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    T h e R oadtoS outh A frica nFreedomE lme r Ho fmesBobst L ib ra ry

    N ew Y orkUniversityTHE PROGRAMME OFTHE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNISTPARTY

    ELLIS BOWLES52Palmerston Road, East Sheen, London, S.W.14England

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    PUBLISHER'S NOTEThis Programme was adopted bythe Fifth National Conference

    of the South African Communist Party in 1962, after intensivediscussion inunits ofthe Party and among the revolutionary workersand patriots throughout the country.

    The present edition ispublished for readers outside South Africa,in the belief that readers throughout the African continent, andindeed throughout the world, will find it a document of absorbinginterest, embodying the creative application of Marxist-Leninisttheory to a country whose problems and whose criminal regimehave rightly come to be a focus of international attention.

    Webelieve that readers in Africa, in particular, will findthis to bean exceptionally enlightening and liberating exposition, remarkablefor its straightforwardness and lucidity, of Communist thought onproblems which apply far beyond the borders of the Republic ofSouth Africa.Itmight be mentioned that currency units inthe text are in terms

    of South African Rands (R), and that Rl equals ten shillings insterling or East African currency. For the rest we believe that thecontext of various South African tenus and expressions used willmake their meaning clear to the reader.

    This edition is published byEllis Bowles on behalf ofthe Party'squarterly journal, THE AFRICAN COMMUNIST, of which he isthe London representative. Sub-headings and emphases in the texthave been added by the Editor of that journal.

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    Contents1. INTRODUCTION 5

    2. COMMUNISM-THE VITAL FORCE OFOUR TIME 8

    3. THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION 16

    4. COLONIALISM OF A SPECIAL TYPE 22

    5. THE FORCES OF CHANGE 36

    6. THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATICREVOLUTION 42

    7. IMMEDIATE PROPOSALS OF THECOMMUNIST PARTY 47State Structure

    Civil Rights and State SecurityEconomic DevelopmentAgricultureLabour and Social WelfareEducationNational RightsForeign Relations

    4748484950515152

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    1 I ntr o d uc tio n

    OU R COUNTRY, SOUTH AFRICA, I S K NOWN THROUGHOUT THE WORLDbecause of its system of White domination, a special form ofcolonialism whichhas been carried to extremes under theNationalistParty policy of apartheid. Nowhere else is national and racialoppression prac tised so nakedly and shamelessly, with suchsystematic brutality and disregard of human rights and dignity.The three million Whites hold a monopoly of political rights andeconomic opportunities. They alone can vote for and be elected toParliament and other governing bodies. They are fortified behind awall of privi lege in the civil service, in jobs and professions, ineducational opportunities and a hundred other fields. 87per cent ofthe land isreserved for White ownership, and White capitalists ownand control the mines, factories and banks and most of commerce.Their government inculcates a lying and insulting doctrine of racesuperiority.The eleven million Africans, two-thirds of the population, sufferruthless na tiona l oppression. They have been robbed of theirancestral lands. The thirteen per cent of land set aside for Africanoccupation-the so-called Reserves, or 'homelands'

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    2 Communismthe Vital F o r c eof our TimeCOMMUNlSM-MARxrSM-LEN1NlSM_IS THE DYNAMIC, SOCIAL ANDpolitical force of our time. Already, under the leading banner ofthe Marxist parties, one-third of mankind has chosen the road tosocialism. Already, in the Union of Socialis t Soviet Republics, thegradual transition has begun to Communism, the highest form ofhuman society. The world over millions of men and women, in-spired by the Parties of Communism, are struggling for peace,socialism, democracy and national independence.Karl Marx, thegreat J 9th Century thinker and revolutionary who,tugether with his comrade Frederick Engels, was the founder of themodern Communist movement, laid bare the basic laws whichdetermine change inthe universe and in human society. The Marxistworld outlook, dialectical materialism, enables us to understand thelaws ofchange. I te~ables us tounderstand the world as it really is-and how to change It.All progress and development comes throughinner conflict and contradictions: the conflict between what is newand s.truggl.mgto be born, and what is outworn and dying. Likeey-eryt.htngIn~ature, human society develops from lower to highersta&es. according to the development of the productive forces at~h ~taghge .Feudahs~ IS a higher stage than slavery. Capital ism is

    I er, and Socialism and Communism the highest of all~~r~ess has always come about through class struggles;tL._ ....J": t\.\deenslaves and Slave-owners, between feudal lords and'""If "'"' 15, an today bet th .capitalists and the wo ki weeIn e two mall lclasses of society, ther tng c ass.Marx analysed th . liho~ it rests onthe b e.ca~l~ 1Stsys~em of production. He exposedasis 0 t eexploItatIon ofman by man. All value

    comes from labour. Because they own the means of production, thec ap it ali st s h old th e w hip -h an d o ve r th e w or ke rs . T he y d o n ot o wnthem, as a slave-owner owned his slaves. They pay them wages.But the wages are not equal to the real value produced bytheworker.The worker works only part ofthe day to earn his wages.The restis free labour for the boss. This is surplus value, out of which thecapitalists make their profit and accumulate wealth. Because oftheir great economic power and wealth, the owners of the means.ofproduction dominate in every capitalist country. They run ~a~ha-ment and the press; their ideas prevail in educational and religiousinstitutions. The laws are made to suit their interests. The State,the army, the police and the courts, defend, in the first place theirproperty. However democratic it may appear on the su?,ac:e,every capitalis t s ta te is in reali ty a dictatorship of the capitalis tclass.

    ,I:11'!I

    ImperialismThe genius of Vladimir Lenin, recognised leader of the workersand oppressed people of all countries, threw a bright light on thefurther development of 20th Century capitalism into its highest andlast stage-Imperialism. As capitalism develops, more and morethe control of wealth passes to fewer and fewer hands. Big firms eatup small ones. Huge monopolies grow, both national and inter-national, and a few giant firms dominate whole branches of thenational economy. Banks and other financial institutions buysharesin industrial concerns, and the 'kings of industry' acquire control~inginterests in the banks. So the two kinds of monopoly capital,financial and industrial, merge with one another. The imperialistsexport capital to the sources ofraw material and .cheap labour, t.othe countries which are less developed economically. Economicpenetration isfollowed bypolitical domination. A hand~ul of W~t-European powers, Japan and the United States ofAm~nca, seeklI~ghigher profits, dominated the whole of Afnca, Asia and LatinAmerica mercilessly looted their natural resources and exploitedtheir pe~ple. The colonial system of imperialism did incalculabledamage to these peoples. Itheld back and stifled their independent,economic, political, social and cultural development. In e.xtre~ecases it resulted in the wholesale massacre and near-extermmationof indigenous peoples. Imperialism produc~d disgus~ingan,~utt~rl~false theories and practices of so-cal led supenor and inferiorraces, which culminated in Hitler's Germany and Verwoerd's SouthAfrica.

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    -Im perial isrn breedswar, on a scale andof afrightfulness previo~sJ~

    ur.kr.own in human history. Following the 'scramble for Afn~:Ol'.tni~ the end of the 19th Century, the entire worl~ w,:s pam-ta)!:t.'Jbetween the imperialist powers. Powerful new caprtal ist statesarose, and demanded their 'right' to own colonies. But all ~hecolonial territories had already been grabbed by the older imperial-I'-lS. The desperate conflict between the rival imperialists for there-partition of the world, erupted in the terrible world war of1 91 4- 1 k . which shook the foundations of imperialism and exposedItS true nature to the masses.Capitalism, in its t ime, was a progressive social system. With allItS defects it represented an advance over feudalism, higher produc-non, greater l ibert ies. But , in the wor ld of today, capitali sm is nolonger progressive. Modern production is a great and complicatedprocess. arising from a highly organised society. But the means ofprocucuon remain inprivate hands, and the fruits are appropriatedb) the fell. This deep contradiction between social production andprivate appropriation leads to great conflic ts in society: betweenthe masses of the people and the group of monopoly capitalist s\ \ho control their destinies, between rival capitalis t countries,between colonial peoples seeking national freedom and their101pcnalistmasters, between the working class as a whole and thecapitalist class. These conflicts cannot beresolved within the frame-\\.orkof the capitalist system. They are leading to the breakdown ofthaI sys.tem.Symptoms of this breakdown are the ever-recurringcn\e~ Of o\er-production; the turning of the ruling classes towardsf(l~":lSIn; the gigannc expenditure on armaments; the ceaseless driveto....ards aggressIOnand war.

