Struggling Against Racism and Idealist Thinking
March 21— Like many, many others I joined a vigil last weekend in support of the survivors and the families of the fifty Muslims murdered by a white-supremacist in Christchurch, New Zealand.
A Muslim group organized the event and publicized it through local interfaith groups. About 50 Muslims did their evening prayers on the steps of City Hall. About the same number of non-Muslims surrounded them, offering symbolic protection. A short rally followed.
I see, in the massive worldwide outpouring of solidarity, the potential to mobilize masses for a world without borders. But I also see the danger of “idealist” thinking, religion in particular.
The mass slogan of the Christchurch vigils was “only love can conquer hate.” Someone said that to me. I replied that we need to understand there is a small class of people who benefit and profit from getting the rest of us to hate each other. I was going to add that to conquer hate we need to conquer that ruling class, but she had stopped listening.
Love can conquer hate—seriously? Love can stop BJP fascists in India from terrorizing and massacring Muslims? Love can stop Bolsonaro from persecuting LGBTQ people and planning genocide against indigenous people in Brazil? Love can stop US immigration officials from separating families at the border and jailing asylum-seekers in freezing cells?
Not in the real world.
This ridiculous pacifist slogan might make sense if you think that “god is love.” And if you are relying on this supposedly all-powerful god to… do what? Change the “hearts” of white-supremacist murderers?
The problem is that most people don’t yet see that “hate” is the racism, religious prejudice, sexism and xenophobia that the capitalists use to divide the masses. That’s how a tiny ruling class can continue to exploit and oppress the whole working class.
Maori academics and activists have noted that the Christchurch shootings were not the “worst massacre in New Zealand history” as some have said.
“We have lived with historical and colonial terror and trauma since 1642 and we continue to live with racist violence,” said a Maori leader. But even this link between racist violence and “colonialism” does not point to the root of colonialism: capitalist imperialism.
Why do so many people engage in wishful thinking (idealism)? Is it because they don’t see the material roots of racist violence? The masses’ potential to uproot the system of racist capitalism? That communism can end racism?
When we know someone well, we can begin to find out. We can try to win that struggle.
In the meantime, it’s important to know that when religious groups are the ones organizing protests against racism, non-religious people who want to fight racism will be there too.
I got into some good conversations at the vigil. I gave out three copies of our new pamphlet about xenophobia and made several contacts with people from other countries.
Yes, it’s a contradiction when communists take part in religious activities. Life is full of contradictions – and struggle.
—Los Angeles area (USA) comrade
Responding to Capitalist Propaganda
As the capitalist crises intensifies so does the capitalist propaganda against communist ideas. This is clearly visible in capitalist media but more particularly in capitalist educational institutions.
The capitalist crisis of overproduction coupled with automation (driven by profit maximization) has produced inequality of the largest scale. Life continues to be unbearable to the working class and the masses.
The masses’ dissatisfaction with capitalism is growing. They are looking for alternatives to this horrific system. But as this dissatisfaction increases, so does the capitalist reaction. The capitalists are responding with force and more propaganda to dismiss communism, which is the only solution to capitalism.
At the centre of this capitalist propaganda in schools, particularly in South Africa, is Karl Popper (1902-1994). He claimed to have refuted ‘Marxism’ (more accurately, Dialectical Materialism) as Pseudo-Science or “reinforced-dogmatism”.
Central to Popper’s “refutation” of Dialectical Materialism is his claim that dialectics undermines the laws of logic by allowing two contradictory statements to be true at the same time.
Of course, this is not what the first law of dialectics says. It says there is Unity and Struggle of Opposites in the material world. These are processes that are connected which interfere with each other. They are united by both being part of the system but struggle with each internally within the system itself. This unity-and-struggle represents a Dialectical Contradiction.
An example of a dialectical contradiction is the one that exists between the bosses and workers within capitalism. The boss and the workers are united in producing the material goods. But the boss needs to exploit the worker to profit, whereas the workers needs more money to afford their needs.
No rational person would equate the first law of dialectics with allowing contradictory statements to be true at same time. But Popper’s insistence that it does is deliberate. It is to undermine and dismiss dialectical materialism as a scientific methodology used to study concrete conditions or processes. Popper wanted to make more people, particularly students, more receptive to capitalism as the “scientific system” under which the rest of humanity must be governed.
