Alinsky (Vintage Books 90p)/ Alon Walker 'In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organisations to seize power and give it to the people; to realise the democratic dream of justice and peace."
With these words Alinsky proudly announces his desire for revolutionary social change, the rest of the book being an attempt to elaborate a method for realising his goal. Alinsky is well known in the States as the uriginator pf direct action community polities aimed at giving "power to the people"
Whelst not wishing to question the sincerity of his motives Alinsky's solutions are a mixture of utopianism, anti-communism, dogmatism and myth, bberally sprinkled with petty-bourgeois nationalism.
Alinsky as a self-confessed pragmatist and realist' aims to avoid "dogma" which creates an all embracing ideology to which free thought becomes 'subservient." However in trying Fied Weekly 27 July 1973 Page 6 Leon Trotsky Op Britain - complete compiLation of all Trotsky's writings on Britain, includes 100 pages of preThe Spenish Revolution 1931-1939 Letters From Prison (dames P. Cannon)
Writingsof Leon Trocsky 1932-1933 21.45 From Lenin to Stalin (Victor Serge) 5.1.05 Transitional Progracome for Socialist Rivolu tion (Trotsky et al.)
Distributed by Pathfinder Press 47 The Cur London SEI BLL viously unpublished material £1.45 1£1.65 61.45 21.05 tion. eving a lead to these activities. After such confusion it is not surprising that be concludes, organisation for action will now rest upon America's white middle class. That's where the power is.' (My emphasis) For revolutionary marxists to reject community based struggles would be completely sectarian and incorrect, However, What at least Alinsky's book does show is that without placinp such intervention within the context of a scientific total understanding of society the resulting impressionism leads to serious errors. Central to such an understanding in the vow of revolution in which the working class leads other exploited and oppressed layers to liberaAlinsky and many other radicals see community struggles as quite separate from those on the industrial front, but the insularity and narrow- mindedness of the traditional left has undoubtedly reinforood this. This makes the task of revolutionaries especially important in THERE WILL BE NO Attractive 2 colour poster. 25'x 18* ONLY 15p ine p& p. For orders of more tban five, only TOp each (p & p tree). All profits to RED WEEKLY FUND DRIVE Cheques/POs payable to KILBURN SOCIAL IST EDUCATION FUND.
Write to: Celia Green, Fist 6, 15 Clave Road London N.W.6
The recent strikes in the Republic of South Africa by Back workers have been followed by a dramatic change of policy by the government. They have now made it legul for the black trade unions to strike and negotiate on behalf of their members.
However, even this is severely restricted Government employees may not strike and any other group of workers can be put into this category. In addition there can only be a strike after a thirty day period of notice. It tain their high standard of living by militant trade unionasm and through the political power of the Nationalist povernment.
This system with its low productivity and starvation wages is maintained throuph a compicx system of mugrant labour. Blacks can only work in "white" areas if they have a pass. By not giving workers passes and enabling them to work in the towns, they are forced to work on the farms and mines. Certain jobs are reserved for whites only so that unskilled white workers are assured of getting jobs with higher pay. Job chase its products. The few whites cannot pro- of the ruling class in South Africa, It is becaus vide enough skilled workers, and they demand higher pay than the industrialists are willing to give, Job reservation and the migrant labour system, with its low productivity and low pay for blacks, are becoming a hindrance to industrialisation, The new needs are reflected in the integrationist it would unleash forces which would topple the Progressive party, backed by Anglo-America's Harry Oppenheimer, In the ruling Nationalist party there has been a split. The "verligtes" of this that every stop towards industrial liberal Isation is coupled with further repressive legisla. tion, strengthening of the army and police force and increased propaganda. The dismantling of apartheid will never he allowed by the white workers and farmers. If ever it were achieved, ruling class. But allowed to continue, it will increasingly strangle industry. Vorster has chosen to balance between industrial liberalisa-
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REVOLUTION WOMENS LIBERATION