    CapitalIsm is obsolete. It is giving way to the new and highersocial orderofsocialism and communism. Socialism puts an end to~~ ~ontrad)C(lOnSof capitalism by aboliShing private ownershipowl e .mam means of production and placing them under publicof ::;ShlPk It replaces the dictatorship of the capitalis ts with thatforth \\~r ers , thus for the first t ime ensuring genuine democracye masses. It overcomes th I d natiincapiwlism by abolishin ec ass ~~ national conflic ts inherentnon of man bv man' b g the eXP!oltmg c1~ses and the exploi ta-to all peoples" Soc' 'I' Ygu_aranteemgequalIty and national rights. ia Ism aims to meet th .cultural needs of the J e ~OWIDg material andloping and improvi~o~ e.!! overall I?lannmg, by steadily deve-conSCiOUsness and labour ~c:h ~roductIOn. It develops socialistapplYIngthe Principle' 'Fro~ uSI~m amo~g the Working people by. eac accordmg to his ability, to eacho

    according to his work.' The great development of the productiveforces under socialism, and in the rise in the socialist consciousnessof the masses, enables the gradual development towards a stiIIhigher stage of human society: communism. Communism is aclassless social system, with one form of public ownership of themeans of production. All members of communist society will enjoyfull social equality. The all-round development of the people,accompanied by the growth of the productive forces sufficient toensure abundance of goods, enables the principle to be applied:'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.'Under communism-a highly organised society of free, sociallyconscious people enjoying public self-government-labour willcease to be a burden. Everyone wilIrecognise that to work for thebenefit of the people is a necessity willingly performed as life'sfirst need.The October Revolution

    A new era in human history opened with the great OctoberSocialist Revolution of 1917 when, led by the Communist Party,and inspired by the great teachings of Marx and Lenin, the workersand peasants of Russia and the former Tsarist Empire overthrewcapitalist class rule and established, over a vast territory, the dic-tatorship of the proletariat . The heroic victories of the Sovietworkers and peasants against counter-revolutions and foreign inter-vention, their triumph over famines and backwardness, their greatachievements in the building of socialism, inspired millions ofworking people in many parts of the world. Powerful CommunistParties arose in many countries. In the areas ofthe greatest popula-tion, the colonies of imperialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America,the October Revolution aroused hundreds of millions to fight fornational liberation.FoIlowing the historic victory of the Soviet Union in the secondworld war and the defeat of fascism on an international scale, tbepeople's cause made a further Jeap ahead. Led by the CommunistParty, the great Chinese nation of 750million put an end to domina-tion by imperialism and its agents and took the road to socialism.In a number of European and Asian count ries the people roseagainst capitalist and landlord rule and laid the basis for socialism.These countries have joined the Soviet Union in the socialist camp,comprising no less than one-third of the human race, boundtogether by firm fraternal and equal relations, among themselves,advancing the people's living standards by leaps and bounds, and

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    roviding a powerful safeguard for peace, national liberation,~emocracy and progress for all th~ peoples of t~e world. IThe colonial system of imperialism IS crumbling. The pe,?p ~s of. II th whole continent ofAsia have within an astoQlshmglypractica y e d' I' al rulf t ime liberated themselves from irect co OD! e.short space 0 I , 11 d m tiThe tide of nat ional l iberation has advan~ed with equa Y ra. a. Ieswiftness throughout the continent of Afnca and.the !Sreat mdontyof our fellow-Africans today enjoy formal political indepen ence,The inspiring example of Cuba, has called forth a great wavethroughout Latin America of resistance to the econo.allc enslave-ment by United States imperialism. Determmed to wm a,plac~ ofequality in the world, and to overcome the evil heri~age of irnperial-,ism, the peoples of the colonial and formerly colon:al c~:)Untn.es.areconducting vigorous and mounting struggles agams~ imperialisrriand its agents intheir midst. They fight against feudalism and ?therforms of local reaction. They are striving to build states of natioria.Idemocracy, which will move forward from formal indepen,d~nceand break all imperialist financial, economic, political and militaryentanglements. They seek rapidly to put an end to th~ ch~os andeconomic backwardness which imperialism has left behind It. Theyaim to overcome the crippling lack ofequipment, communications,and trained and skilled personnel; and to conquer illiteracy, masspoverty, disease and ignorance. They aim to catch up with the mo~tadvanced countries in industrial and agricultural development, Inliving standards and conditions, in educational , cultural andscientific achievement. Only thus can true equality, independenceand democracy beestablished for the hundreds of millions of peoplein the former colonies of imperialism.Moreand more the masses of people inAfrica and other formerlycolonial countries are coming to understand that capitalist formsof production, based on private ownership, can never enable themto accomplish this gigantic task. Led by the small , but growing,working class, in close alliance with the masses of rural people, theyare striving to achieve non-capitalist forms of development, leadingtowards socialism. They are demanding a vast process of agrarianreform, enabling the African, Asian and Latin American farmer,for the first timein history, to have sufficientland at his disposal fora decent life. To place the control of their countries firmly in thehands of the people, they are fighting for genuine democracy,guaranteeing freedom of speech, of the press and organisation,and enabling masses of workers and peasants to playa full part inpublic life. The newly independent countries no longer constitute a

    reliab1ereserveof imperialism. They aremovingmore and more outofthe sphere of influence of imperialism, and becoming a powerfulfactor for peace, against imperialist war.The greatest threat to the aspirations and the future of the peoplesofall countriesliesin theaggressive plans ofinternational imperialismagainst socialismand national independence. Shouldthe imperialistssucceed in triggering off a nuclear world conflict it would destroy agreat part ofhumanity andman's greatest achievements.Imperialismhasnot changed its character. Mobilised and organisedby theleadersof world reaction, the United States monopoly capitalis ts , theimperialists are intensifying the armaments race and the cold war,they commit continuous fresh acts of intervention and aggression,attempting to check and reverse the world tide towards nationalindependenceand socialism. They threaten the world with nucleardestruction. Butbecause of the tremendous strength, economic,socialandmilitary, of the Socialist countries, attracting thepowerfulsupportof hundreds of millions of people in the newly liberated andthe capitalis t countries, the power of the imperialis ts to imposecolonialism,or to start wars, has been checked; their wingshave beenclipped.Powerful peace movements, embracing millions of people ofvarying political beliefs, have grown up in many countries. Theforces of national liberation and of the labour movement every-where are insistently demanding an end to the cold war and theobservance of the principles of peaceful co-existence of states withdifferent social systems. All these forces are rallying to demanduniversal and complete disarmament. This crucial policy, advancedby the Soviet Union, crystallises the longings of our generation forpeace and security, for life itself. Universal disarmament would lifta crushing burden of taxes from the shoulders of the people. Itwould make available the huge resources and quantities of man-power now diverted to arms production for useful production toraise the people's living standards. Itwould greatly assist the causeof national liberation by str iking the weapons from the hands ofthe colonialists, It would free the world from the nightmare ofnuclear war. Unity of all the forces demanding peace is capable ofenforcing this demand. Even though imperialism still r~es inpowerful countries such as the United States, the countnes ofWestern Europe and Japan, and eventhough the war dange~is stillacute, the possibility already exists of achieving universal disarma-ment and eliminating war, providing the people struggle resolutelyto assert their will for peace.

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    -It is DO l on ge r t he imp er ia li st s, b ut t he i nt er na ti on al working

    class and its proudest creation, the world socialist system, whichdetermine the main characteristics and trends of our times. We livein an epoch of struggle between two opposing social systems, a nepoch ofsocialist and national liberation revolutions, of the break-down of imperialism and the abolition of the colonial system. It isan epoch ofthe transition ofmore and more peoples to the socialistpath andthe triumph ofsocialismand communism on a world-widescale.These vast changes in the world spell the doom of capitalismand imperialism. The victory of socialism and communism willensure the eradication of all types of exploitation and oppression,a future ofpeace, friendship, well-being, and unlimited advance forall peoples of the earth. Idlers and parasites wiIl no longer existfor 'he who does not work, neither shan he eat'. Selfishness,ignorance,superstition and other evils of the acquisitive society willdisappear. Mankind will enter upon a greater freedom, in terms ofthe principles of Communism.But this great change will not come about of its own accord, orbypersuading the capitalist ruling classes that change is reasonable

    anddesirable.No ruling classin history ever bowed itself gracefullyoffthe stage. The defeat ofcapitalism and the transition to socialismcan only come about through struggles of themasses of the people,headed by the most advanced, resolute and revolutionary class, theworkingclass, In their fight against exploitation and capitalist classd~mmatlOn,the weapon of.the working class is organisation. Thework::rs orgamse trade unions to fight for higher wages, bettercondltlon.sand shorter working hours. They build mass politicalor~msatlOns to oppose and protest against the injustices ofcapitalist cla~srule. Answering Marx's great call: 'Workers of allc~)Untnes,unite', the workers of each country strengthen brotherly~: dbetweenthem.selvesand .those of other countries beyond theirr ers, on.a regional, continental and international basisCDue to. dlpfferencesof history and national tradition which theornmumst arties take int he nrer-i 'ill diff f 0 account, t e precise path to socialismWIer rom one country t h B' . -ences show that certai b . 0 anot er. ut international experi-by the Marxist-L al.n ;SIC laws apply tooall countries. Headedpeasants and oth eDlDl~ arty and Inalliance with most of thethe state of djcta~~~~~ ~fp~oPle,.the.working classmust destroydictatorship of the wo:'kin t f caPJtalIs~, and replace it with theto the greatmajority ofth g c ass, offering the widest democracyby the reactionary classese p~oPle.Attempts at counter-revolutionan groups must be suppressed. Private14

    -own er sh ip o f th e m ai n m eans o f p ro du ct io n mus t b e a bo li sh ed a ndpublic ownership must be established in its place. The land mustbe in the hands of those who til l it, and agricul ture gradual lytransformed on a socialist basis. The national economy must beplanned, to raise the people's livingstandards and build socialismand communism. Capitalist influence must be rooted out in thefieldsof ideologyand culture, and a newtypeof intellectualmust betrained, devoted to the welfare of the people and to socialism. Allforms ofracial and national discrimination andoppressionmust bewiped out, complete equality of rights and opportunities andbrotherly friendship must be an unvarying principle governingallrelations between people ofdifferent national groups. The achieve-ments of socialismmust be defended against enemiesinside andoutside the country. Working class internationaIism--close tiesbetween the workers of all lands-is essential for the building ofsocialismin any country.The highest form of working class organisation is the Marxist-Leninist Party, the most advanced, conscious and determinedsectionof the class.This Party, the Communist Party, isa voluntaryassociation of the best, most militant and devotedfighters for thecause of the workers, peasants and all oppressed people. All Partymembers enjoy equal rights irrespective of race or nationality. Allmembers pledge themselves to maintain the highest standards ofdiscipline, political training, loyalty and courage. Led by the Party,the working class aims, not merely at reforms of the capitalistsystem, but at the revolutionary overthrow ofthe systemitselfandits replacement by socialism.

