South Africa’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis is a prime example of bourgeois minority rule and systematic oppression of the poor majority. Hundreds of thousands of workers (in mining, retail, public services etc) and poor communities have been catapulted into situations where they face imminent or potential death. The fight back against their steadily worsening situation reveals sporadic and uncoordinated actions aimed at the state and corporate giants to address this slide into a dystopic future.
This ever-deepening social crisis demands purposeful analysis and action. What we demand from the state must galvanise and motivate workers, peasants, parents, students, teachers, health workers and their organisations to raise and agitate around those demands. But in so doing, the onus falls on us to simultaneously build our own organisational forces to improve and strengthen our ability to fight for the attainment/realisation of these demands. Planned, considered and purposeful united action based on a set of progressive demands (whether economistic or political) is what our situation currently requires. We have no or truly little choice in this. We either unite our forces on a minimum platform or we expose ourselves to and suffer further from the bitter blowbacks of organisational weakness, disunity and ruling class dictatorship.
In the past year many coalitions, fighting on behalf of the oppressed and exploited were born. Some were still born but others are still fighting. These coalitions broadly signify a forward movement in our struggle for socialist democracy. We must however guard against coalitions becoming ends in themselves and disappear as soon as any specific crisis has run its course. We must ask ourselves, what is their struggle about? Who do they fight against? Is this enemy clearly identified? What are their programmes of organisation and mobilisation? Who are their funders? Do they promote underlying long term political and economic demands and goals? Are they inherently sectarian or isolationist? The interests of which social classes do they represent, promote and defend – overtly and covertly, directly or indirectly? These questions must be posed when we address ourselves to the C-19 People’s Coalition, the Cry of the Excluded / Assembly of the Unemployed coalition, the Social Justice Network, The South African BDS coalition, the BLAC-APDUSA coalition, Numsa inspired United Front structures around the country as well as the People’s Health Movement.
Failing to effectively mobilise our collective organisational forces will mean victory for the minority in their struggle to further oppress and exploit us. If tackled in a progressive way, we will empower ourselves to, over time consciously rid ourselves of oppressive ruling class ideas and influences; of their oppressive, backward policies and practices and system of governance. This monumental task requires of us to build organisations capable of confronting and attacking this oppressive and exploitative capitalist system head-on.
Healthcare workers across the world demonstrated the fact that they, not their political masters hold the power to defeat the covid-19 virus. They also demonstrated that they – potentially – have the power to create and run democratically constructed public health systems in the interests of the majority. Health workers and workers of the world unite – and fight.
- Build and advance the organised, united power of health workers, teachers, and parents!
- All Workers: Organise, Unite and Fight for workplace democracy!
- Forward to building independent, progressive people’s organisations!
- Broaden the anti-Covid 19 campaign in the interests of the labouring majority!