Dear Comrades; Let us taking the debate on the developmental state forward!
ST ** In the aftermath of the crisis that brought into being Marxism as a theory and guide to action, it is not surprising that Marxism literature is now flourishing yet again. As people seek answers to the enormous questions being thrown up within the heart of advanced capitalism and an understanding of the implications of the emergence of revolutionary governments in the developing world which together with the emerging might of BRICS is leading to fundamental and irreversible change in the relation of political forces in the world scale. Marx, Lenin and even Mao held that the exploitative relations of capitalism were concentrated in the power of the state which represents the interests of the dominant class or classes. In fact Lenin said: “The proletariat needs state power, the centralized organizational force, the organization violence, for the purpose of crushing the resistance of the exploiters and for the purpose of leading the great mass of the population – the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie, and the semi-proletariat – in the work of organizing the social economy. A vital example is the defeat of the 1871 Paris Commune of what happens if the state is not transformed. And when we look even far back we see that even Marx’s analysis of the experience of The Civil War in France’ which concluded that the proletariat could not simply take charge of the old state, but had to dismember its structures else proletarian power would remain merely nominal and vulnerable. As long as the state apparatus remained intact there would persist an unequal power relation between the former rulers and the ruled. This notion of class power concentrated in the state remains a fundamental tenet of the Marxist theory of revolution. A doctrine the African National Congress subscribes to as a guide to action. Although agreement has still to be achieved on the characterization of the developmental state in South Africa, there now appears to be a slight line to exist around the idea that the process of development involves more than just economic growth but includes life-and-death issues such as poverty, personal security, distributive equity, social justice and environmental sustainability. All of which is the core comprehensive values of the strategic outlook of the Freedom Charter and its proponents the ANC led-Alliance are striving to build. Having re-invoked the debate (Comrade Malusi Gigaba) once again the term “Developmental State” has gained increasing currency in the press with too little definition if not confusing. Put simply the developmental State concept is an attempt to bridge the gap between a centrally planned economy and the free market system, without emphasizing an ideological position. As things stand there is no comprehensive developmental strategy (other than the now recent diagnosis from the NPC which by the way does not provide the solutions). That being said South Africa cannot be concretely characterized as a developmental state however it has taken considerable steps in that direction. State Owned Enterprises or the Hollow State? The Hollow State is the metaphor for the increasing use of the third parties to public deliver goods and services and generally act in the name of the state. And more importantly; how can effective institutions be designed in a world of shared power where few organizations have power to accomplish their missions alone? Are we in a perilous situation where the sole responsibility of government now is devolved to policy design and formulation and policy implementation has been decentralized to a network of government agencies and the private sector? Why is it that there is no counter-balance to the fondness for decentralization fuelled by the fear huge national programmes are too bureaucratic to manage efficiently versus the capacity of the present public service to manage a developmental state, while substantially upgrading skills, improving integration and co-ordination of functions (by the NPC) and overcoming institutional turf battles and self-serving attitudes of public servants? The apartheid state for instance was developmental with respect to poor Afrikaners. It was ensured that prices for basic needs such as electricity were kept low; training was provided skills programmes; the growth of co-operatives was further facilitated by subsidizing fertilizers, etc. Yet paradoxically, seems not to the same concern to keep the price of basic needs low! It is within this context of the hollow state we can locate what should be an effective role SOE’s in the developmental state. The role o these institutions, their total assets, or their overall contribution to the economy (some of which are sub-economies in their own right like ESKOM) including downstream and upstream value addition. Instead of focusing on development broadly, these enterprises are driven to enhance dividends and profits. For real development to happen, the SOEs have to work in coordination with government departments and with the developmental agencies like Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). SOE’s can legitimately use protectionist measures as an economic tool. For example, low electricity prices are important to stimulate economic growth. Since Eskom controls electrical prices, supply could be used as leverage to pressure Mittal Steel to keep prices at proper levels for our industries. SOE’s benchmark executive pay against the private sector and profit is the main driver. Such considerations, not development, condition the behavior of managers. Short-term incentives for managers in Transnet mean that maintenance expenditures are neglected. Where do we find a comprehensive picture of SOE development programmes and projects? The SOE’s need to follow a clear economic model that brings in the private sector and gives it direction, as in the case in East Asia. In conclusion, development is not about of goods to the passive citizenry. It is about active involvement. It is about active involvement and growing empowerment. The RDP says; “It’s a people-driven process”. Our central objective is about is about improving the quality of life, through a process of empowerment which gives the poor control over their lives and enhance their ability to mobilize sufficient development resources. This then puts forward preliminary mode on what the democratic and developmental state should do. To ensure that the poor are enabled to mobilize resources in a way that makes development a people-driven process. Institution led, top-down development to present developer-driven development requires a total reversal of the way resources are distributed. In the past resources were in the gift of governments and development agencies; communities were supplicants. Grassroots and local development shall only occur when communities control the funds. After all they are the only sole shareholders of the public funds. This is not easy. There is evidence some here and abroad that actually communities can effectively control funds properly and representative local development forums and use them more efficiently and honestly than development agencies with bloated and overpaid bureaucracies. This kind of development is more than just communities simply agreeing to projects. It means they must take an active part in determining the very nature of the project, designing it and even organizing the construction work. It cannot be that the status quo remains unchallenged where funding only goes to developers and private contractors rather than communities. Sikhumbuzo Thomo – an activist from afar. -- 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] . 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