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    3 The African RevolutionFOR CENTURIES THE PEOPLES OF AFRICA WERE SUBJEC:ED TOexploitation and robbery by the capital ist mari time nations ofwestern Europe and other marauders. Millions of sons and daughtersof Africa were transported as slaves to far away countnes. In t?ewords of Karl Marx, Africa was 'a warren for the commer~lalhunting of black skins.' The invaders destroyed Africa's ancientcivilisations. They seizedand laid waste her natural wealth. By theend of the 19th Century almost the whole of Africa had beenconquered-by trickery or the force ofsuperior arms-and br~u~htbeneath the alien yoke of a handful of European powers=-Britain,France, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and Spain. Her peoples weredeprived of self-government, alienated from their ancestral landsand driven to work asforced labourers on white-owned plantations,mines and other enterprises. Africa's normal economic and politicaldevelopment was arrested and set back. Vast fortunes were accumu-lated in Europe and North America out of African resources andAfrican labour. But the people of our Continent remained the mostpoverty-stricken in the world, with the highest death rate and thelowest expectancy of life. The colonialists proclaimed that theirmission was altruistic and civilising. But now, when they are beingdriven from Africa, they leave behind them a crippling heritage ofilliteracy, ignorance, economic stagnation, starvation and disease.As a result ofthe heroic struggles ofthe African peoples, all overthe Continent, and also of the break-up of the colonial system ofimperialism which was inaugurated by the great October SocialistRevolution, the peoples of Africa have swept forward to win free-dom and independence. At the end of the second world war, onlyEthiopia and Liberia could claim to be African states governed byAfricans. By 1962the whole picture had been transformed. OnlyAngola, Mozambique and a fewother scattered territories remainedunder ~he direct colonial rule of European powers, and in theRepublic of South Africa, South-West Africa and the Rhodesias,16

    Whiteminorities continued to dominate. The area offormal politicalindependence had spread to almost the entire continent. Thissweeping process-the return of Africa to the rule of the Africanpeople themselves-is a great victory for the African people andthe cause of freedom. Itmust be pressed forward and completed assoon as possible. It is the essential basis for all future advance.The working class, and its most advanced leaders, the Communists,are intimately concerned with this great movement for politicalindependence: they form its spearhead and its most determined anduncompromising defenders.

    But, formal polit ical independence alone will not ensure thegenuine independence of the African peoples, and their equalityamongst the nations of the world. The former coloniesremain tiedby a thousand bonds to their former owners. Through the 'BritishCommonwealth' and the 'French Community' powerful pressuresare exerted to influence them and ensure their continued adherenceto political, diplomatic, military and economic systems of Westernimperialism. There is a new 'scramble for Africa' in which UnitedStates, West German and Japanese finance capitalists are vyir:gwith the older imperialists to extend their investments and theireconomic stranglehold over African territories and resources. Theimperiali sts all strive to retard the development of nationaleconomies and national industries inthe African countries. Throughsuch instruments as the European Common Market they strive tokeep them backward, in a position ofsuppliers ofraw material andcheap labour for imperialism. These plans of neo-colonialism arethe greatest threat to the real independence and development of thenewly emerged African states.The young African states need to abolish illiteracy, backw~rCln.~and economic dependence. They need to 'Africanise' their civilservices and administrations, rapidly to train personnel fr?mamongst their own people to administer and develop their count:les.They need radical land reform, to transform and Iml?roveAfncanagriculture and greatly raise the desperately low living st~ndardsof themasses. They need rapid industrialisation andeconoIUl~deve-lopment, in order to overcome the terrible heritage left ~ehlDdbycolonialism, and to catch up with the advan~ed countnes of theworld. In these aims the young African Republics are tremendouslyassisted by the generous and unconditional aid extende~ to themby the Soviet Union and other countries of the socl~hst wo~ldsystem. Such aid is rendered upon the principles of stn~t equalityand true brotherly friendship. It aims to lay the baSISfor the

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    .;.

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    industrialisation of undeveloped countries-the foundation stoneof true independence and equality-and to train competentspecialists in the hundred fields which the new Africa so urgentlyrequires.Only if they can achieve a social transformation, a fast rate ofeconomic and social development, can the African countries ensuregenuine independence and equality in the world family of nations,and higher standards of life, health and culture for their people.In their drive towards these goals the African peoples are facedwith the choice between capitalist and socialis t paths. More andmore, the revolutionary workers and peasants, the radical intel-lectual youth ofAfrica are turning towards the socialist path. Theyhave seen the evils of capitalism at work in their midst, i ts greedand wastefulness of life and resources; its ruthless contempt for thedignity and value of the human being. They have learnt of thetremendous rate of development which socialism has made possibleespecially in the Asian Republics of the Soviet Union, in People'sChina and other formerly colonial countries which, under workers'rule and socialism, have advanced with giant's strides. Non-capitalist forms ofdevelopment, aimed at the building of socialism,are the only way in which Africa can rapidly liquidate racialism,feudalism, tribalism, poverty, backwardness and disease, and theexploitation of man by man.The South African Communist Party regards as a dogmaticdistortion of Marxism, the concept that African countries which arein a pre-capitalis t stage of development must necessarily passthrough a period of capitalism before achieving socialism. We arelivingin the epoch ofthe transition, on aworld scale,from capitalismto socialism. The experience of the Soviet Asian Republics, ofPeople's China, Vietnam, the People's Republic of Korea, andPeople's Mongol ia, show that in our epoch it is possible for thepeople of colonial countries to advance along non-capitalist linestowards the building of socialism.Recognising the tremendous attraction of socialist ideas inAfrica;rarious leaders. have advanced the concept of a special kind ofAfncan SOCIalIsm'different from Marxism-Leninism. These con-cepts are mistaken. It is true that the precise paths of the Africanpeoples towards soci~lism will differ from those of peoples of othercontinents, d_ueto differences ofnational tradition and history, tothe long penod of colonialist domination which, amongst otherfactors, ha~ prevented th~ development of African societies alongthe same lines as those illEurope and Asia. But the whole of18

    international experience has proved beyond h dthat the main truths of Marxism-Leninism ;~Yf~lla ow?f doubtcountries in e~eI?' stage of social development. fha:~~~b;~~~towar.ds a socialist and communist future is that indicated bMarxism, The mnumerable attempts, in many parts of th IIto propound or practise 'non-Marxist social ism' or toe, wO.r"'modifv' d ,. ,. reVise,. .IY an Improve MarXIsm-Leninism, have one and all endedin disaster and betrayal of the working class.National Democracy

    ~he countries of Africa are in various stages of historical andsoc~al development. In some.areas, such as the Republic of SouthAfrica and the Congo, there ISa relatively high degree of industrialdevelop men:, of powerful monopoly capitalism and a numericallystrong .wo~kingclass. Other areas have hardly been touched at allb_Ycapitalist development. There is little or no commodity produc-tiori and exchange,.ar:d modern nations havenot developed. Feudalan~ pre-feudal SOCIetIesprevail. There is thus no common solutionWhIChwould answer the needs of all the territories of Africa' eacharea ~~ds to be.studied specifically in the light of its own ;ctualconditions, But, illmost parts ofAfrica, the needs of the people willbest be met at the present tune bythe formation ofstates ofnationalderno~racy, as a transitional stage to socialism. The minimumessentIal.s for a state of national democracy as indicated in the?ecla:atlOn of 81 Mar~st Pru:!es in December 1960, are that it :consistently upholds Its political and economic independencefights aga.inst i~perialism and its military blocs, against militar;bases on Its tern tory ; fights against the new forms of colonialismand the penetration of imperialist capital; rejects dictatorial anddespotic methods of government; ensures the people broad demo-cratic rights and freedoms (freedom of the press, speech, assembly,demonstration, establishment of political parties and socialorganisations) and the opportunity of working for the enactment ofagrarian reform and other domestic and social changes; and forparticipation in shaping government policy'. The basis of a nationaldemocracy is a leading alliance of workers and rural people. Sucha state will provide the most favourable conditions for advance,along non-capitalist lines, to socialism.In their advance towards national independence, democracy,unity and socialism the African peoples are seriously handicappedby the lack of understanding of socialist ideology-largely a resultof the imperialists' censorship and distortion of Communist ideas

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    -and by the absence in most parts of our continent of indepen-dent, Marxist-Leninist parties of the working class. Socialismcannot ef fective ly be bu ilt w ithout socia li st organisation gu ided bysocialist theory. The development and growth of such parties,devoted to the people' s struggle for freedom and independence,and building and forming part of the united front of all patrioticcl asses for na tiona l li bera tion, wou ld be an important cont ribu tionto the cause of Africa. By making a profound study of scientificsocialist theory and creatively applying it to the solution of theproblems of their own countries, such Parties can play an indis-pensable rol e in car rying the Afr ican Revolut ion forward un in te r-ruptedly to its consummation: the crowning of nationalindependence with deep-reaching social revolution and the fullemancipation of the African peoples from bondage.

