The South African Connection, by Ruth First, Jonathan Steele and Christabel Gurney (Penguin, 60p)
Jeremy Lockspeiser This is a valuable book which, however, should hold no surprises for socialists. That the only way to achieve the emancipation of the African people is through the organised revolution of the African masses is a foregone conclusion. This is also the position of the authors. But they do not arrive at this through a critical marxist analysis which considers the "original combination' of elements in South Africa in terms of the total world process as conceived by Lenin and TrotskyInstead, they sock to defeat the capitalists on their own ground. This is done by a well documented illustration of the extont, importanoe, and nature of western capitalist involvement in South Africa, The contention of men such as Harry Oppenheimer of Anglo-American and Sir Val Duncan of Rio Tinto Zine is that the practices of apartheid are in contradiction to the "needs" of the South African economy. and that 'cconomic development in South Africa is naturally and by its own momentum eroding apartheid". "REFORM-THROUGH-PROGRESS' From this (incorrect) assumption it follows that the faster the cconomy grows the faster the racialist doctrine of aparthied will be croded. Hence the rhetonc of western capitalists that through investment they are speeding up this process by introducing a liberalising. intvence. They cin therelore Conlinbe lheir exploitation of the Africans while hiding behind the mask of 'reform-through-economicprogress" and "mutual benefit for all?" The authors take hold of this argument and systematically destroy it. The importance of the a phenomenal rute. West in South African capitalism's development stems from the discovery of the gold and diamond mines, which provided the necessary capital for the expansion of other sectors of the economy (started by the Smuts government of 1924 through the formation of state-backed companies).
TECHNICAL SKILLS No less important than the actual capital investment was the import of technical knowledg: from the West, The adoption of a racially based socio-political system was a direci resuit (and pre-requisite) of the development of South African capitalism. By creating and maintaining Keeping the Africans under control - papers are constantly chacked a vast unskilled work foroo, by cnsuring starvation level wages, and by making Africans politically impotent, capitalism was able to develop at Nevertheless in achieving this basis for economic domination a contradiction was created. Not only has African poverty restricted the size of the internal demand for basic consumer goods, but the attempt to demarcate class differenoes on a racial basis does not allow the advanoement of Africans into the bourgeoisie and thus tncreases the noed for the import of technical skills.
The practices that are used to maintuin the status quo are well depicted. These are based on the "floating colour bar" and include job fragmentation, Job re classificațion and job dilution. What happens is that a jot Tormerly BOXIN reserved for whites is diluted or fragmented into componcut parts and given to Africans at a vastly lower wage than was paid to the white man, Alternatively, a job-is given a different name and given to an Atrican st a much lower wage. These practices are usuully accompanied by a corresponding more up the occupational scale for the white man. Thus the status and wage differentals are maintained and the rate of profit increased.
FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT The authors go on to deal systematically with the importanco of foreign involsement in different sectors of the economy-mining. banking, cogincering, chemicals, oil, etc-and to provide nine case studies of foteign comnpanics operating in South Africa. Again this serves as u usefiul source for statistics, trends, Pacuces, CIL Unfortunately, however, the lack of concrete analysis begins to make the book read like a shopping list at this stage. There is a partia atlempl at analysis through a consideration of the 'Oppenheimer Phenomenon", the experiments (and their failure) by Polaroid and Barclays, and the role played by the United Kingdom South Africa Trade Aasociation, the British Natioual Export Council, and the Monday Club. This serves to indicate that capitalism cannol possibly liverale the African masses and that the ruling class internutionaliy connives at the practices of entrenched capitalist interests. But these important points are not really adequately dealt with.
EXPANSIONIST POLICY There is, however, an interesting section on the expansionist policy of the South African govern ment and the relationship hetween the need for this policy and the internal situation in South Africa. The aim of the goverament, ably supported by obliging multi-national corperations, is to gain coonomic (and therefore political) controi noethwards in Aftica. Vorstor is cited as saying that he envisagos South Africa pliying a role in Africa similar to that of the U,S.A. in Latin America.
That South Africa has ombarked on this policy is seen by the established economic control of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, and the political and cconomic exploitation of the Namibian people. The policy is largely an altempt to entronch the basis of South African capitalism by overcoming the contradictions peculiar to South Attican capitaliso that are creuted by apartheid, while maintaining chose facers that are of assistance to capitalist develop ment and thercfore to increasing exploitation. The creation of dependencics as a souroe of labour and as a market for goods is an example of this.
The conclusion roached is that coonomic "prog ress" hus in fact worsened rather than inproved the Africans" situstion, and that they will only achieve liberation through their own acrivity. As a refutation of the 'reform through progress" argument, as an example of the international character of capitalism, and as a source ef information, this book is highly recommended. The lack of concrete marxist analysis, and the fsilure to work Lhe evidenoc into a framework which could provido a more overail undemtanding of South Africa today, is a definite pap. lc remains, however, a very useful piece of work which can be utilised by militants campaigning ob South Africa.