Re: [Marxism] Zimbabwe- the Ruthless Privatisation of All that Exists

[Walter Lippmann <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It would be unwise to assume that there would be no major change
between the Mugabe government and the MDC. It would, after all, 
be the one preferred by Washington and London. To say a plague on
both your houses, but perhaps a bit less of a plague on the MDC
it missing something and taking sides. Unless someone is going
to broker a deal like the one in Kenya, where the opposition got
to put its snout in the trough and to get its share of graft as
well, it seems quite possible that the MDC would quite well try a
big house cleaning in Zimbabwe. To suggest that the MDC would be
wanting to move Zimbabwe toward South Africa raises the question:

So why is Thabo Mbeki dragging his feet about such a project?
On the other hand, why are the South African Communist Party and 
COSATU leadership so enthusiastic about bring the MDC into power
in Zimbabwe, as their actions and statements seem to suggest? 
For people in a coalition government, they are acting in quite a
peculiar way. The South African CP has even started to call for
Mbeki to be recalled from the presidency now.

Though I am not in or from South Africa, one thing would seriously
concern any responsible leader in South Africa, or should. And it
would certainly be worth thinking about: Were there to be a civil
war in Zimbabwe, the number of refugees streaming to South Africa
or other neighboring countries would dramatically increase. South
Africa hasn't been exactly putting out the red carpet for people
from Zimbabwe, as we've seen this spring. Were there a civil war
in Zimbabwe, South Africa's situation would be significantly worse.
It's something to think about, it would certainly seem to me.

As for suggestions for the Zimbabwean opposition, all I can really
suggest is not getting into bed with strangers, or taking money 
from the British and the United States governments. Beyond that it
really isn't my place to suggest strategies and tactics from afar to
solve the political problems plaguing Zimbabwe today. Though others
seem to have no difficulty solving all of Zimbabwe's many problems,
it doesn't seem to me that I'm qualified to do that in any detail.

Personally, I have enough trouble devising strategies and tactics
for changes which ought to be made to MYSELF. Thank goodness I once
decided to give up cigaret smoking and, after many trials and errors
managed to get rid of that habit. Helped by the traditional medicine 
of China, acupuncture to be precise, I was finally able to eliminate
that nasty practice, on June 11, 1983 after but one single treatment
(but who's counting?). Advising the people of Zimbabwe how to deal
with their situation is, frankly, beyond my individual ability now.

As a younger person, I used to delude myself into thinking I had
all of the answers. Today, however, I'm truly certain of on thing:
that I don't even have all of the questions.

That's why I often repeat what psychologist Lonnie Barbach said:
"When seeking fault, better to use a mirror, than a telescope."


Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California
===================================================================
RUTHLESS asked:
What would you recommend that their (MDC) strategy be? Guerrilla
warfare against Mugabe? Civil war? How will they organize against
Mugabe, given the repression there? Where would they get the arms? 
Or the money to buy them?

===================================================================
LOUIS PROYECT writes:
Yes, it does appear that the MDC wants to move Zimbabwe in the same 
direction as South Africa. As I have said from the beginning, there 
is not much to choose from between the MDC and ZANU-PF programs. One 
is neo-liberalizing and the other is a kind of patriarchal patronage 
system that gives "anti-imperialism" a bad name. There might be some 
tactical advantages in pushing for an MDC electoral victory in that 
it would probably put an end to the broken teeth debating style that 
comrade Mugabe has perfected. Economically, there's not much to 
choose from. With Mugabe, you get his cronies running the big, export 
farms so that the British middle class can continue to get pet food 
on the cheap. With the MDC, you get white power in the countryside 
but freedom for the unions to organize. Of course, with propagandists 
like Stephen Gowans on the loose, you'd get the impression that 
Mugabe is the second coming of Mao Zedong.

=========================================
     WALTER LIPPMANN
     Los Angeles, California
     Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
     "Cuba - Un ParaÃso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

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