    The common struggle of the peoples of Africa against imperial-ism and colonialism in all its forms has brought the peoples ofAfrica closer together than ever before. The African countrieswh ich have a lready achieved independence render f ra te rna l as si st-ance to the freedom struggle of their brothers who still suffer underforeign or White minority domination. A powerful urge towardscloser ties and solidarity exists among all Africans based upon theunderstanding that unity can best enable the African people tomaintain and consolidate independence, overcome their gravesocial and economic problems, develop the resources of theContinent and raise their living standards. This urge finds itsexpression in the historic All-African People's Conferences and inregional groupings such as the Pan-African Freedom Movement ofEast, Central and Southern Africa: in the formation of the AlI-African Trade Union Federation: in joint economics and defenceplans; in actual or projected regional Federations aimed at theultimate establishment of a united African Commonwealth. Thismovement isprogressive and ant i-imperial is t in character, reflect ingthe essential unity of the African Revolution. The frontiers ofAfrica were drawn by the imperialists. For the most part theyrecord past conf lic ts and set tl ement s among the colon ia li st s. Theydo not reflect African interests, nor do they demarcate naturalgeographical, l ingui st ic or other divis ions. Progres sive el ements inAfrica will seek to re-draw these frontiers, to create larger andmore viable communities, leading to a fraternal commonwealth ofAfrica as a whole. Because they are achieving independence in theepoch of the world transition to socialism, it is not inevitable thatthe African nations should follow the path of other continents by20

    developing antagonistic nation states, each jealously guarding itsfrontiers. Such s tates are the product of capital ism. Provided allthe African countr ies fol low non-cap it al is t forms of developmentthe achieveme r?ts of a united Africa will become practical anddesirable. But if this great his torical process is to be effected withoutsowing the seed s of new conflicts, it must be based on consent andpersuasion, not upon force. .

    Communists recognise the right of all peoples and nationa lgroupS to self:determination: They respect the ~~ges ~nd pro-gress ive t radit ions of a ll Afri can peop les, and their r ight to indepen-dent development of their cul ture. While recognising the progressiveelements in Afr ican na tionalism and the movement for Pan-Africanuni ty, Sou th A. :f rican .communi sts rem_ain true to. the p rincipl e~ ofworking class international ism. They wil l fight against all expressionsor rac ia li sm, isola tionism, and the glor if ica tion and perpetua tion o freactionary traditions, which have their roots in capitalist, tribaland feudalist outlooks.The struggle of the peoples of the rest of Africa a~d those ofSouth Africa, against colonialism and for freedom, IS one a.ndindivisible. White colonialism in the Republic of South Africathreatens the independence, peace and progress of the whole ofAfrica. It is a stronghold and refuge of reaction and imperialismthreatening the gains of the African revolution; a breeding groundfor p lot s and ac tiv iti es designed to resto re colon ia li sm throughoutthe Continent- A poor and backward Africa profits the SouthAfrican monopoly capitalists, enabling them to exploit cheapAfrican labour, both in their heavy investments in many parts ofthe Continent and by importing workers from other territories tomines and other enterprises in the Republic itself. The SouthAfrican state and its military forces collaborate with those of thePortuguese , Rhodesian and other co lonia list s: In. fi gh ting aga i.nstWhite supremacy, for the democratic revolution IIISouth Af:lca,the people of our country are fighting for the cause of the AfricanRevolution as a whole. In this fight they are greatly heartened bythe victories of t he ir brothers and s is te rs beyond the ir borders, andby their actions of solidarity with South Africa. They ~elco~e thedecisions for the complete diplomatic and economic IsolatIo~ ofthe Republic, the boycott of South African goods and the wlt.h-drawal of migrant labour from this country, and call for the. stnctimplementation of these decisions. The liber~ted South Afnca ?fthe future will bui ld ti es of the c losest f ra te rn ity and mutua l as si s-tance, based upon equal friendly relations, with all peoples of

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    A frica. Its w ealth, exp ericn e and s ills \\ ill b a so urce o f stren gthto th e n ew , lric a.

    4 C o lo n ia lismo f a Sp ecia l TypeTH., v HI.TE RUU"IG CU$SES. A"D ESPECIALLY TH E LEAOERS 01' THE aiionalist ~any have rn nufaetured a ersion of the past andPI'CSCnl of Lhl COUnlT) '"hich they ys lema ticall attempt to imposee\ferywh~re,.rrom the s ch o ol ro om t o I nt er na ti on al e pi ni on , A c co rd -IOg,LothIS picture I h~ea r l y White s n le rs p en etra te d p ea ce fu ll 'in toa v~lIy unoccupied country . The African population \ ~o ared~plcted as s a va g e b a rb a ri an s without culture ac : hi c ,- e 'men lS orhistory. are represented as relative n ev. 'COme rs 'w ho e n te r ed thea un o;.: at a bo ut th ~ tim e as the W hites and conductedgglessJve w ars an.d raid s again st th em Th e imp'T . lhat fri . CSSJon 15 gwennean occupauon \\ always m ore or le ss co nfille d to L hA IP~ : Resc:-'~tbc ';B an m H om ela nd s'. T his ve rsio n o f SoUl~nca s past IS entirely false,

    F the dDut~~mEas~ ~;e ~ the fir L White set tl ement , establ ished by th ea. ompan 300 years ago, the pattern was er forthe ruthless coJonlal.e.',ereignty or 'PrOleCtOrales' through Bec:huanal:lnd and sasuee-l an d , a nd b ey on d t he L im p op o R iv er i nM a s h on ai an d . B a ro ts el an d .a n d o t he r t er ri to r ie s 10 t he n o rt h. \ \.h ic h t hi :) h a ve n am e d after th einfamoUS acivenLUrer and mu l ti -m i ll io n a ir e C e c il Itbodcs.T he b eg in nin gs o f th e p as s sys te m ~ re introduced unde r .B ri ti shru le , H ow ev er, a s th e fo re mo st ca pita .lis l country at that t ime,B rita in w as o pp os ed 10 d ire ct c ha ue ! sla ve ry. In I 36 a la \l, .....sp asse d a bo lis hin g sill. ery in th e C ap e C olo n> . In p ro lest againstth is law , an d to g et Il.\ ay f rom B r it is h rule, l ar ge p ar ti es o f B o er sl ef t L h eCape and crossed into l am i the O range ree Stale a nd th eTransvaal . In the co urse of this Great T re " th e Boers conductedc on ti nu o us a g gr es si ve w ar s a ga in st the [d ea n trib es w ho m th eyfound in p o s es si on e ve ry w he re . T h ey u su rp e d their lands, ~ploiledth eir la bc ur a nd e e n p ra ctise d fo rm s o f sla ve ry. T he y e sta b U sh ednew Republics found d on \ hitt dom ination and the racialis tp rin cip le r 0 e qu ality in C hu rc h o r S la te '.C o lo n ia li st p r op Banda has emphasised the negauve f ea lu re s o ftraditional African society: the relau\ 'ely low development ofproductive t ec h ni qu e s' t he i ll it er a cy , i n te r- tr ib a l c o n ll ic ts a n~ w~s up er slilio n a nd poverty. h is tru e L ha l u cb fe atu re s existed 11\traditional African society just as t he y d id among al l peoples at m eperio d of simple tribal economy. But hostile propa,gaoda ha sp resen ted a distorted im ag e. Prio r to tho Eu ro pean con q~ est ofSouthcro rica. the in dig eo ou p eo ple s b ad d ev elo ped tb el[.o ni nd ep e nd en t c ul tu re a nd civilisation. T h ey m i ne d a nd sm el te d I ro n ,c op p er a nd o th er m e ta ls a nd f as hi on ed t hem i nr o u se fu l i m pl em e nt S.They had developed a Dumbe r o f h an dic :ra flS - h eir .s YS le m o fe xt en si ve a gr jc ul ru re a nd l iv es to ck b re ed in g wa s wel l SUited to th e

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    type ofcountry and the tools at their disposa l. It produced a surplussufficient to maintain full-time specialist workers, smiths , doctorsand others. Their system of government, though simple, was essen-tially democratic and popular in cha racter. The he r.editary chiefswere assisted in their functions as law-glvers and Judges by thesenior people of the tribe, and important decisi

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    A rapid process of industrialisation was set in train, especiallyduring the two world wars. South African heavy industry andsecondary industry grew to occupy first place on the Continent.This process had profound effects on the country's social structure.It concentrated great wealth and profits in the hands of the upperstrata of the White population. It revolutionised the economy,transforming it from a predominantly agricultural into an indus-trial-agricultural economy, with an urban working class, mainlynon-White, which is the largest in Africa. But no commensuratebenefits of this industrialisation have been enjoyed by the massesof non-White people.Two South AfricasOn one level, that of 'White South Africa', there are all~he features of an advanced capitalist state in its final stage oflffiperialism. Thereare highlydeveloped industrial monopolies, andthe merging of industrial and finance capital. The land is farmedalong capitalist lines, employing wage labour, and producing cashcrops for the local and export markets. The South African mono-poly capitalists, who are closely linked with British, United Statesand other foreign imperialist interests , export capital abroad~specially in Africa. Greedy for expansion, South African imperial-ism reaches out to incorporate other territories-South_ West Africaand the Protectorates.

