The National Democratic Revolution

What exactly is the National Democratic Revolution (NDR)? This concept apparently stands central to the modern ANC’s policy agenda; yet, it is difficult to determine from literature how exactly to define it. It is almost strange how the concept is used in progressive circles in the country, without it being properly defined – as if there is an unquestioned understanding in the midst of the recipients of the message that makes further explanations unnecessary.

Yet, I, as an “outsider” (but also a South African, and deeply affected by what is preached and practiced in the name of the “National Democratic Revolution”) simply do not understand it.

Perhaps it is because I am not part of the “fiber” of the liberation movement, and has not grown up with the ideological orientation required to intrinsically conceptualise these terms and concepts?

For instance, in an article in the Daily Maverick published on 27 November 2018, Philip Dexter wrote an article with the following theme: “The state of the National Democratic Revolution: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” The concept of the National Democratic Revolution stands central in the theme, yet I cannot find it mentioned or explained once in the actual article. What is attacked in the article, are “… (a) profound moral, political, financial, policy and organisational crisis that the liberation movement and the country faces… a toxic cocktail of the legacies of colonialism, slavery and apartheid, the continuing reproduction of a rapacious kind of capitalism that was produced through the history of the country and the practice of poor leadership, a bad organisational culture and shoddy governance of and by the ANC itself….” The solution is proposed as “… socialism (which will) fundamentally change the world and with it, our society ... Let’s focus on developing the vision we have in the Freedom Charter to unite us all, develop a practical program to mobilise us towards that vision and develop a cadre to lead us in this effort.” (Dexter, 2017)

From my research, I understand that the ANC’s version of the NDR has its philosophical origins in Lenin’s theory of imperialism. Perhaps it is fitting, given the Party’s pre-1994 core purpose (to fight colonialism and imperialism) and the simultaneous appeal of communism in the broad church of the tripartite alliance. Yet, it is still a concept very difficult to understand and to give specific contents to.

The conceptual roots of the NDR in South Africa are probably vested in the SACP's 1962 proposals for the building of a national democratic state, where it is explained that “… the fundamental contradictions of South African society (are): between the oppressed people and their rulers; between South African colonialism and the world-wide movement against colonialism and imperialism; between the working class and the rural masses, together with the middle classes, on the one side, and the handful of monopoly capitalists on the other…

This crisis can only be resolved by a revolutionary change in the social system which will overcome these conflicts by putting an end to the colonial oppression of the African and other non-White people.” (SACP, 1962)

One thing that is clear about the Tripartite Alliance’s understanding of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), and that is the racial and socialist dimensions thereof. It seems to me that ideologically, the NDR reflects communist sentiments about race and class. Granted, in the South African context the two are often intertwined, but the presence thereof in communist writings are undeniable.

The ANC’s manifest, prepared in preparation for its 1997 National Conference in Mafikeng, identified the key goal of the NDR as being ‘to liberate Africans in particular and black people in general from political and economic bondage’ by transforming the machinery of state, using a cadre policy to give the ANC control over ‘all centres of power’, ‘redistributing wealth and income’, and ‘de-racialising South African society’ through ‘a consistent programme of affirmative action’. (Jeffery, 2012)

Perhaps the single most identifiable core of the ‘National Democratic Revolution’ is the ideological attachment to communists. The SACP has persistently expressed the view that, in the words of its Secretary General, ‘… a national democratic revolution with a capitalist orientation ceases to be an NDR.’ Furthermore, ‘… we had always understood the national democratic revolution as the most direct route to socialism.’ (Nzimande, 2006)

It seems to me that the National Democratic Revolution is more of an ideological statement than a practical strategy. According to Nzimande, ‘… the concept of a 'national democratic revolution' emerged from within Marxism-Leninism in its analysis of the unfolding national liberation struggles in the 20th century. The NDR has historically been understood as a revolution led by progressive motive forces (mainly oppressed and exploited) to defeat repressive and colonial regimes and build people's democracies, as both an objective in itself, but in circumstances also where, due to domestic or global balance of forces, such a revolution is unable to immediately proceed to socialism.’ (Nzimande, 2006) From the above-mentioned, the conclusion is inescapable, namely that the National Democratic Revolution is the ideological slogan that must drive the revolution towards communism (and, in South Africa’s case, a type of race-based communism).

