ANC MEMBERS ARE COMMUNIST On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 2:56 PM, Mzilikazi <[email protected]> wrote:
> Are you a nationalist or a communist? > MANDY ROSSOUW AND MMANALEDI MATABOGE: COMMENT | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH > AFRICA - Dec 18 2009 08:37 > > That’s what ANC members will need to decide before the 2012 national > conference, the battle lines of which are being drawn with much public > kicking and screaming. > > Supporting Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula for the post of party > secretary general will show you’re a nationalist. A vote for the > present incumbent, Gwede Mantashe, will mean you’re a communist. > > Or will it? In the debates now raging within the alliance, ideologies > don’t really feature. This is a game about playing the man — the ball > is practically off the pitch. > > Nowhere in the world is the line between communists and nationalists > fading faster than it is in the latest skirmish between the ANC and > the South African Communist Party (SACP). > > Mantashe is the chairperson of the SACP but at the same time the > darling of the business world. So to call him simply “red” would be a > mistake. > > ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, who serves as Mbalula’s proxy, > supposedly fights under the nationalist banner, saying President Jacob > Zuma must not “surrender” to communists. But Malema introduced the > debate on the mines, which he believes should be nationalised. So has > Malema become a communist? > > Enter what Malema likes to call “the yellow communist” — cowardly > fakes or the 21st-century version of champagne socialists. These > communists say they feel the plight of the people, but they do it > while living in mansions in upper-class suburbs with, to paraphrase an > old struggle song, “garden boys and kitchen girls” all round. > > Malema’s favourite “yellow communist” right now is SACP general > secretary Blade Nzimande. True, he’s no stranger to the good life and > things only got better with the acquisition of a new R1.2-million BMW. > > In turn, Nzimande’s favourite “African chauvinist” nationalist is > Malema. > > As for who is the pot and who is the kettle, both share a taste for > the finer things in life, including their 4x4s — Nzimande loved his > black Jeep Cherokee before he became higher education minister; Malema > adores his grape-coloured Range Rover. Both have chauffeurs. Perhaps > they would argue that they need their SUVs when visiting the rural > masses who elected them in the hopes of a better life. > > ANC stalwarts say the “real ANC” operates within a nationalist > framework — nationalism implying a common identity and entrenching > ideas about “us” (the people) and “them”. In theory the ANC leans > towards the left in its belief in nonracialism and popular sovereignty > — meaning the party believes it can derive legitimacy only from its > popular support. > > Yet, in effect, the nationalists find the leftwingers a nuisance, > believing the communists are using the ANC as their ticket to the > spoils of liberation. > Maybe SACP deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin has the answer. He > claims Malema displays communist tendencies to feed the greedy black > bourgeoisie. Therefore, Malema is using communist principles to gain > access to the same spoils for himself and his friends. Which is > exactly the same thing the nationalists fear the c ommunists will do. > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to > this address (repeat): [email protected] . > -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
