There is a central paradox the one hand South Africa is the area of sub-Saharan Africa with the longest back carliest levelopment of capicalism and incorporates, briefly outline, (chapter 2), all central experiences of WOrKinE class movement. Ar an histration it is sufficient to note that tbere was a • Soub Africa From 1953 el CELa MOIS TOISATIS 1939.
On the other hand, the very maccess of the repressive white ime, especially since the late 1950%, bas meant the effective appression of any real work by revolutionary Marxists Inside the COLLY. 11S LESOULIN generation rebels aprtheid, personified SOWEtO student - bave no reas nourical Tormanon existence of Marxism as a force capable of explaining theis suuation and assisting in charting a way forward for tbeir struggles Southern Africa After Sowero, by Alex Callinicos and John Rogers, is one of the best of a range of books which try to explain the significance of the latest rise of black struggles in southern Africa. The book 'discusses the stralegles pursued by the black liberation movements in southern Africa', claims the blurb, but, JOHN BLAIR argues, that is just where the book's central weakness lies.
has, as many of them frequently say, only come to their attection in exile. and WEAKNESSES Such people are only the most politically developed of cbe mass the South Africa. bE tbe non-white This should judge a book by revolutlonaries is how far it cait serve to underscanding of the vanguard of this new generation of Souch African the book does not measure up to this standard. This is nor because of any fundamenral errors of analysis, location of the African cconomy within tbe im the perialist framework and its char- acterisation of the talise ar fondation for are foundation looking at chat state.
But the probleme come with the very meagre treatient of more rocent developments, particularly consciousness movement. course it is extremely difficult to the opposition in the 1970s er 10 get hold of many of its public attet it in a serious errar belleve that you can establish the for the black masses solcly bs celtique ot movernens like the which are now alcost exclusivel in exile and have played very Little pett in roocat events. vanguard of African working class is nom MEILLEURES MONOI LUESAIMET generally found inspiration so much in the history of their population in own country as from such divers means that figures as Malcolm X, Fanon an The Guevara sumes so cune darterent InEr predecessors, enough to repeat, redes tend to do, time bonoured LOTEISICH truths about the primacy of the working class and the need to Coaship level. organise Such & project South recDensine that in Lis on the need to smash the racist state, its cotimilotent to practica productive escablishment of a tradition of struggle after the passivity of the late sixties and early seventies, albeit politically heterogeneous Of fail to suggest any to with the self the South of recovery. The LNCHISCYCS They ace thus Frontation.
We have dealr aimost .com. book that Africa iselt Factory and must begin by dealing of coough known. the new movement, senous Encoretical analysis and unstructured, contalas seed of the leadership of thie coming South African revIt is notable thar the comrades potential lines of achon for the south Airicar proletariat beyood the economic struggle. They hope that victories confidence neu essary to take on the state.
But the bossoball of the Stath African working class winning substantial econonue victories is enormous repressive apparatis at the disposal of the state; and th the economy is showing few signs comrades STECAS MALLIERT cconomic strugele in Souch Africa immediately assumes the character ol a political conexclusdeals with South The project the rating this inte the southera African context as a whole is Unfortunately the balf of the book chat tries to do this hy developments Zambia, Angola and Zimbabwe near falfilling ics (Chapter aim. Most of it is simple report events that are well source, There is Zambia 1975).
The chapter on Zambla conALEX CALLINICOS AND JOHN ROGERS at least six identifiable facrual errors Twe of thes cotes 14 and 22 involve additions to the quotes (IMG pamphlet on Overall these sections are carelessly structured and one is left wishing that the authors had left them put so as to make a more developed analysis of events in South Africa.
*Soethers Africa After Somefo by Alex Callinicos and Rogers, Pluto Press 12.00
hatever the final outcome of the by SOCIALIST CHALLENGE, 29 October, 1977 page 13 But they also coincide with the end of the long
----- pull-quotes -----
Southern Africa after Sowetc