Cde Mduduzi
I wasn't so sure about your meaning of "ideologically grounded" and I avoided discussing it loosely. Who is really certain about their ideology, their worldview and the conclusive interpretation of their standpoint? As people grapple with the constant changes in their social environment and they respond to the dominant ideas of the day, they themselves experience a challenge to their assumed positions and they take different paths from that which is expected of them. Ideology is often associatied with a movement or particular thinkers who champion that idea. Pan Africanism, for instance, is a much wider philosophy and it accommodates African perspectives from a political, religious, economical and cultural angle. Its common thread is to oppose colonialism, racism, ethnic chauvinism and tribalism, imperialism and capitalism as an economic system that concentrates wealth in the hands of a few. It sees Africa as a collective whole including those in the diaspora, and views the neo-colonial patchwork of borders as a western imposition. The common focus point is determined by what is crucial at a particular stage. There are positions which are regarded as conservative or liberal or revolutionary or whatnot. These are the various influences that powerful individuals bring with them to Pan Africanism. They sometimes betray or advance the basic principles of Pan Africanism. In Marxist philosophy however there are two contending ideologies: bourgeois or proletarian, capital or labour. Class struggle is the bulwark to drive revolutionary change and to benefit the majority. The universal laws of social development are utilised to described the formation of a given society and to analyse its economic base and its political infrastructure. In this way the dominant ideas are those of the ruling class because they set the pace and tone for any medium of instruction be it in schools, churches, mass media and tertiary institutions. Those who are not politically conscious imbibe these ideas and take them as their own. The ruling class dominates key sectors such as commerce and trade, the judiciary, the army and security structures, etc. to enforce their ideologies (worldview) on others. The alternative for the people is to have a vanguard revolutionary party that will promote their collective interests. It is also possible to do this through revolutionary intellectuals who consciously elect to serve the interests of the masses. They must have a resonance with the masses, and when the party of the revolutionary thinkers speak the people must say this is us: they are saying what we feel and know. The party and the individuals cannot divorce themselves from the masses and they cannot accommodate tendencies that drifts apart from the masses. I cannot say with certainty that Henry Isaacs was ideologically grounded because he has conducted himself in a questionable manner when it comes to working with the collective in the PAC leadership, and his agenda was to sabotage the collective good of the struggle for his own personal interests. In the collective there are various approaches and the emphasis may not necessarily be of one's liking at a given time, but society is in constant flux and if we endure and persevere we will have our say understood. Jaki Seroke PS. Your analysis of the crisis of rising food prices and the predicament of the political leadership is the SADC region is spot on. These are the issues we should discuss in the PAC branches and in formations such as PAYCO, PASMA, PAWO and even APLAMVA. Subject: [PAYCO] Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 19:25:23 +0200 From: msib...@randwater.co.za To: payco@googlegroups.com Hi Jaki Did you meet Henry Issacks in exile, was he ideologically grounded ? Regards Mduduzi Sibeko msib...@randwater.co.za www.randwater.co.za The information contained in this message and or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any system and destroy any copies. -- Sending your posting to payco@googlegroups.com Unsubscribe by sending an email to payco-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com You can also visit http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.mayihlome.wordpress.com -- Sending your posting to payco@googlegroups.com Unsubscribe by sending an email to payco-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com You can also visit http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.mayihlome.wordpress.com