Consistent Ideological Struggle Creates Change
SOUTH AFRICA—Two comrades visited comrade Fezile in Motherwell, where workers went on strike a few weeks ago. Our conversations with workers there helped us understand better the process of change in building the party.
Comrade Fezile organized his friends and co-workers to come with us to their workplace to distribute the Red Flag. Then we discussed the struggle for communism with them.
We introduced ourselves as ICWP, which fights for the working class. Most workers were interested. Since the strike, most still have problems with management and are not yet back to work. Some thought we were there as a union to help them resolve their dispute with the bosses.
We explained that we sympathize with them but our goal is much broader. The only thing that can help the working masses in the long run is the destruction of capitalism, the eradication of the bosses.
Most of them don’t seem to believe they have the capacity and power to fight the bosses. A worker said that he doesn’t think anything can change “because the bosses have the money; they own the police, they own the soldiers. We can’t actually do anything to change that.”
They feel betrayed by the bosses and the unions. We had to get them to see that they don’t need either. If they act collectively as a unit, they have the power, not the bosses. They hadn’t considered that the bosses need the workers more than the workers need the bosses, because without workers to create value, the bosses can’t make profits. We said the only way to change society for the better is to fight for communism.
We struggled with them about how things change. Sometimes change isn’t visible, but it is happening. It may seem that the continents aren’t moving, but they move a centimeter each year. Eventually people will see the change.
It’s the same with us. The party is still small and growing. It needs them to join so we can expand. As time goes by people will start to see the change the Party will make.
Defeat Bosses’ Racist and Sexist Ideas
We explained the need to look beyond the divisions the bosses impose through sexism and racism. Workers are more similar to each other than different. They are more different from the bosses than similar to them. Whether workers are Black, white or coloured (mixed-race), they are still workers so they have more similarities with each other than with the people who are exploiting them.
Our conversation centered on how the bosses keep the workers divided through racism. They give preferential treatment to some coloured workers so that the black workers will be jealous, mistrustful, and see them as class traitors.
This time, we offered the Red Flag to all the workers, not only the black workers. Most of the coloured workers took it. This shows that the generalization that all coloured workers are class traitors is unfounded. It was important to show that the bosses use this to divide them.
And that the only thing that ties workers to the bosses are wages. Sometimes this is the main reason they feel they can’t do anything. Without wages they can’t meet their needs.
This is where ICWP comes in. When we establish a communist revolution, they won’t have to work for a wage. Their needs will be met and they will make their own contribution, according to their ability and commitment.
The conversation helped us understand why workers sometimes doubt their abilities to fight the bosses. It also answered some questions we had ourselves as a collective.
We’ve been talking about the law of quantity and quality. Some comrades were questioning whether the law is applicable in real life. Whether when we put in quantity there will be qualitative change.
What kind of quantitative changes will lead to the qualitative change we need? It is in practice where we see how these things work. We need to be consistent, to carry out the ideological struggle over and over. That’s where we will see change.
Each Red Flag we distribute is a potential contact. This should be the starting point to initiate conversation. Then we need to explain it to people. When we do that it will lead to qualitative change.
This visit showed the importance of the practice of consistent ideological struggle to see how quantity leads to quality, how to advance. This is not a dogma; it’s not set in stone. It develops through practice.
Conversations that Make a Difference:
Who Is a Capitalist? What’s Wrong with Socialism and Nationalism?
PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa)—After a visit to a factory in Motherwell, comrades continued the discussion with Pho, a friend.
We talked to him about the need for change. He didn’t agree about the need for communism. But, he agreed that in order for things to change, there has to be a transfer of power from the ruling class to those who suffer, the working class.
Our point of struggle with him was that he only views capitalists as people who are white. This myth is perpetuated by organizations like the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). We explained that even if you are black, if you own the means of production, you are exploiting the working class. You are a capitalist, regardless of whether you are black or white or any other colour. He seemed to take this to heart. He ended up asking more questions.
He asked, “Who can be classified as a capitalist?”
We answered, “If you own the means of production you are a capitalist.”
In his view, then everyone who owns a spaza shop is a capitalist. But you can’t be a capitalist because you don’t have surplus. You only sell those things to have income to pay for your needs. In communism you don’t have to do that because your needs will be taken care of by the entire working class. You will contribute based on your ability and commitment and you will receive based on your needs.
He thought that the people who should lead this revolution should be pro-black consciousness. We explained to him the narrowness of most of the black consciousness movement. Our point of view is to fight directly for communism, instead of fighting for the emancipation of black people only here in South Africa. And what about other workers? We are similar to other workers who are oppressed anywhere in the world, even in Europe or England.
At the end of the conversation, he agreed with us that in spite of what they are told by parties like EFF about black consciousness, now he sees that it is opportunistic on their part to advocate for the nationalization of resources. After all, they would be the ones who would preside over this new capitalist class that would arise if parties like EFF were to succeed.
It means that the workers won’t benefit in any way, just like under capitalism that we have now. We gave many examples from history to show that socialism doesn’t help. It reverts back into capitalism.
We made an example of the tripartite alliance and the African National Congress (ANC). They are in alliance with the socialist movement (the South African Communist Party) and COSATU (the trade union federation). The ANC carries out anti-working class policies, while these organizations support them. Regardless which of these organizations you support, the results will be the same: the exploitation of the working class.
The only way to end the scourge of the bosses is to completely eradicate them with a communist revolution led by ICWP, with the support of the soldiers. He agrees and would like to know more about the party. We are making plans to send him more literature like Mobilize the Masses for Communism. We can also ask him to help spread it among his co-workers and friends.
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