They are often state rentiers.. In Morocco the task of the conservatives is more difficult due to the fact that a rather large working class exists there, concentrated and organized, while power is held by a leadership, the prestige of which does not derive from any participation in the struggle for independence. This magazine, the African Communist, has been started by a group of Marxist-Leninists in Africa, to defend and spread the inspiring and liberating ideas of Communism in our great Continent, and to apply the brilliant scientific method of Marxism to the solution of its problems. The revolt in 1960 was a preliminary grave sign of the tendencies undermining the kingdoms system. 2 The African Revolution. The Information Revolution. In industry and transport there is a rather large sector composed of completely government-held companies and mixed companies (the former being run generally with substantial liabilities). Shadi Hamid takes an in-depth look at recent revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa, offering insight into why populations in the region finally rose up against autocratic regimes, as . The bombing of the Kedeseen Church in Alexandria on January 1, 2011. The centrifugal tendencies would quickly reappear, the struggle would be resumed and the only result would be a grave division and confusion in the nationalist movement. A certain limited development, quite artificial in nature, has affected only very thin layers in the towns. Archives Groups/South African History Archives Collections: Individual Entries, Indianness Reconfigured, 1944-1960: The Natal Indian Congress in South Africa, Absence of Some Former MK Cadres from Walmanstal, ANC-MK Statement on the 32nd Anniversary Celebrations of MK, ANC's just war - Human Rights Watch letter, Armed Struggle and Umkhonto - Forward into the 1970s and '80s, Wishing Us Away: Challenges facing ex-combatantsin the 'new' South Africa by, Community Expectations, Perceptions and theStigmatisation of Ex-combatants, Revenge Violence, Former Enemies and Reconciliation, Discussion Article - The Revolutionary Army, Executions (specifically Angola Camp Mutiny). Despite its sudden and unexpected character, the coup detat of June 19 was the culmination of a situation which had already seriously deteriorated and in which different and even opposed forces were looking for a way out of the blind alley. An important role-relatively new in relation to the period before independence-is being played by the bureaucratic layer in control of the state whose social privileges are based on this control. Problems are posed belonging to communal tribal societies, the struggle against colonialism, traditional racism and the new forms of neocolonialist exploitation at one and the same time as problems flowing from the formation of special social layers and the more general problems of transitional phases. It was greeted not only by the Egyptian bourgeoisie, but still more so by the Syrian bourgeoisie who considered it the only healthy course at a particularly critical conjuncture. The MPLA (Peoples Movement of Angolan Liberation) succeeded during 1964 in establishing a base in the enclave of Cabinda where contingents of the FLNA were already in existence. CONTROVERSIES MET THE REVOLUTION. But, among other things, owing to the reduction of land rents, the class of landowners was hard hit both economically and politically and could no longer regain its position. We're all African. It is necessary to take into consideration finally that even if the few existing foreign activities be left out of account, Mali, as a backward country which must face the advanced countries on the world market, suffers indirect exploitation by international capital. (b) To give priority to the sector of self-management in the noncapitalist sector that already exists or that must yet be set up. Mali gained independence following a gradual process, but through the action of a centralized and militant political party having a rather advanced ideology. Investments of the neocolonialist type, besides extracting surplus value from the indigenous workers, are incapable of bringing about an economic takeoff because of their limits, their unilateral character, the drainage of resources which they involve. Thus, not only was a second agrarian reform undertaken, but at the same time the state established its control over 80 per cent of the means of production; i.e., over all of heavy industry, the big banks and wholesale trade. At the same time Algeria remained integrated in the zone of the French franc and a very high proportion of its foreign trade was with France. In 1963 they even went so far as to denationalize the diamond mines. At the same time all this demonstrates that a major role could be played by the economically advanced workers states if they were to grant disinterested aid on a very big scale. It signifies an inevitable further consolidation of the bureaucratic layers on different levels of the economic and political apparatus, with the tendency to transform them into a genuine bureaucratic bourgeoisie. In fact, as the events at the end of 1964 and beginning of 1965 showed, the country is undergoing a profound crisis. The heart of the struggle against colonialism has shifted from Asia and the Middle East to Africa. For a whole series of reasons, both geographic and economic, it is most likely that Angola will prove to be the place where the Portuguese will decide to hang on to the end. The OAU has zigzagged; the neocolonialist states with moderate governments support the legal government; some progressive states of Africa grant the indispensable aid. In 1920 Lenin described the technique thus: 'lt is necessary constantly to explain and expose among the broadest masses of the toilers of all countries, and particularly of the backward countries, the deception systematically by the imperialists in creating, under the guise of politically independent states, states that are wholly dependent upon them economically, financially and militarily. A month later, he was arrested again on arrival at the Entebbe International Airport from the US where he had gone for medical treatment following the torture. If, in a stage of overturn, the relative rise of percentages is more important than the absolute figures, in a static period it is the absolute proportions that represent the decisive criterion. (c) Despite certain progressive