Good analysis, Mr. Tweedie. I am however not fully convinced that Communism will bring to an end racism, nor that Communism and democracy necessarily go hand in hand.
It is indeed true that democracy is part of the market ideology (liberalism) that ensures skewed distribution of material wealth and political power. A distinct feature of the capitalism system is the close co-relation and symbiotic relationship between political power and economic power, i.e. those having economic power in more cases than not also hold, or influence significantly, political power. This is the case in South Africa, as it is in many other African and other countries. So in my view, Communism and democracy are antithetical to each other. Unless we are talking about a new form of democracy that demolishes the close linkage between economic and political power, then Communism and democracy are two different things that can never go hand in hand. Indeed, the former Soviet Union, a Socialist/Communist state, was very authoritarian, and democracy as we know it could not work. Same story with China. Communism by its very nature takes away some freedoms and rights that democracy can (legitimately, I dare say) boast of, such as the right to private property. Unless, of course, we want to introduce a new form of Communism. With regard to racism, the unfortunate history of this country has ensured that material wealth is heavily skewed towards whites. A further unfortunate twist has led to a new class of wealthy blacks who aspire to attain the same material status as their former white oppressors while leaving the same exploitative and racist economic system intact. So the real challenge for Communism, which you have addressed well Mr. Tweedie, is to dismantle this racist economic system. How to do this? I see nothing short of a revolution that will affect all races. This is the reality. It is almost an insurmountable task bearing in mind that the new class of wealthy blacks are looked upon by the majority of poor blacks who hope that the system will change. And they vote for them. But how can someone who benefits from the system turn around and change it? Capitalism knows no racial boundaries. Where there is money to make, white and black close their eyes and do business. And the system remains intact. But at the same time racism remains latent, hidden, as black and white stilll loathe one another behind the smiles and handshakes after business deals. So I am interested, Mr. Tweedie, how will the Communist movement tackle this problem? Thanks. ________________________________ From: Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, May 26, 2010 7:11:43 AM Subject: Re: [YCLSA Discussion] racism Yes, the logical conclusion of theories of racism is that we are all racists, therefore all diseased and needing a cure - a psychological cure. This is a big problem, in my opinion, because in that case, politics happens in the head - the individual head. Politics becomes psychology and psychology comes to resemble religion, so that racism is supposed to be curable by punishment, deprivation, penitence and absolution. But in fact politics is not like that, unless it is liberal politics where the objective material world is removed from consideration and left to the "market". Our communist politics is "materialist", because it combines the subject and the object, and shows these two to be a dialectical unity and struggle of opposites. The treatment of the class struggle as a retreat and a safe haven from racism, leaving racism isolated intact and separate, as you do here comrade, if I am not mistaken, is yet another species of liberalism. Class struggle then becomes a kind of secular religion, and it cannot succeed like that, in my opinion. The National Democratic Revolution can succeed by democratising life from border to border and at every level from the bottom up. This is the struggle that presents itself to us now. Democratic mass structures, including unions, the ANC, and the ANC Youth League, are under pressure at their weakest point, which is at the basic unit of democracy, where the communist cadres are spread most thinly. In the ANCYL, branches have been subverted and corrupted for the sake of delegate-warfare for positions at congresses. Democracy is in that case no longer a dialogue, but threatens to be converted into its opposite: exclusion. In this atmosphere the furious psychological liberalism of racism/anti-racism plays a convenient part. Democracy rests upon the masses. The communist cadres must work everywhere to help democracy to live again as a rational and inclusive discourse. The communists work to create a conscious "vast association of the whole nation" in which "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." The class struggle and the democratic mass organisations that are its expression provide the road out of racism. For example, properly organised people will be able to resist drunken xenophobic mobs, and will not themselves degenerate to such behaviour. But these same mass organisations could be hi-jacked and turned to the opposite purpose, in the absence of the communist cadres. This shows where the YCL mission lies, in my opinion. The YCL exists to develop and to provide cadres to every mass democratic structure, who will resist any attempts that may be made to reverse the democratisation of the country. Asikhulume! VC On 25 May 2010 23:14, Thabang Ngcozela <[email protected]> wrote: we are all racist because of how we are socialised by our fammilies, schoolling, communities, peers, experience etc, thus we need to be anti-racists rather than non racial because in that way we accept the way we were socialised as a factor, but at the same time fight against it in ourselves, communities, work place etc. infact there is only one race, the human race. we have more in common with the working class from all over the world, than we have with black capitalist and all other capitalist from all different cultural groups in SA or anywhere else in the world.this does not suggest that racism in not used here and some where else in the world to discriminate against other cultural groups by other(s). We need to come together as the working class from across cultural lines and unite against capitalism as it stands to benefit the most from the devided working class and not blacks or whites in a generalised sense will benefit. It is ovious if SA goes in a situation of civil war along cultural lines the poor and the working class will suffer the most, as it is ovious that if the working class unites beyond cultural devides both black and white capitalist and all of them will suffer the most. so let us not forget that race it is a factor like xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, trabalism etc that devide us as the working class at an artificial level, but they all can be defeated through working class struggle. We are devided along class lines more than we think we are devided along cultural lines. all the places - parts of South Africa - that the white racists want are beautiful areas, with lots of natural resources and econmically strategically positioned and my quetion is why they don't choose those parts that have no natural resources that they can exploit for their narrow economic gains. why they don't choose the mine dumps that the companies and businesses their fore farthers have made? why they don't choose land that is not agricultural productive, why do they choose land along the coast? if they want to have their own land. it its clear that they are after resources that their forefathers stole from others. why they don't want to share the resources with everyone else? we should unite against racism at all cost its a desease that needs to be outrooted but we can not deal with it completely without defeating capitalism first, as black, coloured, indian, arab, chinesse etc are all in a life mission of maximum extraction of resources and expanding private property, to make profits, accumulate these profits and sustain their rediculously luxirious life style of over cosumption and over production. > > >________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. 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