The rules, institutions and operations of global markets, unchanged since the end of formal colonialism, are among the greatest obstacles to the development of African countries.
Activists from anti-capitalist militant organizations in North Africa met in Tunis on 4th and 5th July 2017 to set up the North African Network for Food Sovereignty. The network is a unifying structure for struggles in the region and will be involved in local, continental and international mobilisation.
It was a win for French imperialism. Once elected, Macron, like his predecessors, was scheduled to open his presidency with a visit to French troops stationed abroad, in this case Mali. They are tasked with defending French domination against both Islamists and rival imperialists – to defend, against the interests of humanity, the illegitimate notion of "Françafrique", that France has an inherent right to dominate much of Africa in collusion with other imperialists.
Preparations are under way around the world for protests against the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, this July. Protesters will be resisting attempts to restrict civil liberties, criminalise protest and/or justify repression.The protests will include a congress, blockades, actions of mass civil disobedience and a big demonstration.
As long as societies are built on needless greed and exploitation, the seeds of revolution and radical change will always be present - more so in societies where the potential for dissent has not been emasculated by a lifeless, uncritical penchant for “order”, conformism and a culture of silence enforced by the most cynical, most advanced mechanisms and stratagems of power.
Zuma shouldn’t be president, that’s obvious. But that he is the problem and that to replace him with Gordhan or Rhamaposa is the answer, is totally misguided. The problem reaches back to Zuma’s predecessors and to economic policy as a whole. Zuma is a symptom, not the cause.
At a time US and South African presidents Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma personify controversies over crony capitalism, corruption, populist rhetoric and self-serving economic strategies, will big business calm down the politicians – or just egg them on?
Donald Trump says he is a devotee, born again, his Christian conversion claimed through the James Dobson ministry. As a committed Christian he is bringing his private beliefs (how strong the man’s faith is, who can tell?) into the workplace. He is stacking his cabinet with a range of faith first, science second quacks, a move that in the face of Climate Change is an assault on all of mankind.
As the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their Spring meetings in Washington, DC, billions of dollars due to African nations are illicitly leaving the continent.
Some arguments made today on why Africa cannot catch up with the West were also made 100 years ago when Africa was under European colonization, with the colonizers blaming everything but imperialism as the root cause of underdevelopment. The world economic structure has not changed, no matter the rhetoric of globalization. Africa remains semi-colonial: increasingly dependent on developed countries for overvalued manufactured goods while exporting raw materials at prices determined by commodity markets in the West.
For Ngũgĩ, in the struggle against capitalist colonialism there is no home left to return to. Whether within one’s own country or outside, home is the place and space of struggle. Like for Frantz Fanon, for Ngũgĩ the struggle against colonialism is linked to the struggle against capitalism. It is a struggle against the bourgeoisie, both national and international.
Given the corruption and exploitation by the top dogs within the factions of the ruling ANC, it is clear that none of the factions has anything to offer the working people of South Africa. Instead of backing one faction over the other, the working class (and the black section in particular) rather needs to fight against class rule, capitalism and the state. That is the system that is rotten to the core.
Tagged under Governance Cyril Ramaphosa, Pravin Gordhan, ANC, Capitalism, corruption, Black economic empowerment, Guptas, Jacob Zuma, Blade Nzimande, SACPThe benefits and misfortunes of capitalism and racism: An integral part of the South African history
Since 1994 South Africa has been unable to seriously change the national socio-economic direction in the interest of the majority of the people. The end of apartheid has helped to increase SA’s integration into global capitalism. The benefits and misfortunes of capitalism and racism are mass poverty for the majority and wealth and privileges for the powerful minority, which includes a few blacks.
Monopoly capitalists and their allies in the ANC have corrupted something very precious in South Africa’s history – the proud and militant tradition of struggle for social justice. They have corrupted the dream of a free and egalitarian nation. For over two decades, the ANC has presided over entrenched corruption, which must now be resisted. But that struggle will constitute a whole new historical epoch.
Donald Trump is by far the most controversial president the US has ever offered the world. But behind the headline churning, attention grabbing façade, is there any difference between him and the 44 US presidents that have come before?
Donald Trump is a manifestation of the crisis of capitalism, which has entered a profound state of economic and ecological imbalance, social instability, inter-imperialist fighting, mass displacement, increased suffering and rampant carnage on a global scale. Salvation of the human family is up to the revolutionary Left and the people’s movements. They must find a way to align and unite and form a revolutionary, counter-hegemonic force.
Tagged under Governance Capitalism, Left, People's movements, Donald Trump, Neo-liberalism