Tag: South Africa
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South Africa and the Changing Politics of Labour
Part 1: The Demise of COSATU The two biggest signifiers of the state of the labour movement in South Africa in 2014 are, on the one hand, a terminal crisis within … Keep reading »
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South Africa: There’s No Turning Back
A. Introduction The Central Committee (CC) of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) met from May 12 until May 15, 2014, at The Lakes Hotel and Conference, Benoni, … Keep reading »
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New Working Class Leadership and the Prospects for Socialist Politics in South Africa
The dramatic upsurge of popular grass-roots protest in South Africa’s townships and rural areas in recent years has been well-termed as marking a virtual “rebellion of the poor” in that … Watch video »
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The State of Class Struggle in South Africa
“People always have been the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics, and they always will be until they have learnt to seek out the interests of some class … Keep reading »
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Building a United Front Against Neoliberalism
South African Metalworkers Change Course Watching the events to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s death was to watch history being re-written. Mandela the terrorist was forgotten. International leaders of every stripe struggled to … Keep reading »
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“Manifestos and Reality”
A Presentation to the Cape Town Press Club by NUMSA General Secretary I speak to you today with a powerful and united mandate from 341,150 metalworkers. They made their views extremely … Keep reading »
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NUMSA Rupture Could Mark New Start for Socialist Politics in South Africa
The resolutions adopted at the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s (NUMSA’s) congress in December mark an important rupture in South African politics. NUMSA, the Congress of South African … Keep reading »
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Forging a New Movement: NUMSA and the Shift in South Africa’s Politics
The decision of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) to cut ties with the African National Congress (ANC) has received poor analysis. Comment has tended to focus … Keep reading »
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A Flawed Freedom
Has the time come when it might be possible to move past the well-deserved praise-song phase of the marking of Nelson Mandela’s death in order to strike a more careful … Keep reading »
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Cheap Labour, Cheap Lives
Contextualizing Farm Worker Deaths in South Africa and Canada There is a passage from Olive Schreiner’s 1883 novel The Story of An African Farm where she describes the isolated existence of … Keep reading »
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A Poisoned Chalice: Liberation, ANC-Style
There is good and obvious reason to celebrate the long history of the African National Congress (ANC): the organization’s marked dedication over one hundred years to the cause of the … Keep reading »
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Reclaiming the South African Dream
During the 20th century, South Africa’s national struggle occupied an iconic place in the global political imagination. International opposition to apartheid came together in the heady days of socialist revolutions, … Keep reading »