Notes on the question of Scientific Socialism and the Black Majority rule in Azania 1. Introduction This is an attempt to link scientific socialism and the call for black majority rule as espoused by SOPA to the black consciousness, most part of these notes are the extracts from the speeches and documents prepared by the President of the Socialist Party of Azania Cde Lybon Mabasa. These notes also attempt to give a historic background of the struggle for the Black Majority rule dating back from the early stages of the Black Consciousness Movement to the formation of the revolutionary party named SOPA. This is done by illustrating some twist and turns in the development of Black Consciousness and the explanation of revolutionary political ideas developed throughout the process of Black Consciousness development. 2. Historic Background The dialectic and historic method of the study of the philosophy of black consciousness movement in Azania clearly demonstrate the difficulties for which the founders of the movement in different twist and turns of the Azanian revolution had to confront as they continue with the struggle for the realization of Black Power. Some of the founder members of black consciousness in the fight to defend and advance the best traditions of black consciousness formed organizations such as AZAPO immediately after the organizations that were under the BC umbrella were banned including two news papers. Through this organization (AZAPO then) projects, programs and campaigns design to overthrow white settler minority regime in Azania and replace it with the rule of the majority were launched. This organization became a very strong political instrument to mobilize, organize and unite black majority against white minority regime in the 1980s till the mid 90s. In the 1990s, the then white settler minority regime put in place a political program designed to interrupt the Azanian Revolution, it freed political prisoners from jail and unbanned political organizations and immediately kick started negotiations for the transference of political office to those who were not white. At the international level, we saw the fall of Berlin wall, the collapse of the USSR and USA becoming a super power. The effect of an interrupting political program by white settler minority to the liberation movement was the elimination and neutralization of radical forces within the liberation movement. From AZAPO Cde Muntu Myeza and many other radicals were killed while at the same period foreign political tendencies that were designed to exclude the membership from political decision were introduced and many comrades like Cde Lybon Mabasa and the entire vanguard in AZAPO were violently and forceful pushed away from the organization they formed and defended against Whites and non whites during internecine violence. After being pushed away from their organization they never surrendered instant realize that the time has come for a revolutionary party to be build hence in 1998 they formed SOPA. Through SOPA they continued to defend and advance the gains made through the hard and long years of struggle against white racist minority regime. They courageously resistant the pressures to submit to the system of oppression and exploitation and become an accomplice in the mortal crime of denying the black majority the right to own their land, wealth and define for themselves, their principles, strategies and methods of struggle. That is why for the founding members of black consciousness that are still fighting have define the struggle for liberation of Azania as first and foremost directed against imperialism which has taken a form of neocolonialism in Azania. They have adopted an anti collaboration principle with the enemy and all its instruments and adopted a spirit of no retreat – no surrender for the fight towards black majority rule in Azania. 3.Scientific Socialism and Black Majority rule Scientific socialism as espoused by SOPA is nothing else but a call to rule by the black majority and the application of the black workers revolution to own and control all the wealth and economy. It is a clear scientific and historic expression of the collective struggle of the black majority in Azania and their levels of consciousness with regard to their historic mission as the colonized nation, oppressed people and exploited class. If we use scientific socialism as the science to advance the struggle for working class democracy we will then view the struggle in Azania not only as against the oppressing race but also against the class that represents the imperialist interest and that is the comprador bourgeoisie class in Azania. The application of Scientific Socialism in the context of Azania is expressed through the call for Black majority rule in Azania. Scientific socialism is a method and a tool of the struggles by the black majority for the Republic that is shaped by their interests and aspirations. It is a strategy that seeks to provide the black majority with political instruments, social programs and economic base to establish a republic fashion by their quest for true humanity. A call for black majority rule warmly responds to the needs of the oppressed, exploited and degraded majority. It is a call by blacks to liberate themselves from grinding exploitation and oppressive capitalist system based on the private ownership of the means of production and redistribution and thereby attain a real democracy, where the interests and aspirations of the majority play a dominant role. This call is in line with the slogan for black power that black consciousness has been calling for since it became a powerful political force in South Africa in the 1970s. A call for black power was also a response to the laws that were put in place by the white settler minority regime in order to prevent the development of revolutionary organizations in Azania in particular parties with Marxist line of thought and to defend their ill gotten white privileges as there was terrorism act, the suppression of communism act and job reservation act. It was in fact through laws such as terrorism act and suppression of communism act that many of the leaders and cadres of the liberation movement were incarcerated in the apartheid prisons. So, Comrades if we grasp the essence of these apartheid laws we will also know that it will never be correct for anyone to claim that scientific socialism is betrayal of the philosophy of black consciousness. History of black consciousness needs to be dialectical studied in context at which it came into existence. 3.1 Colonialism, white supremacy and the inferiority complex Colonialism was not only a system to advance the interest of the white colonizing race but also to defend and advance the interest of the ruling capitalist class and imperialist masters. Therefore the struggle in Azania the land of the black majority has also been against white capitalist superiority complex and the inferiorization of the black majority. This white capitalist superiority complex has been expressed through the deferent forms of aid given to the blacks by the so called good liberal idiots thereby discouraging the blacks from using their revolutionary creativity and relying on their own efforts to push forward their quest for true humanity. It created a sense of dependence by some sections of the liberation movement to the imperialist donors and their institutions for financial aid and other forms of aid hence the low levels of revolutionary morals and insecurity from those forces that took the money from colonizing race that have an intense hatred for blacks, one can hear the collision of these cowards in government, the executive arm of big business as they speak about attracting foreign investment while at the same time are mercilessly attacking the majority of the poor, unemployed and landlessness who are in the main are black. 