal capitalism is unable to resolve the > pressing questions facing South Africa, be it poverty, unemployment, > disease, housing etc. What South Africa lacks is good working class > leadership. > > On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 10:52 AM, Loselo Segwe<[email protected]> wrote: > > > Cdes > > My firm believe and informed by my exposure on the ground is that we are > now > or have entered a terrain of class struggle which was preceded by > National > liberation struggle. Untipoverty campaigns are signs of uneasiness from > the > people. This being motivated by the fact that whilst people are told to > wait > for service delivery and job creation - which is supposed to empower and > liberate people from poverty and incomeless conditions, they are at the > same > time almost watching helplessly whilst others are getting more richer > and > enjoying opulance life styles just across the street or even worse next > door. > Without sounding judgemental, our local sphere of government is also > letting > all of us down. Affirmative Action to me meant empowering our own people > with the neccessary skills, education and exposure over a period of time > in > other for us to better serve our people, affirm them and support them to > realise their life aspirations. Now what is happening some > municipalities is > just taking affirmative action beyond its worth. Cadres with no > education, > skills and training and in most instances with no support, are deployed > in > councils - sometime to serve certain cabals or to block others more > suitable > for the position (who might not neccessarily agree with us). > > Our revolution is under siege as from municipality to municipality we > hear > of strikes, demonstrations and picketing. These are signs that the route > taken is not sustainable, we need a total review and instill certain > revolutionary morals and ethics in order to move forward. The Cuban > revolution has been sustained by a high level of discipline, morality > and > good revolutionary ethics. > > Just the other day I happen to chat to one of the Cuban Doctors deployed > in > our country, what struck me was his clear understanding of why he was in > South Africa, why for instance he chose his career, why Cuban government > took policy decisions it took and why he must do his best to serve and > serve > with honour. > > So lets all work towards instilling a sense of pride, dignity and honour > in > those deployed to serve. Lets eradicate the greed that is now > characterising > some of our deployed cadres, the self-serving attitudes, the arrogance > and > laziness as well as entitlement attitudes. > > Lets do it for our movement cdes!!!! > > On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 5:29 PM, Sikhumbuzo Thomo > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > RC > > Well what l can say is that we are have a series of class struggles > during > this bargaining period nothing out of the ordinary. > > Comrade ST > > On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 5:31 PM, Rajesh Roy <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Hello comrades, i live in India, we hear about the so-called > antipoverty > protests going on now in SA.. is there a foreign hand behind these > protests? > it seems like there is some well-planned conspiracy behind these > protests.. > > Rajesh Cherian. > > ________________________________ > Yahoo! recommends that you upgrade to the new and safer Internet > Explorer > 8 > > > > > > -- > Loselo Segwe > > Mobile: +27766383723 > > > > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. 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