Sometimes we are just too hard on the ANC and ourselves because of our shallow understanding of history from 1912. Nothing has gone wrong as far as the ANC mission is concerned.
Let us get one basic idea right. ANC Reconciliation = Integration into the economic status quo. Thus, the ANC has completed and fulfilled its mission: to reconcile and integrate into the economic status quo and try to strengthen and consolidate the black bourgeoisie. The fact is that the ANC is neither anti-capitalist nor pro-communist. The poor will have to liberate themselves, if they will.
I think we must problematize the idea of the so-called ANC sellout. It is caught and controlled in the belly of the beast, that is, the total desire to integrate and be included in white capital. I am not surprised that people are struggling to conceptualize and define the success or failure of the ANC.
Mostly, it is mistaken for a workerist or communist party. It has never been that. It was founded by Western-trained lawyers who desired to be part of the system. Simply put, there is no communist ANC except for its sin of allowing communists in its ranks. Worse, the Gucci communists are just pretenders. They talk left and walk right. The concept of an ANC that has fulfilled its mission may seem contradictory in a capitalist environment, where the primary goal is profit maximization. What this simply means is that the ANC truly understands the workings of a ruthless and violent capitalist economy.
So, its leadership—those who are inside beneficiaries—operates exactly like white business, in its organization, structure, hierarchy, vision, and goals: to make money by any means necessary. Of course, we accept that the idea of an ANC that purported to be rooted in the historical opposition to racial oppression and economic exclusion. Sadly, all that the black struggle as defined and pursued by the ANC was for was integration into the status quo at both the political and economic levels.
Thus, the key word for the struggle led by the ANC is and has always been inclusivity. It is either you are in or out. Nobody bothered to ask: be included in what? But it has always been clear to the leadership, or at least, those with eyes to see. Frankly, it is about reconciliation and integration into racist structures, inequality, injustice, a stagnant economy, selfish individualism, unemployment, and gross exploitation and abuse of black people. That is what inclusivity means in the global village. We are not unique. Our problems and contradictions are universal now.
And much as the ANC may be in denial, that is what its decisions and choices have delivered because all it wants is a piece of the capitalist pie for a selected few in the patriotic bourgeoisie. I think this whole concept and idea of ANC sellout must be revisited. Nay, it must be scrapped and abolished. You must rethink everything you think you know and think about the ANC.
Those living in poor conditions, including informal settlements, will have to liberate themselves, according to the writer. Picture: X
Who are we trying to convince with this sentimental claptrap of blaming and condemning the ANC and its leadership? Yet, the strength of emotional reasoning—and not thought leadership—is what works in black identity politics when people criticize the ANC. Are we saying the ANC that subscribes to the economic status quo must fight for the total liberation of Africans in particular? Has it done that over the last 30 years?
Is that not racist in a nonracist economic system that tramples on everybody that tramples anyone who threatens or opposes it, irrespective of color? For example, I hear a lot of people saying the ANC is a leading partner in the tripartite alliance, and thus it is for workers and communists. I am not sure about that. Hanging out with communists does not make you one.
If the communists and Cosatu still do not see that the alliance is dead, then long live the alliance. Now don't get it wrong here. One truly appreciates the need for the ANC to be seen as the leader of the revolution, espousing outdated theories like National Democratic Revolution.
Some emotional arguments for why the ANC wishes to be seen as such include the following sentiments:
- Black people have been systematically excluded from economic opportunities, education, and resources, making it difficult for them to participate in the capitalist economy on an equal footing. So, we demand our share to be part of the capitalist system. But this does not offer a much-needed alternative. In fact, it perpetuates the economic system.
- The racial wealth gap is a persistent issue, with black families holding significantly less wealth than white families. So, we want our own black Oppenheimers. Of course, this disparity is a result of historical policies, such as redlining and segregation, which limited access to credit, education, and job opportunities. So, what is the difference between a white Oppenheimer and a black mining mogul? In a supremacist economic system, the difference is the same. In fact, the patriotic bourgeoisie and black mining moguls owe their existence to white sponsorship.
- Black political leadership and activists often operate within a specific cultural and social context, pretending to cater to the needs and preferences of black communities. These leaders may provide a fake sense of community, cultural identity, and social connection that is essential for the well-being and imagined economic development of black communities. But these are shallow links. Where are black schools of excellence? And the banks and the clinics? What is the curriculum there? Who are the teachers?
- No doubt, the ANC can play a crucial role in promoting economic empowerment and self-determination within black communities. But it must do this within the supremacist economic parameters. By making speeches on TV claiming to be creating jobs, generating income, and providing essential goods and services, black politicians and leaders can pretend to be doing something to help reduce poverty and inequality. But this will be on a very limited scale. However, in a society where the political leadership is part of the unjust economic system, this cannot be done. In fact, we have seen ANC cadres use BEE to take the money and run to hide deep in exclusive white estates.
- Finally, this idea of always condemning and blaming the ANC is not a solution. It is barking at the moon. We must mature and be sober to acknowledge that the ANC is and always has been committed to fully participating and being shareholders in a supremacist capitalist economy.
Sadly, the government policies attempts to address these barriers are only intended to deepen inequality and entrench the prevalent economic system, above all, to protect white capital. It pretends to want to create a more inclusive and equitable economic system. There is neither equality nor justice in an economic system based on selfishness and greed.
No individual is greater than the economic system. We are all in the belly of the beast. We must just relax and admit that the ANC has not betrayed but fulfilled its mission to be part of a capitalist economy that makes the patriotic bourgeoisie flourish in inequality and injustice.
The concept of a radical ANC that stands for economic transformation is just a ruse. We have to change the way we look at the ANC, and the ANC we look at will change to be what it is: at peace with what researcher and political analyst Lukhona Mnguni calls the new tripartite alliance, that is, the ANC + DA + Big Business. The Government of National Unity is the new alliance.
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