Dexter (Dexter, 2017) makes mention about "…the neo-colonial character of our present reality. Poverty, inequality and unemployment are up... Racism, sexism, xenophobia and violence are persistent. The political economy of the past, colonialism, slavery, apartheid and capitalism, live on in the present in the master-servant relationships, the low wages, the racism and sexism and the ownership of wealth… The vision for our country that was articulated in the Freedom Charter, taken into our constitution and is now that which informs our democracy is still valid but it is not shared by all. As I understand this, it implies that the spirit of the National Democratic Revolution is to reject the current social - and economic structure in the South African society in favour of socialism.

There is a growing interpretation in the midst of the Tripartite Alliance that the 1996 negotiated Constitution was not the final consensus, but only one of the milestone on the way to the real aim, which is seen as the conclusion of the National Democratic Revolution. Given the vague definition of this ultimate aim, the question arises: What does this mean; where are we going? If socialist theory is deeply entrenched in the fiber of the National Democratic Revolution, is this where we are heading: Towards a communist-type socialist society, and then specifically one based on a strong racial narrative, deemed necessary to erode the inequality and injustices resulting from past race-based policies?

The Communist Manifesto makes provision for two ways (strategies) of transition from a capitalist to a communist society; namely the ‘one-strike’ approach (my own understanding), and the ‘process of transition’ approach. The clarification question in the Communist Manifesto is as follows: (Engels, 1848)

‘Will it be possible for private property to be abolished at one stroke?’

The answer: ‘… no more than existing forces of production can at one stroke be multiplied to the extent necessary for the creation of a communal society… In all probability, the proletarian revolution will transform existing society gradually and will be able to abolish private property only when the means of production are available in sufficient quantity.’

At the core of the communist philosophy are the following economic transformations (Engels, 1848):

1. Limitation of private property through progressive taxation, heavy inheritance taxes, abolition of inheritance through collateral lines (brothers, nephews, etc.) forced loans, etc.

2. Gradual expropriation of landowners, industrialists, railroad magnates and ship-owners, partly through competition by state industry, partly directly through compensation in the form of bonds.

3. Confiscation of the possessions of all emigrants and rebels against the majority of the people.

4. Organization of labour or employment of proletarians on publicly owned land, in factories and workshops, with competition among the workers being abolished and with the factory owners, in so far as they still exist, being obliged to pay the same high wages as those paid by the state.

5. An equal obligation on all members of society to work until such time as private property has been completely abolished. Formation of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

6. Centralization of money and credit in the hands of the state through a national bank with state capital, and the suppression of all private banks and bankers.

7. Increase in the number of national factories, workshops, railroads, ships; bringing new lands into cultivation and improvement of land already under cultivation – all in proportion to the growth of the capital and labour force at the disposal of the nation.

8. Education of all children, from the moment they can leave their mother’s care, in national establishments at national cost. Education and production together.

Is there something of this theory visible in the manner in which land reform has been approached since 1994? Let there be no confusion about this: Officially, the ANC professes that the Freedom Charter is its Bible, its ultimate point of reference in formulating public policy and the Freedom Charter stipulates as follows:

-- The national wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, shall be restored to the people;

-- The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and the monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole;

-- All other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the well-being of the people;

-- All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.

-- Restriction of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all the land re-divided among those who work it, to banish famine and land hunger;

-- The state shall help the peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers;

-- Freedom of movement shall be guaranteed to all who work on the land;

-- People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm prisons shall be abolished.

There are visible manifestations of these strategies being implemented in South Africa:

-- Appropriation of land without compensation.

-- Policy proposals for restrictions of land ownership, the already noticeable progressive nature of the taxation system, exorbitant capital gains taxation (and inheritance tax), and constant demands for the reform of the banking sector to allow certain sections of the population easier access to funding [loans].