    But on another level, that of 'Non-White South Africa ' there~re all the features of a colony. The indigenous population is sub-jected to extrem~ national oppression, poverty and exploitation, lackof all democ:atJ~ rights and political domination by a group whichdoes everythmg It can to emphasise and perpetuate its alien 'Euro-~ean' character. The African Reserves show the complete lack ofmdustry, communications, transport and power resources whichare cha racte~istic of~rican territ~ries under colonial rule through-out the Con tinent. TYPICal,oo, of Imperialist rule, isthe reliance byt~e state upon brute force and terror, and upon the most backwardtribal elements and i~titutions which are deliberately and artificiallypr~erv~d. Non-White South Africa is the colony of White SouthAfrica itselfIt is this C?n:binati?n ?f the worst features both of imperialisma~d of colorual:sm, within a single national frontier, Which deter-mines the special nature of the South African system and hasbrought upon 11srulers the justified hatred and contempt of pro-gressIve and democratic people throughout the world.

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    All Whites enjoy privileges in South Africa. They alone can voteand be elected to parliament and local government bodies. Theyhave used this privilege to monopolise nearly all econo~ic, edu~-tional cultural and social opportunities. This gives the impressionthat the ruling class iscomposed ofthe entire White population. Infact, however, real power isin the hands of the monopolists whoown and control the mines, the banks and finance houses, and mostof the farms and major industr ies. The gold and diamond minesare owned by seven mining-financial corporations and controlledby a handful of powerful financiers. These seven corporations areclosely linked with British and American imperialist intere~ts.Theycontrol capital investment in mining alone of R490 million, andemploy almost 500,000 workers. In addition, they dominate largesections of manufacturing industries. They arelinked with themainbanks two of which control assets of over R2,OOOmillion, mainlyinthe forms of loans to industry, commerce and the state. Theyownvast tracts of arable land and mining rightsin almost every part ofthe country. In agriculture too monopoly dominates. Four per centof the farms make up an area amounting to almost four-tenths ofthe total White-owned farmland. Thus, in mining, industry, com-merce and farming, monopolists dominate the country's economy.They are also closely linked with state monopoly capital ventures,such as Iscor (Iron and Steel), Escom (Elect ricity) and Sasol(Petrol). 'These monopolists are the real power inSouth Africa. The specialtype of colonialism in South Africa serves, in the first place, theirinterests. Low non-White wages; the reserves of poverty; the com-pound labour system and the importation ofhundreds ofthousandsof contract labourers from beyond our borders; the pass lawsandpoll tax and rigid policecontrol of labour and of movement.-:-allare designed to keep their profits high. In 1961these seven nurungcorporations and their subsidiaries made a working profit of nearlyR212 million and paid out dividends of RIOI million to share-holders.The South African monopolists act asalliesand agents offoreignimperialist interests. One-quarter of the capital of the sevenmining-financial groups is owned abroad, mainly by British and American'. investors. In 1958, dividends of R43 million were paid out abroad.The two biggest banks are largely controlled from Britain, and inrecent years United States capital investment in South Africa hasgrown rapidly, exceeding all other American investments in therest of Africa put together.27

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    E ff ec ti ve e co nom ic d om in ati on i n S ou th A fr ic a i s t hu s exercisedby an all iance oflocal White monopoly interes ts in mining, industryand agriculture, together wi th foreign imperiali st s and representa-t ives of state monopoly capital ism. These interes ts have conflictsamong themselves, which are ref lected in the main Whi te pol iti calparties and groupings. But they find common ground in the per-petuation of the colonial-type subjugation of the non-Whitepopulation.The system of colonial domination ove r and robbery of the non-White masses is not in the genuine, long-term interest of theworkers, small farmers, middle-class and professional elements whomake up the bulk ofthe Whi te population. White domination meansmore and more police and military expenditure to burden the tax-payer and divert men and resources from useful production. Itmeans that the poverty-stricken masses are unable to form anadequate market for South African industry and agriculture. Itmeans more and more dictatorial pol ice-state measures , the extin-guishing of civil l iberties for Whites as well as non-Whites. Itmeansa South Africa despised and shunned by the whole world, subjectedto economic, diplomatic, cultural and other forms of isolationboycott and sanctions. It means a future of uncertainty and fear:The maintenan~ of White supremacy involves ever- increasingrepression and VIOlencebythe government, resistance by the oppres-sed people and the steady drift to civil war. Only the completeemancipation of the non-White peoples can create conditions ofequ~ity and friendship among the nat ionali ti es of South Africa andeliminate the roots of race hatred and antagonism which are thegreatest threat to the continued security and existence of the Whitep~pulation i tsel f. The national liberation of the non-Whi tes whichWIllbreak ~hepower of monopoly capi tali sm is thus in the deepestJon.g-term :nterest of the bulk of t he Whites. Progressive and far -seemg Whi tes ally themselves uncondi tionally with the s truggle ofthe masses of the people for fr eedom and equality.

    On the whole, the White workers represent an 'aristocracy oflabour'. The monopolists have extended numerous concessions tothem. They receive relatively high wages. Non-White miners receivean average of RI44 a year plus food and compound housing' White~n.ers R2470. African male farm workers average R68 ~ year'hlt~R1050. Whites have a monopoly of the best id ib d f'entry mto skilled t d T '. pal JO s , an 0auth . ra ~s. hey are invariably given positions ofwa ontJ: over non- \V!Utes. The relatively high standards ofli fe andges enjoyed by White workers represent, in reality, a share in the2S

    super profits made by the c~pi tali st s out of the gross exploitation ofthe non-Whites. Systematically indoctrinated with the creed ofWhite superiority, the ~!te worker imagines himself to be a par tof the ruling class and willingly acts as a tool and an accomplice inthe mai~tenance ofcoloniaIism and capitalism. However, in reali ty,the Whlt.e w?rker, l ike the non-White worker at his side, issubjectedto exploltatI~n by the s~me capital is t owners of.the means of pro-duction. White workers wages m genera l are high in comparisonwith those of non-Whites. But many categories of White workersarepaid ~i tt le more than non-Whi tes, and also s truggle to supportthei r fami lies. The Whi te worker i ssubjected to the insecurity of thecapitalist system, with its constant threats of depression, short-t imeand unemployment. The division of trade unions on racial linesweakens all sections of workers in their constant struggle with thebosses for better pay and conditions and shorter hours of work.The fundamental in terests of all South Afr ican workers, l ike thoseof workers everywhere, lie in unity: unity in the struggle for theday-to-day interests of the working class, for the ending of racediscrimination and divis ion , for a free, democratic South Africa asthe only poss ib le bas is for the winning of socialism, the overthrowof the capitalist c lass and the ending of human exploita tion.Non~White South AfricaMore than two-thirds of the South Africans are people ofindigenous African descent. Living and working in all parts of thecountry, they form the basic population and are at the same timethe main victims of coloniali sm; the most oppressed and exploitedof all . The former div is ions of the Afr ican people along tr ibal l ines,and their classification into chiefs and commoners, are breakingdown with the collapse of the tribal system. This system was suit-able for the simple, self-conta ined economy of the past, based onsubsistence farming and common ownership of land. There is noplace for it in a modern exchange economy based on large-scaleindustry and mining, on the farming of products for sale on themarket The Nationali st Party government, following the maxim:'Divide and Rule ', is attempting to revive t ribal ism and t ribal d ivi -sions. Their attempts cannot succeed. The African people of thiscountry are moving inevitably and consciously towards the forma-t ion of a s ingle, modern nation .There are no acute or antagonistic class divisions at presentamong the African people. Most of them are wage-workers inindustry or agriculture, There are no large-scale African employers

    ;.

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    of labour. The professional groups, mainly teachers, do not, as arule earn salaries or live differently from their fellow-Africans.Eve~ the people of the Reserves, especially the .men-fol~, spendmuch of their lives as migrant wage labourers In the mines, inagriculture or industry.One-third of the African people liveon the Reserves. The largestof these are the Transkei and Ciskei, in the Cape Province, butthere are also other scattered areas widely separated in the otherthree provinces. The Nationalist government speaks of the Reservesas the 'homelands' of the African people, but so far from being ableto sustain additional population, they are grossly over-crowdedalready and far too small to maintain their present population of3t million. Most Africans on the reserves are not independentpeasants and have no land or insufficient to make a living. Tosupport their families and avert starvation, most of the men inthe prime of life are usually away working for White employersand leaving the farming to old people and womenfolk. The small-ness and the overcrowding of the Reserves leads to soil exhaustion.There isno opportunity for intensive farming, crop rotation, orscientific cattle pasturing, because there is not enough land. TheReserves are the most backward and undeveloped areas in thecountry, typical of colonial Africa. They lack industr ies com-munications and power resources. There is no capital for im'prove-rnents or mechanisation.The 'Bantustan' FraudUnder i ts preposterous 'Bantustan' scheme the Nat ionalistgovernme~t i~proposing to partition South Africa. They pretend tobe~onferrmg mdependence' and 'self-government' on the Reserves: v h1Ch they. have r~hrist.ened 'Bantu Homelands' , and thus t~Just~y trea~m~ Afncans 1D the remaining 87 per cent of SouthAfnca as aliens a~d 'temporary visitors'. They present thisproposal asa conceSSIOnotheAfrican people and to world opinion.Afncans and ~ll ~reedom-loV1Dgpeople reject this proposal withcon~empt and IDdi~atIOr:. There are no grounds, in history or inreality, for the Nationalisrs to claim any part of South Africaexclusively for Whites Afri 1 ". . ricans lve IIIevery part of our country'their labo~ has ~one. to develop its farmlands and its cit ies , i t~:runes and mdustnes, ItSrailways and harbours; they claim every~nchof South Afnca as their homeland. The 'Bantustan' scheme~~ot ~ml~un~e~ocratic and opposed to every principle of self-ermmatlOn, It IS also fraudUlent. Though they pretend they are

