{"id":950,"date":"2019-03-10T15:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsm.prolerat.org\/?p=950"},"modified":"2019-10-21T00:46:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T23:46:42","slug":"black-consciousness-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/black-consciousness-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Black consciousness in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
November 2000, South Africa<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\nThis article has been reproduced from the African Socialist<\/em> (December 2000),\na journal of the World Socialist Movement.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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What follows is a text submitted by Crifford Marathodi ,\na W.S.M. member in South Africa, with an introduction by Ben Malcom of the\nSocialist Party of Great Britain.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/strong> \n\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This article, focusing on certain  strands of the South African \n\u201cLeft\u201d (identified as belonging to the \u201cBlack Consciousness\u201d tendency \nwhich evolved in parallel with the A.N.C. and its satellites), is a \nhistorical account rather than an analysis or critique. Socialists will \nno doubt form their own conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIt seems evident, though,  that this is the history of movements  that \nexist to take up the running of capitalism and whose goals are, at most,\n a form of state capitalism dressed up in  radical rhetoric. The groups \ndescribed here seem to be classic examples of \u201calternative bourgeoisies\u201d\n aspiring to state power in the name of \u201cthe workers\u201d.  Of  course, the \nmajor players in  the national liberation movement in South Africa have \nalready been  incorporated into the political establishment.  The A.N.C.\n and its friends have made for a  government that the predominantly \n\u201cwhite\u201d bourgeoisie are distinctly unterrified by.  Indeed, some of its \nleading lights have even been absorbed into the lower reaches of the \ncapitalist class itself (e.g. erstwhile trade union \u201cmilitant\u201d cum \nmillionaire, Cyril  Ramaphosa).   But the Left, as always, will \nreproduce some new \u201cextreme\u201d manifestation to offer yet another bogus \nalternative to capitalism (as seems to have happened in the most recent \ncase of S.O.P.A.).  Being representatives of a kind of left wing  \ncapitalism such organisations – like S.O.P.A., A.Z.A.P.O. and others – \ndo not propose to get rid of the market economy and install a classless \nsociety but, on the contrary, take for granted the continued  existence \nof  the state, the market and  wage\nlabour. In short, capitalism. It is interesting that they have \nformulated a\ntheory of \u201cracial capitalism\u201d which takes the spotlight off capitalism \nper\nse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHowever, it would seem that A.Z.A.P.O., S.O.P.A. etc. , have long missed\n the boat.   It strikes me that ( as with the A.N.C., SACP, P.A.C. etc.)\n the \u201cBlack Consciousness\u201d movements were offering the South African \nruling class a way out of the situation they had dug themselves into – \nthat is, a situation where the principal economic power in Africa was \nbeing held back by the historical encumbrance of racial conflict.  Of \ncourse, South Africa has finally embraced \u201cmodernisation\u201d and can now \nforge ahead with a more efficient and \u201cinclusive\u201d exploitation of the \nworking\nclass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA.Z.A.P.O. etc.\u2019s commitment to capitalism is also evident in its \nadvocacy of such unequivocally \u201cstate capitalist\u201d measures  as \nnationalisation of the land.  This is a measure usually used to abolish a\n surviving peasant economy, turn the population into exploitable \nproletarians  and fully establish capitalist  relations of production \n(as happened in Soviet Russia).  Like the Bolsheviks, A.Z.A.P.O. make \nuse of the rhetoric about \u201cworkers struggle\u201d, \u201csocialism\u201d etc.  However,\n South African capitalism has found no need to incorporate these \u201cLeft\u201d \nideas or to draw upon their advocates as an emergency, \u201cradicalising\u201d \nruling elite; the A.N.C. has already done an effective job of marshaling\n African  workers behind the \u201cnational (i.e. capitalists\u2019) interest\u201d, \nwithout much upheaval for the bosses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe history of these national liberation groups is a footnote to  the \nmarch of capitalism in southern Africa. However, the workers struggle \nhas, at least, achieved a significant gain: it has won for the workers \nof South Africa the very tools with which they, as a more homogenised,  \nless racially divided, class can now effectively bring about their own\nemancipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben Malcom<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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\nIn order to understand the history of the Azanian People\u2019s Organisation \n(A.Z.A.P.O.), we need to simultaneously discuss  the history of the \nBlack Consciousness Movement (BCM) and  what they both stand for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe BCM, which was formed in 1967, was the umbrella body of all \norganisations subscribing to the philosophy of black consciousness, \nincluding A.Z.A.P.O..  Some of these were:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