positions (with regard, for example, to the need for an agrarian reform), the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) in itself was a socially undifferentiated front with vague political contours. Later a very lucrative investment law was adopted. On the political level this is occasionally concretized in reactionary movements. Africa, so long considered in the white, imperialist West as the most backward of continents, will provide the world with some of the most inspiring examples of mans capacity to leap across entire ages and to make unique contributions to the revolutionary heritage of mankind. The developments in the Congo situation like wise had a negative influence, particularly after Tshombe, who is directly linked with the Portuguese, came to power. Public Domain: Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line 2005. The result of this has been that not only has no step been taken to get out of the existing blind alley but that workers self-management is threatened more than ever. He and a few like-minded activists arranged to heckle President Mwai Kibaki on June 1, 2009 (Madaraka Day) but on the D-Day, he was alone. In this way Marxism-Leninism can be wedded with the practice of the African revolution. Certainly the ideas of classical Greece were very influential among the intellectual subcultures of various succeeding societies, but these were always t. Political pundits in Uganda have argued that no politician has got Museveni this angered before. For a considerable time it succeeded in presenting itself publicly as fundamentally united. (g) A gamut of groups and reactionary forces well disposed toward the coup detat, raised their heads, at times expressing warm support to the new regime and developing a rather explicit restorationist offensive. 1 / 21. used to refer to Greek speculation about the "nature" in the period before Socrates (roughly 600 to 400 BCE). This impliesfrom the social and political anglethat an alliance with the so-called national bourgeoisie in carrying out the indicated objectives cannot possibly work out. In this field, Ben Bellas attempts to flatter the Moslem circles by concessions and to counteract their conservative weight by propagandizing for a so-called socialist interpretation of Moslem texts failed pitifully. INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY. Its left wing is partisan to an authoritarian bureaucratic socialism. The son of the soil, Julius Malema alias Juju is another firebrand politician. Asia wants revolution; Asia needs revolution. Eavesdroppings or the credulous Kriel, The Bisho march and massacre: An assessment, 'Civil society' and democracy: A rejoinder, Chris Hani fighter for the workers & the poor, The role of the SACP in the transition to democracy and socialism, Towards a socialist economy: Observations from abroad by Michael and Idrian Resnick, Finding our feet, without losing our heads, Strategic objectives of the National Liberation Struggle. the demand for African unity and the verification of the revolutionary Marxist concept of a Socialist Federation of African States; or at least, during a transitional period, the perspective of sufficiently large regional units and the need for a single world pooling of raw materials through collective action of the underdeveloped countries. The balance sheet of the years of independence is clear, confirming the easily made forecasts. The theoretical amplifications carried out by our movement on the basis of certain Asian experiences and the Cuban revolution are likewise pertinent in relation to Africa, particularly with regard to the dynamics of the revolutionary process, the fundamental motor forces, the special role of the poor peasants and the nature of the leaderships, which, under the pressure of objectively powerful factors and in conjunction with mass movements, can take a far-reaching anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist course despite their empiricism, their bureaucratic deformation and their non proletarian origin. Scientific revolution in the moral sciences: The controversy between Samuel Pufendorf and the Lutheran theologians in the late seventeenth century (by Scattola, Merio), p251-276. In a word, to use his own expressive phrase, to carry through the African revolution. All this shows in the most decisive way that the development of the African revolution is intimately linked to a whole series of inter-African and international factors. The African revolution as a whole is developing against the background of enormous revolutionary developments on a world scale, the lessons of which have been absorbed in an elemental way by the masses throughout the continent. But they imply recognition of a fundamental tendency. In November 1964 handicraft diamond operations were banned. Sudanese student and anti-government protester Alaa Salah. Nevertheless the problem can be solved in part thanks to the human investment, particularly in light of the existence of a relative abundance of land. Africa today is the scene of conflict among social forces and political tendencies, which, while retaining their marked specific features, are part and parcel of the dynamics of the contemporary world. The old ruling classes maintained a hostile attitude. This meant that far from being a means of transmitting the will of the masses and an instrument for translating a revolutionary orientation into practice, this apparatus constituted a barrier separating the masses from the real exercise of power, a means of paralyzing and rendering null decisions that were correct in the abstract, an arena for the crystallization of conservative and reactionary forces and tendencies. 27, No. The official documents themselves indicate that such tendencies have already become established. The former French colonies are, together with Nigeria, the main links in the neocolonial system of West Africa. In industry little progress was made. But experience, fully confirming Marxist theory, has shown that measures along these lines are not stable unless they are backed by a profound revolutionary mobilization of the masses. In the case of Morocco, it is particularly clear that the sole perspective for real progress is an anti-capitalist struggle for socialist solutions. In June 2018, Malema gained additional notoriety when he was asked whether he was responsible for organising gangs to kill white farmers, and responded "Maybe, maybe not.". To find at each stage the formulas and means best suited to realize this objective. 