3.2 Black Majority rule and the African question Because of the backwardness of the economic development and the colonial domination, most of the African Countries did not get an opportunity to build unified nations in the process of building the capitalist system instant African continent has been thrown into the period of decay of imperialism without any progressive development of capitalism itself. And that reason make the national question, which is a very complex issue for the world, certainly more difficult in Africa. Most of the borders are artificial borders which have been settled by the circle of the colonial powers, and because of backwardness of the economic development, most of the countries in Africa, remained, even under the colonial rule, remained divided into a lot of tribes and ethnic groups and so on. Nevertheless, all the liberation struggles in Africa in the past century, all of the struggles had a content of national liberation and tried to find answers to this question of building a nation. 3.2 Steve Biko and the Revolutionary Party One of the most important assertions expressed by the founding President of the Socialist Party of Azania Cde Lybon Mabasa is that, in Azania in trying to get answers in the process of building the nation was the understanding that at the period of the decay of capitalist system, even the most modest democratic national task cannot be achieved without building a working class independent organization this line of thought is in line with the thinking of the founding father of Black Consciousness Steve Bantu Biko, he advocated for the vanguard party that will help to develop the revolutionary consciousness and link national struggle to international struggle. This understanding by the founding father of Black Consciousness and the President of Socialist Party of Azania expresses their application of Marxist method in analyzing colonized countries such as the African countries in the era of decayed capitalism, which did not undergo a capitalist growth process and how the national and democratic task remains of crucial importance. In the current situation national slogans remain crucial for national goals, but to achieve these national goals, needs the building of independent working class organization, which is the prerequisite and condition to build a national anti imperialist united front. 3.3 Socialist Party of Azania and the Black Majority Rule The Socialist Party of Azania has been consistently calling for the black majority rule in Azania. According to SOPA the issue of the black republic and the black majority rule, even the unity of Black people have been undermined in a way which is extremely difficult to comprehend today and even for the future. SOPA see a completely subordinated nation which is not ruled according to the interest and aspiration of its people but subordinated to the interest of institutions of international finance capital such as IMF, World Bank, World trade organization and host of such organizations. Even the slogan One Azania – One Nation which Black Consciousness consistently raised do not seem, in the context of Azania now to make any sense because that is not what actually on the ANC government agenda now. On raising the issue of Black Majority Rule and Black Republic, SOPA received a lot of flak from those who accused SOPA of living in a dream world that did not realize that a rainbow nation had been created. Time and again it has been asked why SOPA was raising the issue of Black Republic and Black Majority rule. SOPA explained that though the government was dominated by people who were not white, white minority interest were firmly and ruthlessly protected at the expense of the black majority and that ruling party and its cohorts were responsible for creating both political and economic subordination and that the issue of Black majority rule and the black republic was about a complete break with subordination, raising such an issue was calling for a scientific socialism and total and a complete break with imperialism. Therefore, attacks from the ANC, those who are not white and white right wing parties could only be understood in such context. 4. Conclusion To apply scientific socialism in the context of Azania, is to raise the slogan of the black majority rule, it is a crucial slogan for an independent working class organization fighting for the black republic in Azania. At the present moment there is no majority rule in Azania. What we have is the continuation of the domination of a very tiny white minority which concentrate in its hands all the wealth and productive resources using some black faces as a tool to maintain its domination. The white settler minority continues with all the process of domination of black majority which existed under the apartheid regime except of course the formal though not secondary, democratic equality for blacks. But the situation and the day to day living conditions for black majority of Azania are not only stagnant but deteriorate every day. The apartheid regime was brought down by the uprising, resistance and revolts of the black masses in Azania. It was the result of the revolutionary upsurge of the black majority in Azania that today there is “One man- One vote” in Azania. But the Azanian revolution has been interrupted or at least almost hijacked. In the process of bringing down white settler minority regime and building of Black Consciousness, the slogan “One Azania – One Nation” has always been raised which means that building a unified Black nation in Azania was the task on the agenda. This task is still on the agenda today, more than ever before because the maintained domination of imperialism through ANC regime not only is contradiction with building one nation, but more than that, using division between regions, ethnic origins, tribal origins and so on it opened the process of dislocation of national unity which means black majority unity. That is why today, the slogan of One Azania – One Nation which can only be achieved through the slogan of Black Workers Republic is crucial. Black Workers Republic in Azania is a transitional demand which opens a way for further demands including change in property relations, public ownership of the means of production and so on. Raising the demand for a Black Republic needs the independence of the working class, it leads to the issue of what kind of party and what kind of trade union activity. Prepared by: Socialist Azanian Youth Revolutionary Organisation
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 21:31:38 +0000
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