Thank you Cde Phillip, Questions should be to the group. But I would want to contribute to this topic, anyway. First, about the related concepts of strategy and tactics, and then a little about the ANC Strategy and Tactics, of today.
In the CU entry on Clausewitz<http://domza.blogspot.com/search?q=Clausewitz>, I wrote: "Clausewitz defined strategy and tactics as “the linking together of separate battle engagements into a single whole, for the final object of the war.” To define strategy in this way, as end, and tactics as means, was a profound contribution for which we in South Africa owe a debt to Clausewitz." Strategy is the goal, and tactics are the possible ways to the goal. Strategy is one, but tactics may be many. Tactics are chosen as the best means to attain the strategic goal. Although South Africa has the heritage of Strategy and Tactics<http://domza.blogspot.com/2011/06/strategy-and-tactics.html> documents, since at least the Morogoro Conference of 1969, yet even today, there are people who want to obscure the dialectical relation between strategy and tactics. People like Neil Coleman, the reformist ideologue who drafts documents for Zwelinzima Vavi, constantly talk about "strategies" (plural). But strategy is not supposed to be plural. Strategy is one. Coleman is afraid of committing in principle to a strategy, and also somehow ashamed to admit that tactical choices are just that: matters of judgement. You can see this in practically any of Coleman's documents. It is almost like a signature, which is useful, because Coleman's drafting is not always marked as his own. To sum up: your strategy is your aim. Your tactics are your means to gain that aim. One example would be to say that the NDR is the shortest route to socialism. In that case the aim is socialism, while the NDR is the tactic, chosen from among other possible tactics, because it is believed to be the quickest one. The current ANC Strategy and Tactics elevate the idea of the "National Democratic Society" (NDS), which is taken to mean a state of grace in which there is non-racism, non-sexism, democracy and prosperity, to the level of strategic goal. Communists are bound to have a hard time swallowing the NDS idea, because it is class-blind and because, for that reason, it appears to propose an "end of history" beyond which there is no other horizon. Whereas communists would say that the class struggle is bound to continue, even in an NDS, and beyond it, until, some time after the subordination of the bourgeois class, and the ascendancy of the proletarian class, we arrive at a classless society, communism, and the beginning of a new history. The strategic goal of the communists has always been the classless society, after which there will be no proletariat, and so no need of a party of the proletariat. So that will be the end of the communist party, and of all other class parties. This is enough for me to write on this topic as an initial response to you Cde Phillip. I hope others will want to write about it. VC On 22 September 2013 19:05, <[email protected]> wrote: > Cde VC,I am requesting a background document that outlines the genesis of > the strategy and tactics,of where does it originate and whose concept is!!! > > Please,it will kindly assist one,to understand the originate of our > current strategy and tactics document,and its inception!!!! > > Aluta > Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! > ------------------------------ > *From: * "VC" <[email protected]> > *Sender: * [email protected] > *Date: *Thu, 19 Sep 2013 20:44:09 +0200 > *To: *<[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: * [email protected] > *Subject: *[YCLSA Discussion] COURSE: Anti-Imperialism, War and Peace: > Guerilla Warfare > > *Anti-Imperialism, War and Peace, Part 3a***** > > ** ** > > **** > > ** ** > > *Guerrilla Warfare* > > ** ** > > Just after the first Russian Revolution of January, 1905, Lenin wrote > “Guerrilla Warfare” (attached). Almost immediately in this work, Lenin > plants his experienced revolutionary feet on solid revolutionary ground, > thus:**** > > ** ** > > *“Marxism differs from all primitive forms of socialism by not binding > the movement to any one particular form of struggle. * > > * * > > *“It recognizes the most varied forms of struggle; and it does not > "concoct" them, but only generalizes, organizes, gives conscious expression > to those forms of struggle of the revolutionary classes which arise of > themselves in the course of the movement. * > > * * > > *“Absolutely hostile to all abstract formulas and to all doctrinaire > recipes, Marxism demands an attentive attitude to the mass struggle in > progress, which, as the movement develops, as the class consciousness of > the masses grows, as economic and political crisis become acute, > continually gives rise to new and more varied methods of defence and > attack. * > > * * > > *“Marxism, therefore, positively does not reject any form of struggle. > Under no circumstances does Marxism confine itself to the forms of struggle > possible and in existence at the given moment only, recognizing as it does > that new forms of struggle, unknown to the participants of the given > period, inevitably arise as the given social situation changes. In this > respect Marxism learns, if we may so express it, from mass practice, and > makes no claim whatever to teach the masses forms of struggle invented by > ‘systematisers’ in the seclusion of their studies.”* > > ** ** > > Later in the same work, in which he defends the Latvian comrades who have > taken up some forms of armed struggle, Lenin says:**** > > ** ** > > *“… such an objection would be a purely bourgeois-liberal and not a > Marxist objection, because a Marxist cannot regard Civil War, or guerrilla > warfare, which is one of its forms, as abnormal and demoralizing in > general. * > > * * > > *“A Marxist bases himself on the class struggle, and not social peace. In > certain periods of acute economic and political crisis the class struggle > ripens into a direct Civil War, i.e., into an armed struggle between two > sections of the people. In such periods a Marxist is obliged to take the > stand of Civil War. Any moral condemnation of Civil War would be absolutely > impermissible from the standpoint of Marxism.”***** > > ** ** > > Are you worrying about what form your struggle should take? Read this > document, comrades.**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > **· ***The above is to introduce the original reading-text:* *Guerrilla > Warfare, 1906, > Lenin<https://sites.google.com/site/cu2012courses2/17-anti-imperialism-war-and-peace/17032%2CLenin%2CGuerrillaWarfare%2C1906.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1> > **.*** > > ** ** > > **· ***A PDF file of the reading text is attached* > > * * > > **· ***To download any of the CU courses in PDF files please click > here <https://sites.google.com/site/cu2012courses/>*.** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > > __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus > signature database 8821 (20130919) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. > > http://www.eset.com > > -- > -- > You are subscribed. 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