2.3k. So RAPID ANDSOFUNDAMENTAL are the changes that are sweeping over the continent of Africa and its peoples that it is perfectly proper to describe them as revolutionary. Up to the present the national liberation struggle in Africa has been by and large inspired and led by the bourgeoisie. He has since never stopped. When independence came, Mali was an extremely backward country, with an almost completely agricultural and subsistence economy (around 80 per cent). However, up to now cooperation has been limited to the buying of machines, fertilizers, and to the financing and sale of products. In November 2011, he was found guilty of sowing divisions within the ANC and in conjunction with his two-year suspended sentence in May 2010 was suspended from the party for five years. (f) Despite the official declarations to the contrary after some weeks of relative tolerance (except, to be sure, for the arbitrary treatment accorded Ben Bella and some of his closest associates), the new government adopted repressive measures striking particularly at left elements, Trotskyist militants and militants of the former Algerian Communist Party, including the use of torture. Its relative strength in negotiations is derived less from its intrinsic influence than from the support granted it by the wing of the Communist movement adhering to the Soviet bureaucracy. $20.00. The precarious position of the trade unions caused them to be completely passive at the time of the coup; since then they have supported the regime but without any enthusiasm. In Iran in 1979, a popular revolution was an excuse for a power-hungry mullah to wrest authoritarian control from the Shah. Scientists also developed the scientific method . This category has the following 32 subcategories, out of 32 total. You can specify conditions of storing and accessing cookies in your browser, A good name is better than sweet perfume?, mga antas ng kapangyarihan ng simbahang katoliko. A highly progressive element, one capable of playing an even bigger role in the future, is the dynamism displayed by considerable sectors of the urban masses, those most integrated in the modern economic web (e.g., the Lagos dockers strike, the June 1964 general strike, etc.). Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111 The experience of Zanzibar is most enlightening in this respect, even though it occurred only on a small, almost laboratory scale. Laborite tendencies are violently under and strikes are denounced as completely counterrevolutionary. The continent is advancing deeper into a period of big overturns and profound transformations. In such a society, the tasks which it is the lot of the proletariat to carry out in industrial societies are accomplished by a peoples movement that is not specifically proletarian, the vanguard of which is composed of white-collar workers, teachers and manual workers allied with other layers of the population (peasants and artisans). A profound agrarian reform has already been carried out, marked by virtual nationalization of the most important areas of arable land. No doubt particular diplomatic or tactical considerations have come into play most often, taking precedence over an analysis of the actual forces, the relationship of forces and the dynamics of the movement. The movement in this direction is evident and bears many resemblances to the Cuban pattern. An online article by NewAfrican Magazine says, In light of recent events in Zimbabwe and Angola, signs are emerging that the continents tolerance for hand-me-down rulers may be weakening, and Africas strong men are no longer able to keep it within the family.. On the one hand this is tied in with the transformations of the contemporary world, with the rise of the revolution in other areas of the globe, and with the development of the workers states. It must nevertheless be added that the international forces interested in counteracting the negative evolution of the Congothe progressive African states and the workers stateseven if one leaves aside the criminal responsibility of the Soviet bureaucracy in facilitating the intervention of the UN in July 1960, could not or did not want to contribute in a decisive way to lancing the Congolese abscess, even if they have granted the insurgents considerable aid since then. Some of the militants and nuclei have already reached this conclusion, utilizing the criteria of Marxist analysis and adopting socialist conceptions. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest developments and special [1] Alfred Cobban calls the debate that erupted "perhaps the last real discussion of the fundamentals of politics" in Britain. The same system has been adopted for the banks (Peoples Development Bank, Malian Bank of Credits and Deposits). The experience with collective fields remains limited, however, since on the one hand it is not general and on the other only a quite modest part of the labor of the peasants is devoted to this sector. In any case what is most important is that no major victory can be gained without mobilizing the masses, without big struggles, including armed struggles in particular, and without substantial material aid from the progressive African states and the workers states. So far as the expansion of production is concerned, this has not yet yielded substantial results. But the situation was complicated by the fusion of Zanzibar and Tanganyika which, at least at this stage, had the aim and in part the result of putting a brake on the Zanzibar movement.). We will limit ourselves to referring to a few of the more significant cases in the various zones. The central government rests in the hands of the man most detested by This constitutes the basis of a genuine bureaucratic bourgeoisie. The line of a leadership or a few leaders cannot be a decisive criterion, all the less so in the case of insinuations or suspicions about this or that person. At the same time the governing group around Nkrumah tightened its control more and more, suppressing opposition of any kind, severely disciplining the trade unions, reducing elections to a pure formality and imposing a frenetic cult of the head of the state. This piece appeared as Dunayevskaya's regular column, "Two Worlds."; Transcribed: by Kevin Michaels. 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