    30

    givingland to Africans they are not giving them any additionallandat all-in many cases they are actually takmg awayland fromthem. The Nationalist Party promises independence and self-government to the Res~rves, b~t the so-call~d'B~ntustan' sc~emesare both dishonest and impractical. The Nationalists have no inten-tion ofconferring any genuine independence on any group of no~-White people. Even if they were compelled to make concessions mthisdirection, theland area of theReserves istoo small,the economytoo backward, and completely lacking in capital to allow for thepossibility of any real independence for these ~reas. .. ,The government is attempting, through the Bantu Authontiessystemto enforce a return to tribalism, using chiefs who are pre-pared to collaborate, and deposing and deporting ~ose.wh? reFuse.The effectis actually to hasten the breakdown of tnbal mstitutions.Those chiefs who collaborate with the government have becomethe most hated group in the countryside, relying on dictatorshipand terror, contrary to African traditions, to enforce the laws ofthe White authorities on the unwilling people. The people of theReserves are boldly calling the government's 'Bantustan' bluff.Theyare fighting bitter struggles, including armed struggles, againstthe Bantu Authorities. The peasant in the countryside today is notthe unsophisticated tribesman of .the previous century. Millionshave at some time or other come to work in the towns. They havecome into contact with the challenging outlook and the advancedmethods of organisation of the trade unions, the Congress move-ment and the Communist Party. These 'new peasants' haveawakenedthe countryside, transforming theAfrican peasantry fr?ma reserve ofconservatism into a powerful allyof the urban workingclass in the struggle against White colonialism, and for freedom,land, equality and democracy.Mill ions of agricultural labourers and labour tenants areemployed on White-owned farms throughout the country. Theseare the most exploited workers in South Africa. They work withoutany protection from labour laws, from dawn to sunset, at hard andexhausting labour, for wretchedly low wages. The food they ~regiven is too little,it isalways the same, and it is an unh~1thy diet.Onmost farms the housing for them isworse than what IS providedfor the farm animals. The use of convict labour, and compoundlabour and other forms of forced labour, is common on farmsin many parts of South Africa. Farmers and their foremenfre-quently employ physical violence against African farm labourers,beating them with sjarnboks, often to death. Wages for farm labour

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    __,....,._ _~~---------------are the lowest in the country. Agricultural labourers are not reallyfree workers. They are tied, often for life, to a particular farmerbecause of the operation of the labour tenancy systerr:, the passlaws and in particular the so-called 'trek-pass', the ~atlve ServiceContract and the Masters and Servants Acts. OrganisatIOn of agn-cultural workers' unions and other bodies for farm wor~~rs ISal,somade exceptionally difficult because of the close supervISion main-tained over them by the farmers.

    The 400,000 African labourers working on the gold and coalmines haveto do the most backbreaking, dangerous and unhealthywork, for wageswhich are a scandal and a disgrace in an industrywhich distributes millions of rands annually to its shareholders.Theyare separated, for long periods, from their wives and families.A large proportion of them are 'imported' from territories outsidethe Republic, the Protectorates, South-West Africa, the PortugueseColonies, Nyasaland, Tanganyika and elsewhere, although confer-ences of African states have decided to work towards ending thispractice. The migratory labour system leads to a continual turn-over of personnel, making the organisation of mine workers adifficulttask, and the mine owners go to great lengths to stamp outthe development oftrade unionism among them. Especially since thegreat str ike led by the African Mineworkers ' Union in 1946, theyare subject to constant surveillance by police, spies and informers.The special character of colonialism in South Africa, the seizingby Whites of all the opportunities which in other colonial countrieshave led to the growth of a national capitalist class, have strangledthe developmentof a class of African capitalists. All positions ofeconomic strength and influence are held as the jealously guardedmonopoly of members of the White group alone. There are veryfew Africans who make profits by the exploitation of labour power.In some areas there are some independent African farmers, produc-ing for the market along 'capitalist' lines. But, as a rule, theholdings are so small that they can be and are cultivated by thefarmer himself and his family. There is quite a substantial numberof African traders and shopkeepers. Because they have to contendwith innumerable colour bars and special restrictions and becausetheir capital is usually too small, their businesses are rarely very bigor very profitable. In a great many cases, in fact, the shop is in thehands of non-African bondholders or wholesalers , of whom theshopkeeper himself is little more than an employee. African businessmen are not allowed to ownfixed property. They may not trade inthe centres of the cities, the main areas of commercial activity, but32

    are relegated to the African townships and the outskirts. They aresubjected to the pass laws and all the restrictions and insecuritiesimposed on all Africans. An African businessmanis not allowedtoopen a branch elsewhere or to trade anywhereoutside his place ofresidence. The interests of the African commercialclass lie whollyin joining the workers and rural peoplefor the overthrow ofWhitesupremacy.The intellectuals and professional groups among the Africansshare with their people all the hardships and indignitiesof colonial-ism. The largest group, the teachers, receivesalaries far belowthoseof their white colleagues, and comparing unfavourably with thoseofmany African industrial workers. Theyha~e to work inappallingconditions in overcrowded classrooms, lacking modern equipment,teaching half-starved children. The Nationa~ist policy of 'BantuEducation' imposes upon them syllabuses designed to mdoc:r:natetheir pupils with servility and apartheid theories, and contammg aminimum of genuine educational content. They are compelled toteach in the African languages although there are no adequate textbooks in these languages. Under the National!st regimes= hasbeen a catastrophic fall in the standard of Afncan e~ucatlOn..~hefew places once open to African students for profess!On~1trauungin some White universities, have been closed. The new tribal col-leges' set up instead by the Nationalist government a~e.a traves~of institutions of higher education. They have~o fac:litlesto tramarchitects, engineers, scientists, dentists or techniciansm most fields.Passports for those who wish to study abroad are usually refused.Opportunities for cultural developme~t .amo~g Afncans arerestricted to a minimum. Nearly all public libraries, theatr~, con-cert halls and other cultural facilities are reserv~dfor Whites and

    the few for non-Whites are inferior: The excep~l?nallYs~arp ~~thdi ti f South Africa and their own conditions of life,w ctra ICIons 0 , h dignity face theare a challenge to their self-respect an~ u n : an. IgTIl,. em-African intellectuals with a clear-cut choice.EIther they alignth Iselves with the struggles. of th~ m~~es, or ~~:c~~~i=~~ ~e ~~i~of assistants and ~gents mfma:nta~g ~eachers and even chiefscredi t many Afncan pro eSSlOna men, . . d tohave sacrificed all hopes of privilege and advancement m or erjoin wholly with their people. th Africans employed in factoriesThe workers of the towns, e tations in shops andand in transport, in steel-works .andd~;~~tionarl forcein Southoffices, cOI;npnsethe mfostbdyn~~:u workers in relation to theirAfrica. The wages 0 ur an '

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    high living costs, are scandalously low. They are forced to livefarfrom their places of work, involving exhaust ing and expensivejourneys by bus or train. In shops and factories they are relegatedto the most arduous and least rewarding work. Pass laws and urbanareas legislation make the tenure of their jobs and their residencesprecarious , and they are subjected to never-ending raids and sur-veillance by the police. Itis i llegal for African workers to s trikeand their trade unions are unrecognised and vigorously discouragedby the State. Even When employers are prepared to enter into col-lective bargaining with Afr ican workers , the State intervenes tostop it. Despite these and many other disabilities, and the dailys truggle for existence, this class , the most numerous and exper i-enced working class on the Afr ican continent , has t ime and againshown that i t is the vanguard of the Afr ican people. Ithas built upa number of stable and effective trade unions, devoted to the causeof African liberation and of workers' uni ty on our continent andthroughout the world. African workers consti tute the core of theAfrican National Congress and the Communist Par ty. They haverepeatedly come out on nat ionwide polit ical general s trikes andhave been the leading force in every major struggle of the liberationmovement. Disciplined and taught the lessons of organisation andunity in the harsh school of capitalist production, driven by theirconditions of life into united struggle for survival, this class alone iscapable, in all iance with the masses of rural people, of leading avictorious struggle to end White domination and exploitation.The Coloured and Malay people, a population of 11 millionl iving mainly in the Western Cape Province, are a nat ional groupcomprising workers, farm labourers, professional people and smallbusinessmen. Like all non-Whites , the Coloured people are sub-jected to many forms of racial discrimination, re flected in lowstandards of living, education, housing, nutrition and health.Coloured workers, despite a tradition of craftsmanship which istheoldes t in the country, find access to senior posts is withheld fromthem and given to Whites; Coloured farm labourers work and liveunder wretched conditions. ' Their pay is scandalously low, and onthe wine farms is partly made up by a liquor ration-the 'tot'system, which undermines their health. Coloured teachers and otherstate employees are paid much less than their White counterpartsfor doing the same work. Nevertheless , for many years , this com-munity occupied a privileged position in relation to the Africans.The White ruling group extended var ious concessions-such as aqualified franchise, trade union rights, property rights-in order to34

