Learning About Communism by Mobilizing for It
SOUTH AFRICA, July 14—A group of comrades here travelled to Rustenburg, the heart of the mining district, the world’s largest producer of platinum and other minerals. Marikana, in this area, saw a historic 2012 strike of over 100,000 miners, during which the ANC-led government’s police killed 34 striking miners. This led masses to lose confidence in the ANC capitalist government.
Soon after, a group of workers organized ICWP in South Africa to fight for a communist world free of exploitation. Comrades recently spent two weeks talking to mine workers about ICWP. This is their report.
Our trip to Rustenburg was successful. Workers directly involved in production will take our ideas to the miners. There is a collective of four comrades. Two others are willing to join and help organize.
On the bus, we met a worker who works at a large platinum mine. He was really interested in our fight to eradicate capitalism. If you aren’t a cynical person, you will see that communism is the best alternative to what we have now.
Some of us met with a comrade we knew before. This worker knew about ICWP and its ideas. He agreed with some and disagreed with others. Now there is a deeper understanding between us.
The main discussion was about the role of unions. He thought unions are useful. We saw them as another tool of the bosses, as detrimental to the working class. We showed him that the unions can literally betray the working class.
He saw what the National Union of Miners did to the working class. But he viewed them as individuals instead of organizations that represent the ruling class, that have their ideas. We explained that individuals are representatives of the organizations. For example, you can’t divorce Mandela from the African National Congress.
Other comrades distributed Red Flag at one of the hostels where thousands of workers live. They encountered some challenges because many workers couldn’t read either English or Xhosa. They speak a different language.
So, the comrades explained to the workers what is communism, why they should join ICWP, what is the difference between ICWP and the SACP (South African Communist Party), why we think it is suicidal to side with the SACP. These were the main questions the workers asked.
Communism Will Realize Workers’ Potential
One older man, who is illiterate, genuinely wanted to know more about us. He asked a comrade to read an article in Red Flag to him that would explain what we are trying to do. The comrade read the editorial (in Xhosa) about communist relations.
He smiled and listened, envious that the comrade could read. His situation will never change in capitalism. The bosses could educate all the workers but they don’t because once the workers are empowered they will be dangerous for them. So, they are trying to isolate and suffocate the workers.
Historically, before the Chinese revolution, most people couldn’t read. Afterwards they could read. We can have classes at work for reading. This will only happen in communism where production is for need, not profit.
Later we met with the comrade from the bus. He asked how he could help us and said he wants to join us. We told him we are trying to distribute Red Flag inside the shafts. He is there and we are not. He told us there are strict rules regarding distributing of literature there but still there are other ways he can distribute. So, we left him 20 copies of Red Flag and the pamphlet.
That day we learned about a strike in a mine where a security guard shot a striker with rubber bullets. It was in a nearby area which became a focus for the next week. One comrade lives there. They were also on strike.
We met regularly with him and met two of his friends. He had a small pride (bar-b-que) for us and these two friends. They agreed to join and to organize. Every time the paper is published, we will send 200 copies to them to distribute to miners.
We also visited a comrade we had met before who wasn’t paid for his work in the mines. He is now a farm worker. He joined us and will distribute Red Flag to his co-workers.
New Party Members Will Learn, Practice and Develop Our Line
These workers are still new to the organization. They haven’t fully grasped our line, but there is the desire to know more, to want to do more. This is key because we do not mainly learn from books but through practice to actually mobilize instead of just reading about mobilizing. That’s what will develop them into communist leaders.
We, too, are still learning and struggling about a lot of things, about how communism will work. We can’t do that without experiments and struggle. We have to try things to see what will work and what will not.
We must be consistent in bringing our ideas directly to the workers. When we do, the results will show.
ALUTA CONTINUA!
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