Re: democracy & imperialism

[rahul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rahul Mahajan)]

>Louis: This has been on my mind lately: the question of Nelson Mandela as
>a "sellout". First of all, if were in South Africa and a member of the
>SACP, I would be arguing for a left-wing, class-struggle perspective. I
>would not however look at Mandela as being equal to the typical
>nationalist politicians who have popped up across the African continent
>for the last 35 years or so. We used to have members of the SACP on this
>list and it is too bad that they are no longer here.
>
>It is necessary to look at the Mandela government in a dialectical
>fashion. While it has not produced fundamental changes in property
>relations in South Africa and has even not delivered on the modest
>promises it made before the election, there is still another dimension
>that has to be looked at. The South African army is no longer a
>destabilizing force throughout southern Africa. This means that the
>governments of Angola and Mozambique can begin to focus on development
>rather than warfare.

Yes, I was about to comment that South Africa is different from the other
cases, since there was a genuine mass movement, although a rather
incoherent one. Another thing to point out, however, is not so rosy. It is
clear that no matter who's how much of a sellout, SA is embarking on a
course that will make it beholden to IMF, the World Bank, and international
capital in general. This in itself would be no loss compared to the
previous situation perhaps, but for at least one important factor. Every
step on the inevitable progression of governments which every time may
allow certain freedoms not previously available but also remain beholden to
national and international capital is also a huge step toward increasing
the stability of the regime. The South Africa that is being built will have
much greater legitimacy than the old because it will have a much larger
constituency. Instead of a few percent, maybe 10% of the population will
have a stake in the system. This will cast a much greater web of stability
over the whole populace. We can see the same in every Third World country.
The power of the British government over India was a joke compared to that
of the current government, even though India is now much more free than it
was then. The fair-sized middle class that has great opportunities looming
in front of it combined with the modern armament and fairly well-treated
military force in all of these countries will prove a far stronger
deterrent to revolution than the old elite classes ever were.

Rahul




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