    prevent the emergence of a Coloured national cons~iousness, andthe formation of a united front of oppressed non-White peoples forequality and the ending of White colonialism. This policy ,:,as U?twithout success. But, with the deliberate removal by theNationalistgovernment, one after another, of all ~~eprivileges extendedto theColoured people in the past-the abolition ofthe comm~n roll fran-chise the introduction of apartheid and job reservation, : V h1tebaasskap in the trade unions and separate university education=-working class and democratic leaders have come to the fore. TheColoured people are rejecting apartheid and moving towards thepath of struggle, side by side with African and other freedomfighters. ....The Indian community, of half a million, are :namly thedescendants ofindentured labourers who came to work m the Natalsugar fields a century ago. From the earliest times all sorts ofdegrading and discriminatory restrictions have been placed?n SouthAfrican Indians, restrictions which they have resisted III~yhistoric struggles . Today there is a substantial class of Indianindustrial and agricultural workers, especially in Natal, but also,increasingly in the Transvaal. There is also a considerablec1ass ofIndian merchants, factory. owners and small shopkeepers. TheIndian workers face appalling problems ofunemployment and over-crowding in slum conditions. Indians do not enjoy voting and otherdemocratic rights. Indian businessmen, and all sections of the com-munity, are subjected to innumerable disabilities; especially relatingto land and property ownership and econorruc and educationalopportunities. They are not allowed to move from one Province toanother without special permits, and are completely debarred fromthe Orange Free State. The Nationalist governm~nt bas applied theGroup Areas Act with particular ferocity agai~st the Indian co~-munities in the cities and small-towns, uprooting them from theirhomes and livelihood and threatening to 'resettle' -therrr in isolatedareas where they face complete ruination. The Indian pe~ple ~veturned their backs on the reformist bourgeois leadership w~chcounselled paths of compromise with oppression and the seekingof sectional privileges regardless of democratic principle and the~ateof the masses. They have unreservedly joined in the many unitedstruggles of the African and other oppressed peoples over the pasttwo decades.

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    5 T h e F orce s of ChangeTHE SYSTEM OF COLONIALISM AND RACIAL OPPRESSION IN OURcountry is powerfully challenged and will be overthrown by theunified struggle of national liberation and working class movementsthat have grown, developed in experience and maturity and becomesteeled in many years of complex and difficult struggle.The impact of capitalism destroyed the traditional economy andfabric of African tribal society. It scattered and disarmed thetribal armies. Itturned the chiefs from people's leaders into instru-ments for implementing the laws devised by Whites. But the spiritof the African people was not broken. Patriotic African intellec-tuals , with the backing of many chiefs, began forming a new typeof organisation, a national polit ical organisation of the Africanpeople. A number of such bodies was formed, and in 1912 theseunited to form the African National Congress'. The establishmentof the ANC is a profoundly important landmark not only forSouth Africa, but for our Continent as a whole. Itwas the fore-runner of similar bodies in very many other countries of the Con-tinent, movements which led the African revolution, and todaytake part in African governments.As a national liberation organisation, the ANC does not representany single class, or anyone ideology. It is representative of all theclasses and strata which make up African society in this country.With the advance of members of the working class, together withrevolutionary young intellectuals, to leading positions in the ANC,the organisation steadily developed and went forward in its policyand methods of struggle. Congress ha s steadfastly rejected narrownationalism, Black chaUvinism,anti-Communism and other outlookswhich are harmful to the people 's cause. I t was precisely on theseissues that the right-wing Pan-Africanist Congress broke away fromthe ANC to form a rival organisation. The ANC has formed a firmall iance between itself and patriotic organisations of the Indianand Coloured people, the democratic Europeans and the non-racial

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    Trade Union movement-the Congress Alliance.Eventhough drivenunderground since 1960, the A.1'IICas carried on the struggle.The representative organisation of the Indian peopleis the SouthAfrican Indian Congress. For many years,under the leadership ofrepresentatives of the wealthy commercial classes, the IndianCongress contented itself with sectional struggles, aimed at main-taining and improving the status of its community alone as aminority group. But, in themiddleforties,a dynamic newleadership,representing the mass of exploited Indian workers and peasants, aswell as radical intellectuals who had absorbed the teachings ofMarxism-Leninism and identified themselves .with the workingclass, pointed out that the future of the Indian community inSouth Africa was dependent upon the establishment of conditionsof true democracy for the country as a whole. The struggle of theIndian people was one with that ofthe African national movementfor freedom and equali ty for all in this country. This new policyand leadership was accepted bythe great majority ofthe membersof the South African Indian Congress, and since that rime thisCongress has taken full part inthe major struggles ofthe CongressAlliance.

    The pioneer Coloured political movement, the African People'sOrganisation, conducted militant campaigns and pur~ue~a radicalunited front policy, but this tradit ion was not mamtamed. Formany years, leadership of the Coloured people's organisations.andtrade unions was dominated by middle class elements, who eithercollaborated openly in the maintena~~ ofWhi:e supremacy, o~-under the cover of wordy denunciations of Herrenvolkism:-preached a policy of abstention from political activity and hostilityto the African national liberation movement. In recent years theNationalist government's attacks on their longstanding rights haveled to a revival ofmilitancy among the Coloured people..Th~massesof Coloured working people and radical youth are tummg mcreas-ingly towards the Coloured People's Congress, an ally of theAfrican National Congress. .. .There has always been a minori ty of Whi tes m South Africawho fought against racial oppression and courageously c~me outfor the rights of the oppressed. The Africa~ people. Will neverforget the memory of such democrats, Christians, l iberals .andCommunists asvan der Kemp, Pringle, Olivean~ w. p. SChremer[lvon Jones and S. P. Bunting, who swam against the stream?racialism. From its formation in 1953until I t was outlawed In1962, the Congress of Democrats represented the most advanced

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    and progressive section of the White population. In ~pite ofunceasing persecution by the State which ban':le~ and restricted ~hegreater part of its membership, the COD joined all the majorcampaigns of the people for freedom, and shared all t~e tnals andtribulations of the other members of the Congress Alliance. .This alliance headed by the African National Congress, whichhas been joined by the non-racial Congress ofTrade Un!ons, hasadopted a revolutionary democratic programme, emanating fromthe masses the Freedom Charter which envisages profounddemocratic changes in everyfieldof South Africa's political, social,economic and cultural life.During the grim years of the Nationalistregime, the Congresses haveconducted one stirring campaign afteranother-the May Day and June 26 strikes of 1950 and manygeneral strikes in the years that followed, the campaign of Defianceof Unjust Laws and the Congress of the People are examples. Inits foreign relations, the Congress Alliance has done much to bringthe outrages of apartheid to the attention of the outside world,and to evoke acts of international solidarity which have greatlyinspired and encouraged the peoples of our country.The labour movement of South Africa has reflected, in anespecially acute way, the profound international cleavage of theworking class between reformists and revolutionaries, social-democrats and Communists. It began almost exclusively as amovement of the White skilled workers. During the first quarterof the present century the White working class fought many abitter and stirring struggle against the monopoly capitalists. Theminers and other White workers of the Witwatersrand formedarmed commandos to defend themselves against the attempts ofthe Smuts government in 1922,to smash their strike by force. But,led by Right-wing renegades from socialism, and bribed by con-cessions and privileges extended to them by the monopolists, thegreat majority of the White workers repudiated the principles ofsocialism and working class unity. So far from joining hands withtheir oppressed and exploited fellow-workers ofa dark skin colour,they have turned thei r backs on them and joined in an alliancewith the White capitalists and wealthy farmers tomaintain Whitecolonialism .and to subjugate and exploit the non-White peoples.The years smce. 1922have seen a steady decline in the.militancyand class-consciousness of the White workers. The oneepowerfulLabour Party isdead. The White trade unions-with afew.honour-~b~eexceptlOns~ollaborated in the implementation o f aparthei din industry and Job reservation. In fact, most of these:-wllons have

    be~om~ little more than societies to preserve a White monopoly ofskilled Jobs..For the .most part, the White workers of this countrysupport their capitalist rulers and exploiters in the maintenance ofWhite supremacy and colonialism.T~e labour la:vs .of South Africa, accepted in the main by theWhite trade urnomsts, have compelled the African workers toform their own trade unions. In spite of all the disabilities underwhich they have to function, these unions have played a notablepart in raising the wages and improving the conditions of theworkers. They have educated the workers in the spiri t of classunity and international solidarity. Following the exclusion ofAfrican trade unions from the White-dominated Trade UnionCouncil in 1956, these came together with workers of other raceswho remained loyal to the principles oftrade unionism, to establishthe South African Congress of Trade Unions. SACTU has con-sistently campaigned to organise the hundreds of thousands ofunorganised workers, particularly theAfricans. Ithasopposedeverymanifestation of racialism and White privilege in the economiclife of the country and inthe trade union movement. Ithas endorsedthe Freedom Charter and played an important part inthe CongressAlliance. The Congress of Trade Unions has consistently upheldthe principle of working class internationalism as expressedby theWorld Federation of Trade Unions. It has opposed the efforts ofthe so-called International Confederation of Free Trade Unionsto split the workers' movement in Africa and elsewhere. SACTUis a foundation member of the All-Africa Federation of TradeUnions.The Communist Party

