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Marx on the lumpen proletariat:
"Alongside decayed roués with dubious means of subsistence and of dubious origin, alongside ruined and adventurous offshoots of the bourgeoisie, were vagabonds, discharged soldiers, discharged jailbirds, escaped galley slaves, swindlers, mountebanks, lazzaroni, pickpockets, tricksters, gamblers, maquereaux [pimps], brothel keepers, porters, literati, organ grinders, rag pickers, knife grinders, tinkers, beggars - in short, the whole indefinite, disintegrated mass, thrown hither and thither, which the French call la bohème."
The events inside the parliamentary corridors weeks ago must worry all of us. Anyone who knows much about the contemporary South African politics can very easily see that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is no more than a cabal of desperate careerists who destroyed the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and introduced to our youth the counterrevolutionary tenderpreneur culture. Indeed, the EFF is not a mass political party in the real sense of the term. It has a little or no support-base outside Gauteng and Limpopo. It is a by-product of deceit and politics of anarchy. But, the point is that the gang which constitutes the EFF is quite mischievous. They have succeeded in hoodwinking and misleading a substantial chunk of the electorate. Its rabble- rousing, dramas and politics of rhetoric, coupled with aggressive and violent approach and misuse of ANC revolutionary slogans as “Economic freedom” and “Amandla”, have established that it would be suicidal for the ANC to ignore this threat to our freedom.
To be more lucid, it has become highly imperative for the ANC leadership to mobilise against the activities of the EFF but also refuse to pay close attention to each and every statement that this unscrupulous, uncouth, uncultured and over-ambitious cabal make. They want to provoke the ANC leadership so that it reacts and they divert the people’s attention away from the real issues and remain in public focus with the help of a section of anti-ANC media.
The violent events involving the EFF offer a classic case study in what happens when a broad mass based democratic movement is forced to fight a war with ideologically-unarmed street insurgents.
Fighting breaks out of control when the combatants misread the other party's intentions. In this case, the ANC seems to understand EFF far less than the EFF does ANC. Moreover, EFF misreading ANC does not matter; it is not interested in serving the people; it is playing for brand recognition, the right to fight the next elections.
EFF’s strategy is that of the classic disrupter who has to break the mould in order to have a chance of succeeding. To expect it to follow the normal rules of politics does not suit it at all. It is here to change the rules. This is why it wants to change parliamentary rules so that its tactics are not constrained by the basic needs of decorum and governance norms. With no rules, regular tantrum-throwing can be a part of its arsenal.
We also have to understand EFF's DNA and tactics by looking at where it came from: it is a club of tenderpreneurs, failed actors and sore losers. It is a street-fighter, not a party of government. Its success is not the result of what it stands for but what it stands against. Just as Democratic Alliance (DA) defines itself as ‘Not ANC’. To sustain itself on a diet of anti-government rhetoric and keep its cadres motivated, it needs a solid enemy to define as the establishment.
Till May 2014, the white mine owners and black businessman were the main target of the EFF. After the EFF was decimated at the polls, they realised that the anti-white rhetoric doesn’t win votes. This is why they had to find a new, mightier enemy in the ANC. Without erecting a Goliath, David would be a footnote in history. Martyrdom is gained against lions, not mice.
If we understand this, we know why Malema acts the way he does. White capitalists turned out to be a hollow card-board box, while ANC is the one looking muscular. Malema’s idea is not to defeat the ANC because he cannot but to define himself as David - the frail muffler man heading off to fight Gigantic Evil. He is anti-ANC because ANC is the party to beat.
His goal is to provoke, engineer a disproportionate response, and position himself as the victim - the Christ whom everyone wants to crucify.
Julius Malema’s strategic goals are the following: establish himself and EFF as the party of opposition by positioning himself against the stronger ANC rather than weak white bourgeoisie; rattle the ANC by regular tantrum-throwing and street fights so that the latter ends up making strategic errors and gives EFF a martyr’s halo; and use the media to build Malema’s image into a larger-than-life reality.
Malema’s strategy is not about the people – but to occupy the reactionary counterrevolutionary space now occupied by the DA. He is a bigger long-term threat to the DA than the ANC, but the ANC hasn’t quite understood this.
The fact is the electorate vehemently rejected the EFF; the ANC has to be ready for Malema’s unconventional war.
While the feelings are understandable, it does not help that the ANC reacts angrily to EFF’s tactics - as many ANC spokespersons did on TV. As a street gang, EFF will always have the advantage of choosing the time and place to attack the ANC, while the ANC cannot change strategy every day.
The world over, conventional armies have never won against guerrilla forces. The only way to win is to have a dual strategy – attack-cum-defence – by keeping the army to do the heavy hitting, and launching guerrilla counter-attacks of your own.
In marketing strategy, when a big brand is attacked by a new unconventional entrant, the standard counter-strategy is to launch a fighter brand that is more directly positioned against the interloper so that the conventional war is kept separate from the guerrilla war.
This why the ANC must leave EFF to the ANCYL. The ANC has a country to rebuild and it would be foolish to allow itself to be preoccupied by the dramas of the EFF
South Africa is not a problem free country; in fact we have several serious problems we are waiting to solve. These problems are tied to each other; leaving one unsolved affects the other negatively; putting them on a tract to solve one or few of them facilitates the solution of other problems.
We want to make people in our country happier and wealthier and we can secure that through economic development. If the first condition in order to succeed in economic development is to be better educated, the second condition is for us to be free, while the third condition is for all of us to have legal security and permanent peace.
In other words, if we are to be wealthier and happier, we can only attain this with a democratic and fully functioning state of law that respects human rights.
We are at the point where we are because we have been postponing the solution to our problems and focused on petty politics. Let us not allow Malema to set the national agenda. We have a mandate to fulfil.
Aurangzeb ka Thabethe
Chairperson :African National Congress Youth league(Umdoni zone)
Secretary general :Young Communists league of South Africa (Umdoni Region)
@AurangThabethe