  • South African Students Organisation (S.A.S.O.) which was formed to \ncater only for the aspirations of black students, especially at tertiary\n  level.\n<\/li>
  • Black Community Programme (B.C.P.) which aimed at coordinating black welfare projects.\n<\/li>
  • Black Peoples\u2019s Convention (B.P.C.) which sought initially to \nunite black voluntary associations such as the Association for the \nEducation & Cultural Advancement of African People of\n  S.A. (A.S.S.E.C.A.).  The B.P.C. became a political organisation with \nSteve Biko, its first honorary\n  president.\n<\/li>
  • South African Students Movement (S.A.S.M.) which catered for Interests of high-school\n  pupils.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \nAs black consciousness philosophy was clarified and elaborated numerous \norganisations came into being e.g. the Black Allied Workers Union, the \nSA Black Social Workers Association, the Black Women\u2019s Federation and \nthe SA Black\nTravellers Association.  All these organisations were engaged in \npromoting the cause of black liberation.  By 1977 there were a great \nnumber of institutional carriers of black consciousness.\nA.Z.A.P.O. was launched in 1978 as a vehicle of the black consciousness \nphilosophy, long after the emergence of the BCM.  It articulates what \nthe BCM stands for.  And it argues  that South Africa should be renamed \nAzania –  just as other African countries have undergone a change of \nname – to signify the achievement of national liberation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\nThe BCM\u2019s basic philosophy<\/strong>\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \nThis comprises a number of aspects:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    • An awareness of, and a pride in, blackness and a rejection of white stereotypes of black\n    people.<\/li>
    • Solidarity through group power and building a broad base from which to counter the white strategy of\n    divide-and-rule.<\/li>
    • Rejection of  values that made blacks aliens in their own land.<\/li>
    • A belief that liberation from psychological alienation and \nphysical oppression can only be achieved by blacks for blacks and could \nonly become meaningful once they eradicated their \u201cslave mentality\u201dand \nfeelings of\n    inadequacy.<\/li>
    • Acknowledging the religious quality of traditional and modern African culture as expressed in Black\n    Theology<\/li>
    • Engagement in welfare work and programmes of self-help run by blacks for blacks e.g the Black community\n    programmes<\/li>
    • A critical examination of white racism and capitalist exploitation\n and the roots of psychological servitude which have emasculated blacks \nduring years of\n    oppression.<\/li>
    • The idea that South African history can be interpreted as a \ndialectical process.   From the thesis of white racism and the \nantithesis of black solidarity will emerge a true humanity without \nregard to race or colour.*<\/li>
    • Economic progress of blacks through cooperatives, \u201cBuy Black\u201d campaigns and trade\n    unionism<\/li>
    • To  articulate and direct  feelings of alienation<\/li>
    • To engage in \u201cconscientisation\u201d – a method  forged in Latin \nAmerica to enable largely illiterate adults to \u201cname\u201d their world of \noppression,  to develop critical tools of analysis and to mobilise their\n resources to change their\n    life-world.<\/li>
    • A sense of self-reliance, initiative and solidarity<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\nFormative influences<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \nThe BCM filled the vacuum created by the banning of the African National\n Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania in 1960, after \nSharpeville.  Although it owes something to black political thought in \nthe USA, it has its roots in South African history.  Its ideology, \npolicy and strategy were designed to fit contemporary black experience \nin South AfricaThe ferment among black Americans in the 60s influenced \nthe emergence of black consciousness as a socio-political  force in \nSouth Africa. The writings and activities of Stokely Carmichael, Rap \nBrown, George Jackson, Malcolm X, James Cone and Albert Cleage played a \nrole in the BCM\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \nHowever, the difference between the war waged by blacks in America and \nthose in SA was that the former did not challenge the American social \nand political system as such.  They demanded full integration based on \nthe accepted principle of equality. As a minority they wanted to \nexercise their rights as already guaranteed by the US constitution.  In \ncontrast, blacks in SA argued they constituted the majority of the \npopulation and could no longer be denied full citizenship.  Both were \nvictims of racism.  