In response to this intensified anti-communist propaganda, we communists (ICWP) must intensify our work, the mobilization of masses for communism. We should be clearly visible, aggressive in our approach especially where there is an opportunity to do so, like here in South Africa.
We should combat capitalism, refute its proponents and apologists, intensify our recruitment among students, soldiers and the industrial working class. Use dialectics to explain capitalism, its problems and how it is doomed and horrible to the masses. Use dialectical materialism to understand our own internal struggles, which in turn help us to grow.
It is a pleasure that in Cape Town we have a group of four students from two different universities who are forming a collective, learning about dialectics and mobilizing the masses for communism.
Student Comrade
South Africa: comrades and friends planning for May Day
Celebrate Holiday by Mobilizing for Communism
On a recent public holiday, I decided to go and mobilize because I felt that I could not sit back and enjoy the holiday. I decided to go to a nearby town. People are so interested about the idea of communism! But they ask how we will smash capitalism because it’s been centuries that we’ve been exploited by the capitalist system.
They even complained about the load-shedding (or “brown-outs”). They are struggling without their electricity.
They have voted to live a better life, but it’s the African National Congress leaders and their families who are getting a better life. Things are getting worse instead of getting better. We are working hard for them so they can enjoy a better life while we are being oppressed by the capitalist system.
I tried to convince them that we must mobilize the masses for communism. Then we will be able to smash capitalism.
They say that will take years to happen, while we are struggling now. So, comrades, I will still need some literature to convince them because they are still so interested. They were listening to me, giving me time to explain everything. I need some literature so I could explain exactly how the system works, how it will happen and things like that.
Aluta Comrades!
—South African comrade
Should College Teachers Strike?
On the 13th of February the staff of TVEK (Technical and Vocational Education Training) Colleges struck. They are the lecturers, cleaners and Security. That meant the whole school was striking, excluding students.
Some students couldn’t understand what was going on. Then some lecturers explained the whole thing. The students started to understand what the strike was for: increased wages.
The staff was complaining that the wages they receive are not enough for them. They have so many problems to solve, but the wages they receive are not solving anything.
That was understandable. But in my mind, after five years they are going to start another strike again for the wages too.
To me the more you receive money the more problems you get and the taxation will increase too. That’s how our government works nowadays.
The strike affected too many students, especially the ones who are doing NATED (technical courses) because for them a year ends in June. Even the NCV (vocational) students were affected too. So that strike was affecting the whole people who were closer to it.
Even the lecturers were affected because the strike was for the staff who have joined NEHAWU (National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union).
Some lecturers did not join NEHAWU. So they had to stay home until the strike ends. But don’t forget that the work of the majority of the lecturers was behind too much. Also they knew as soon as things were back to normal and school re-opened, they were going to rush forward.
But then unfortunately the strike lasted almost two weeks. Then on the 27th of February many students got messages that school is back to normal. Now things are a little bit in a rush because lecturers want to cover those two weeks especially to the NATED students who start a new semester in July.
This is unlike NCV (vocational) students. They were a little bit safer because they finished a semester on December like others. A strike can affect the whole people so badly.
That is why we decided as a collective to go and mobilize those teachers who were striking and recruit them to our movement. Tomorrow we’ll go to them with the message that even though wage increases work for a while, they are not a solution.
The only solution to the problem is a communist revolution that will destroy the need for money establish a communist society.
—students in South Africa
Red Flag responds:
Dear Comrades, thank you for your letter. It is true that fighting for higher wages never solves the problem because the capitalists have state power and use it to exploit the working class. That includes attacking any temporary gains workers get. But we disagree with the idea that the staff’s strike for higher wages was against the interests of the students. Students should have joined the strike, bringing communist ideas to it.
Both staff and students are part of the working class. In capitalism they are destined to be wage slaves. Both groups, like all workers, need to fight to abolish wage slavery.
We need to build a communist world where education and production will be organized to meet the needs of the masses. Our needs will be met without wages or money. That is the message we need to take to the teachers, staff, students, and all workers, especially in the midst of their struggles.
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