Good thinking, Mandi.  And thanks for forwarding the article by
Nivedita Menon on the Anna Hazare protest.  I don't know Indian
politics thoroughly (maybe you don't either, we're both rather
far away from the subcontinent!), but the message was strong--
and sometimes subtle.  I read it with fascination.
 			Chandler



On Wed, 24 Aug 2011, Mandi Smallhorne wrote:

>
> "Simply saying, let's change the relationship of powers in a class society
> and then we'll sort it out later will not work."
>
>
> Actually, in my own small experience and reading of history, I think that's
> exactly what happens. There's a groundswell of rage and frustration, that
> sweeps up an unstoppable mass of disparate people, and afterwards, there's a
> moment when a new world can be created. I'm not sure how often that has been
> able to take place - certainly, our own revolutionary moment in South Africa
> was betrayed and subverted. As I look back now, I can see clearly that there
> was a window of about six months to maybe a year where the liberation
> movement could have wrought change to the underlying economic and power
> structures; those in these structures were shocked and ready to appease -
> they would have accepted quite radical change (with a fight), since they
> were expecting The Worst. Instead, the liberation movement fled into
> neo-liberalism. (I interviewed ex-president Thabo Mbeki's brother Moeletsi
> Mbeki recently and he told me that in exile, the ANC was composed of such
> different elements - socialists, Marxists, nationalists, Africanists etc -
> that they never discussed economic policy, as it would be too divisive! And
> when they came to power, the first serious economic wobble sent them running
> to the IMF, saying, "What do we do now?")
>
>
> And looking back now, I can see just how disparate the forces were in South
> Africa who supported each other in the quest for change. Once change
> happened, some were quite shocked to see who they'd been marching alongside,
> as they started to interrogate the detail of their positions. In practical
> terms, what we said during the struggle was the same as the Indian activist
> whom I've appended below: "One - does the movement express a goal or demand
> that we support? Two - Does the movement as such explicitly take positions
> that are anti-women or anti-anything-we-stand-for? (Clue: the answers should
> be yes and no respectively)." The point was to reach that moment of upheaval
> when the earthquake happened and all was turned upside down, so that real
> change was possible.
>
>
> If lefties are practically involved in activism that engages with other
> activism which, in general thrust, aims in the same direction, then they can
> be there, with practical strategies to advocate, at that moment of
> suspension when everyone is looking around in shock and saying either, "What
> the hell happened?" or "What do we do now?"
>
>
> Apologies for posting something long that refers to yet another struggle
> which hasn't even been canvassed here, but I thought there were people on
> SftP who might find this worth reading. I love the practicality, and the
> last paras are telling:
>
>
> "This is a moment pregnant with possibilities. Just as the attainment of
> national independence marked the beginning of new lines of conflict and the
> resurfacing of old ones, the success in any form of this campaign will only
> inaugurate more differences. Just as the coming into being of "India" opened
> up possibilities and dangers, so will this. This is true of any project of
> transformation.
>
> "And just as "they" have set aside their casteism and communalism within the
> space of the movement, "we" will have to set aside our radical critiques of
> what 'they' stand for. We cant go in there in confrontational mode, but in
> solidarity with a minimum common agenda. For there are many thousands in
> there who are not communal, not casteist, not elitist, and we cant afford to
> lose them
>
> "The movement doesn't really need us, let's be clear. But do we need it?
>
> "Shouldn't we be there?"
>
>
>
> Mandi
>
>