-- The policy proposals for the redistribution of land, the aggressive demands for the nationalisation of mines, big industry and major companies. This include a Mining Charter with far-reaching implications for the ownership and governance of mines, in spite of improvements made to it under the Ramaphosa-administration.

-- The restrictions on land ownership by foreigners. Perhaps even more important, note the aggression about property ownership by Whites (colonialists of a special kind [which could be interpreted as meaning ‘foreigners’ occupying property in the country).

-- The increasingly aggressive annual salary demands, the onslaught on capitalist labour practices, such as labour brokers and minimum salaries. Most important of all, view all of this within the context of an inflexible labour regime based on socialist philosophies.

-- Demands for the establishment of a state bank.

-- The demands for free higher education.

-- There is an undeniable link between aggressive Broad Based Black Economic

Empowerment and Employment Equity policies and the philosophical rhetoric of the NDR.

The problem with this is the loss of irreplaceable experience, skills and expertise.

-- The demand for free tertiary and ‘decolonialised’ education.

-- The rise of populist groups with a socialist agenda, with specific reference to the Economic Freedom Fighters and fundamentalist organised labour groups.

Although there are diverse interpretation of the Freedom Charter today, there is no doubt that the intention when the initial document it was drawn up in the 1960s, was to transform South Africa into a communist socialist state (and, perhaps, one of a Marxist-type). The collapse of the Berlin Hall and subsequently the USSR tempered these ambitions, at the time when the movement (ANC and partners) effectively gained control over the state apparatus of the country. This co-insided with the moderately pro-Western (and mostly capitalist-orientated) Mbeki’s term in charge of the ANC (and country).

However, there has since been an undeniable turn back towards socialism. In the first place, the popularity of capitalism has deteriorated substantially all over the world. There has been a ‘cyclical return’ to socialism.

Secondly, populist rhetoric has grown exponentially in popularity in the country and has dragged the economy back towards socialism and communist ideologies.

The drive towards the implementation of the National Democratic Revolution has a long history, and has been an integral part of the policy philosophy of the Tripartite Alliance. During the Thabo Mbeki years, it took a backseat to the more capitalist governing ideologies of bot Mbeki, as well as Trevor Manual. However, since 2009, it has regained popularity under the Zuma government; partly because it naturally fits into the nature of the Zuma Presidency, characterised by a return to more fundamentalist rhetoric, and partly because of the rise of extremely leftists’ groups, with specific reference to the EFF.

Proponents of the National Democratic Revolution attributes the lack of economic growth, persistent inequality and other social ills in the country to the legacy of apartheid and the capitalist system that regulates the economy; which is why we need more (and faster implementation of the National Democratic Revolution.

Opponents will say it is because of inflexible labour laws and the flirtation with socialist policies that chase foreign and local investors away, because of the assault on land ownership, affirmative action and illogical BBBEE demands, the network of crony appointments, resulting in the loss of expertise and competencies required to run a sophisticated 21st Century economy in the context of global competition.

Yet, in spite of everything that I have written in the post, I am still not sure what exactly the ‘National Democratic Revolution’ means, in practice. I am drawing conclusion, trying to interpret and, well, simply guessing.

Bibliography

Democratic Revolution: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Retrieved from Daily Maverick: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2017-11-27-the-state-of-the-national-democratic-revolution-if-wishes-were-horses-beggars-would-ride/

Engels, K. M. (1848, February Downloaded October 2016). Manifesto of the Communist Party. Retrieved from Marxist.org: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Manifesto.pdf

Jeffery, A. (2012, May 31 Downloaded October 2017). Research and Policy Brief: The National Democratic Revolution (NDR): Its Origins and Implications. Retrieved from South African Institute of Race Relations: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/the-national-democratic-revolution

Nzimande, B. (2006, October Downloaded October 2016). What is the National Democratic Revolution? Retrieved from Umsebenzi Online, SACP (5-66): http://www.sacp.org.za/main.php?ID=1850

SACP. (1962, March, 3 Published on Politicsweb on 3 March 2010 and downloaded in October 2017). The National Democratic Revolution. Retrieved from Politicsweb: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/the-national-democratic-revolution

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