    Established on July 29, 1921, the Communist Party of SouthAfrica was the first Marxist-Leninist Party on the African Con-tinent. It was itself based mainly on the International SocialistLeague, which in 1915, under the leadership of men like BillAndrews, had broken from the SALabour Party overthe issue ofopposit ion to the imperialis t war. It spread socialist teachingsamong the people and strove unceasingly against racialism andfor the unity of the working class. Itdemanded complete freedomand equality for the African and other subject nationalit ies andled the workers and oppressed people in struggles, many of themhistoric, against pass laws and unemployment, against fascism athome and abroad and for a democratic South Africa. The Com-munist Party brought about profound changes in the thinking,

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    olitical outlook, demands, forms of organisation and :nethods of~ruggle of the oppressed and exploited people of this coun:ry.Members of the Party worked hard to build up the trad~ ur.llonmovement the African National Congress and other orgamsat\

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    6 The NationalD e m o c ra tic R e v olu tio nTHE NATIONALIST PARTY, \VHICH HAS GOVERNEDSOUTH AFRICAsince 1948, has brought this country to the verge ofrevolution. TheAfrikaner nationalist movement, which was always corrupted byWhite chauvinism, has today lost all trace of the anti-imperialistelement it once had, during the period of its struggle against Britishrule. Dominated by the Afrikaner capitalist class and large-scalefarmers, the Nationalist Party iscontrolled by the fascist 'Breeder-bond' secret society. Deeply influenced by the Nazi movement inGermany, it adopted many of Hitler's ideas and worked for afascist victory in the second world war. The Nationalist Party hasbecome the instrument of the most racialist ic and imperialis ticsections of the capitalis t c lass. The declaration of a Republic inMay 1961in no way lessened the dependence of the South Africaneconomy on British and American finance-capital. The Republicleft the British Commonwealth not by choice of the Nationalistgov~rnment bu~because the unpopularity of its racial policy amongAfl!can and.ASIan~ember countries faced it with expulsion. In allmaJo:-que.stIons ~f international policy the Nationalist governmentidentifies Itself WIththe most aggressive elements of internationalimperialism in.the United States, Britain, France, West Germanyand Japan. It IS dependent on financial and armaments aid fromthese countries to maintain its rule in South Africa.. Th~ Nationalist Party relies on violence and terror to maintainl~lf m office. It has disfranchised the few non-Whites who onceenjoyed the. vote and otherwise altered the electoral ' system toensure that It cannot be removed by Parliamentary means. Ithasoutlawed workers' and liberation organisations meetings news-papers and other publications, and resorted to a;bitrary ba~ngsdeportations, arrests, confinements and house-arrests of freedom-42

    - -fighters. It has closed . the door to every possibili ty of peacefuladvance of the non-Whi te p e op le s t o s oc ia l, p o li ti ca l a nd e conom i crights. It is mobilising and arming the White population for theexpress purpose of 'shooting down the black masses' . AlreadyIts police have committed massacres of unarmed Africans suchas those of Sharpeville and Langa, which have shocked the 'wholeworld. A powerful international movement has developed, sup-ported by African, Asian and socialist governments, for the diplo-mane, economic, cultural and sporting isolation of South Africa,and for boycotts and sanctions against the Republic. The policyof the Nationalist government has brought about a state of per-manent and deepening crisis in the country.The other White parliamentary parties can offer no way out ofthis crisis. The United Party, traditionally the instrument of thegoldmining interests and the English-speaking capitalists, laid thebasis for all the excesses of the Nationalists during the manyyears in which it governed South Africa prior to 1948. As themain 'opposition' group in Parliament it has steadily retreatedbefore Nationalist reaction. I t is compromised by its own anti-democratic class character and afraid lest genuine opposition tothe government might result in disturbances which would adverselyaffect business and the confidence of foreign investors. It vies withthe Nationalists in appealing to the racial prejudices of the Whitevoters. It has actively or passively assisted the Nationalist Partyat every stage of its march to fascism.Disgusted with the surrender of the United Party and alarmedat the dangers to the country's stabil ity and future presented byNationalist policy, a number of former United Party MPs andmembers broke away in 1959to form the Progressive Party. Backedby influential business interests, such as the Oppenheimer mininggroup, and supported by a section of urban, middle-class Whites,the Progressive Party seeks to avert the coming democratic revolu-tion in South Africa by offering a 'qualified' franchise to middle-class non-Whites and concessions to ease the intolerable burden ofapartheid.A more radical tendency among progressive middle-class andintellectual circles is represented by the Liberal Party. This Partyproposes a universal franchise, but since it expressl~ confinesitself to 'parliamentary and constitutional methods'. ' l~ suggestsno realist ic or convincing method to obtam this. I ts insistence onanti-Communist and anti-socialist policies and its failure to ~ttackthe roots of race-oppression in the economy ofthe country seriously

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    . . . .lessen the Liberal Party's usefulness and effectiveness. Its adherenceto the 'West' in the cold war continually conflicts with its oppositionto the National government, and makes the liberation movementdoubt its re liability as an ally in the struggle,The deep-rooted crisis in South Africa cannot be resol~ed by theNationalist government, using methods of force and VIolence orattempting to deceive home and world opinion with fraudulentschemes of 'Bantu self-government'. Nor can it be resolved bya mere change of government to another section of the Whiteruling class which would make superf icial concessions whi le leavingthe essence of the colonial system and monopoly control intact.The crisis springs from the fundamental contradictions of SouthAfrican society: between the oppressed people and their rulers;between South African colonialism and the world-wide movementagainst colonialism and imperialism; between the working classand the rural masses, together with the middle classes, on the oneside, and the handful of monopoly capitalists on the other.This crisis can only be resolved by a revolutionary change in thesocial system which will overcome these conflicts by putting an endto the colonial oppression of the African and other non-Whitepeople. The immediate and imperative interests of all sections ofthe South African people demand the ca rrying out of such a change,a national democratic revolution which will overthrow thecoloniali st s tate of White supremacy and establ ish an independentstate of National Democracy in South Africa.

    The main content of this revolution is the national liberation of~e Af rican people. Its fulfilment is, at the same time, in the deepestmterest s of the other non-White groups , for in achieving their libertythe African people will at the same time put an end to all forms ofracial discrimination. It is in the interests of the White workersmiddle class and professiona l groups to whom the establishment ofgenuine democracy and the elimination of fasci sm and monopoly rule{lifers the only prospect of a decent and stable future.. The main aims and lines of the South African democra tic revolu-tion have been defined in the Freedom Charter which has beenendorsed by the African National Congress and the other partnersIn the national liberation alliance. The Freedom Charter is not aprogram~e for sociali sm. It is a common programme for a free,democratic South Africa, agreed on by socialists and non-socialists.At the same time, In order to guarantee the abolition of racialoppression and White minority domination the Freedom Charternecessarily and reali st ically cal ls for profound economic changes:44

    drastic a!ar ian reform to restore the land to the people; widespreadnationallsahon of key industries to break the grip of Whitemonop~ly capital on the main centres of the country's economy;radical In:provements in the condi tions and s tandards of living forthe working people. The Communist Party pledges it s unquali fiedsupport for the Freedom Charter. I t cons iders that the achievementof its aims will answer the pressing and immediate needs of thepeople and lay the indispensable basis for the advance of ourcountry along non-capitalist lines to a communist and socialistfuture. To win these aims is the immediate task of all the oppressedand democratic people of South Africa, headed by the workingclass and its party, the Communist Party.Violence and Non- Violence

    In their long and difficult struggles the national l iberation organi-sations of South Africa, including the Communist Party, havealways sought peaceful methods of struggle, In the past they havecounselled non-violent methods not because they are cowardlyor believers in pacifist illusions but because they wished to avoidthe bitterness and bloodshed of civil war. But the ruling class hasinvariably replied to non-violence with violence; to peacefulprote sts with suppression and police massacres of unarmed men,women and children. The Nationalist government has closed, oris closing, every channel of legal protest and normal politicalactivity. It is openly preparing for civ il war .

    In the face of these provocations, the liberation movement hashad to reconsider i ts att itude towards 'non-violence' as a universalprinciple. The patience of the people is not endless. They aredetermined to win freedom in our lifetime. They would prefer toachieve the ir liberation by non-violent means. But today they areleft with no alternative but to defend themselves and hit back;to meet violence with vio lence. The Nationalis ts are forcing a solu-tion upon South Af rica in which patriots and democrats will take uparms to defend themselves , organise gueril la armies and undertakevarious acts of armed res is tance, culminating in a mass insurrectionagainst White domination, In such a conflict, however long andcostly, the fighters for freedom must win, for they will enjoy thesupport of the overwhelming majority of the people of our countryand the whole world.The Communis t party cons iders that the slogan of 'non-vio lence'is harmful to the cause of the democratic national revolution in thenew phase of the struggle, disarming the people in the face of the

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    - -savage assaults of the oppressor, dampening their ~tanCY, under-mining their confidence in their leaders. At the same tn:ne, the Partyopposes undisciplined acts of individual terror. It ~eJects . theoriesthat all non-violentmethods of struggle are useless o