The Poverty of Ideas by Lindokuhle Mponco

 

                                The Poverty of Ideas in Student Politics

                                                              Authored by

                                                  Lindokuhle Mponco

 

The students in South African institutions of higher learning have shown massive revolutionary potential. When it comes to mobilising, they have mirrored the days of the ‘80s when the then leader of the ANC, O.R Tambo raised a clarion call to make South Africa ungovernable  due to an Apartheid regime which was not only hell bent on killing black people for show, but a regime which was hell bent on ensuring that the education system indoctrinates the masses with White Supremacist and Capitalist ideas. This was not the only reason, the other reason was the suppression of Communist ideas and theory. However, the lack of ideas has led to the student movement facing a blind alley every time they go on the offensive.

One might ask themselves what is the cause of this? The answer to this question was answered by the leader of the Bolshevik party, Vladimir Lenin. He said, “There is no revolutionary movement without theory” (Lenin, 1902). This was articulated in his classic book, What is to be done? Lenin stressed this point because during the time preceding the 1905 Russian uprising many of the RSDLP cadres believed in the revisionist tendency of peaceful cooperation with the bosses, consistent with the ideas of leading revisionist Eduard Bernstein. The revisionist camp was also very open about their disdain for theory, due to the perception that theory is too abstract, if not impractical. This also highlighted the fact that the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) was filled with opportunists, and revisionists.

Now we can parallel this same tendency with the tendency that not only dominates South African political discourse and practice, but also dominates the student movement’s character. This disdain for theory came about due to the co-opting of student organisations that were theoretically grounded. The co-opting of these student organisations was facilitated by their fraternal allies, and eventually the capitalist class. SASCO is a prime example of this, and as a result the student movement has not only grown weaker in character, but also confused in terms of ideology. This creates a situation whereby the predominant ideas are reactionary, if not reformist. This tendency to over emphasise practice over theory has led to a situation whereby students fight the state only to succumb to the state.

The constant back and forth proves what Rosa Luxemburg had said to Bernstein from 1898 – 1899, that this system cannot be reformed, it must be overthrown (Luxemburg, 1899). If  SASCO and many other student organisations that claim to have revolutionary traditions had taught this to the students, the students would have drawn the necessary conclusion to connect their struggle with the working class, and the peasantry. The entry of the EFFSC has been a welcome entry into the student movement due to the revolutionary character of the said organisation. The EFFSC has not only stopped there but it has also emphasised the Leninist adage of no revolutionary movement without theory. Which is why during the #FeesMustFall era, we witnessed a battle of ideas which eventually proved to be necessary to weed out the opportunist elements. This battle saw the rise of Fanon’s ideas in public discourse, while also bringing back Marxism-Leninism to the fore.

It is a pity that the battle of ideas occurred during a very critical point in the struggle for free education, however this battle of ideas led to a clear path, and it also exposed the opportunistic elements of certain leaders from the PYA (an alliance of SASCO, YCL, and ANCYL), who used this as an opportunity to attain parliamentary seats, and magazine cover spreads. This opportunism was eventually seen by the students, which is why the call to shutdown institutions does not excite students anymore because they know that their struggles are being used as an audition to rise in the ranks of their respective parties. While this was happening, EFFSC and PASMA cadres & activists were being arrested left, right, and centre due their more radical approach in the struggle for free education. PASMA mirrors the same tendency that dominated the Socialist Revolutionary Party in Tsarist Russia. They believe in a socialist order which is steeped in nationalist tendencies, masked as Pan-Africanism. Their refusal to come out as a non-racial organisation diminishes them into nothing but a sectarian student wing which has lost its spark.

Suffice to say that they agree on most questions with the EFFSC besides the point of non-racialism. This is due to the EFFSC being a product of the EFF, which in turn is a product of the Freedom Charter. I will not go into why the EFF is a product of the Freedom Charter, what I will emphasise is that the EFF, and its student wing EFFSC left the ANC due to them abandoning the Freedom Charter as their programme. It is on this basis that the EFFSC raises the clarion call of free quality well resourced, and decolonised education. This idea has been lost in the muddy waters of the opportunistic tendencies of SASCO, and in extension the PYA. This poverty of ideas has not only blunted the student movement, but it is draining the necessary energy required for the next tide. When the working class rises again to the call for liberation from capitalism, the student movement should be prepared to act as an auxiliary force and subordinate their programme to that of the workers. This can only happen if ideas are injected in the struggle.

Not just any ideas, but ideas that have proven overtime to work in advancing the revolutionary movement and completing its necessary tasks. One of those tasks being the complete overthrow of the capitalist regime. The overthrow of the capitalist regime is connected to the overthrow of commodified education. We cannot have free education in a capitalist system, this being due to the commodified nature of the system. The recent budget cuts to NSFAS are proof that #FeesMustFall – revolutionary as it was – was akin to one farting in the water, because those gains have been lost in a space of 4 years! That is why Rosa Luxemburg, and a plethora of other revolutionary Marxists agree that reforming the system is not the end goal; the end goal is to overthrow the system. This is not to say that we will not welcome reforms. Reforms are welcomed, however when we have a wealth of ideas, we understand that reforms are a temporary solution, while revolution is a permanent solution.

It is only through theoretical grounding, and not just any theory; but through a Marxist-Leninist theoretical framework and praxis that the students will overcome and win the battle for free quality, well resourced, and decolonised education for all!