But South African blacks maintained that full \ncitizenship involved a radical dismantling of the South African system \nbecause its then constitution, economy and laws explicitly favoured the \ndominant white group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \nBlack consciousness in South Africa was subject to other influences as \nwell: the anti-colonialist writings of African leaders such as Julius \nNyere, Kenneth Kuanda, Leopold Senghor, Kwame Nkrumah, Amilcar Cabral \nand Franz Fanon; the protracted struggle for independence in Mozambique \nand Angola; the 1960s student revolts in the Europe and the USA; diverse\n universal influences, such as continental humanist philosophy, the \nwritings of non-African Third World leaders like Fidel Castro and Mao \nTse Tung, Paul Freire\u2019s \u201cPedagogy of the Oppressed\u201d, and Latin American \nLiberation Theology, which all had an impact on the young black \nintellectuals who fashioned the philosophy of black consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\nBlack Communalism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \nThe term that black consciousness gave to its political and economic \npolicies was \u201cblack communalism\u201d. Black intellectuals saw a close link \nbetween the politics of white domination and the economics of \ncapitalism. Black consciousness developed a political and economic \npolicy aimed at modifying the worst elements of capitalism.  The BCM \nasserted that social and political change in South Africa will only have\n meaning if there was a corresponding change in the country\u2019s economy. \nSuch change would require a fundamental redistribution of wealth and \nresources in a land where these were markedly skewed in favour of \nwhites.  This re-structuring of the economy necessitated public \nintervention which, of course, presupposed a change in political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \nIn economic terms, black communalism is rooted in traditional African \nculture.  The BCM believes that Africa has always been characterised by \nan \u2018indigenous socialism\u2019. Thus:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      • The absence of private land ownership in Africa.\n<\/li>
      • The egalitarian nature of traditional society.\n<\/li>
      • The network of reciprocal relations and obligation based on an extended kinship\n  system.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        According to the BCM, black communalism, as an economic policy was \nbased on the principle of sharing and emphasised communal ownership of \nproperty and wealth.  Black communalism attempted to adapt this \nprinciple to the conditions of modern South Africa with its highly \nindustrialised and sophisticated economy.  It also envisaged a larger \nrole for the state in planning and controlling economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        The BCM\u2019s economic policy in the form of a 30-point statement of \npolicy was published by the\nB.P.C. in 1971.  Amongst other things, it sought to avoid the dilemma of\n choosing between capitalism and scientific socialism.  In the long run,\n however, it opted for a \u201csocialist solution\u201d as an authentic expression\n of black communalism. The 30 point statement of policy proposed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        • Significant modification of the SA economy through state ownership \nof all land, state participation in industry and commerce (especially in\n mining and forestry) and an even  larger role for the state in planning\n and\n  control.\n<\/li>
        • State supervision of workers\u2019 rights and regular wage reviews, \nagricultural cooperatives and state assisted markets, minimum foreign \ninvestment in commerce and industry and state welfare for the aged and \ninfirm.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          This programme, it was hoped, would ensure a more equitable \ndistribution of wealth and resources.  It was believed the final shape \nof economic policy would be determined by the outcome of bargaining \nbetween blacks and whites. Together, they would determine the economic \npolicy of the country. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
          \nThe political goal of black communalism was an open society based on \nuniversal adult suffrage irrespective of race, colour, religion or \nnationality   The practical consequence of this would be majority rule \nin the sense of a predominantly, but not exclusively, black \nrepresentation in parliament.  Black communalism favoured the term \n\u201cnon-racialism\u201d rather than \u201cmulti-racialism\u201dbecause (ironically) it \nemphasised individual  rather than group rights. It advocated universal \nadult suffrage in a modern democratic unitary state.   And It rejected \nthe apartheid  idea that blacks should exercise their political rights \nin independent homelands separate from the so called white areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
          \nDespite the rejection of violence by the BCM, once it was perceived that\n black consciousness was not simply a cultural movement but would have \nimportant political repercussions,  security raids and bannings began.  \nLiberals expressed their fear that black consciousness was anti-white \nbecause it defined itself in opposition to white liberal institutions \nwhile criticising  liberal precepts( like the notion of \n\u201cmulti-racialism\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
          \nHostility towards the BCM mounted.  On 19th October 1977 most known \nblack consciousness organisations were outlawed by the SA government.  \nMany of its leaders were banned, detained or forced into exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\nBlack consciousness after 1977<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \nAfter the outlawing of these BCM organisations the question was would \nblack consciousness survive as an ideology? What form would it take and \nwhat would be the strength of its support? What new carriers of its \nphilosophy would emerge? The following changes occurred:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n