Know the enemy

A number of external factors affect the African situation, and if our liberation struggle is to placed in correct perspective and we are to KNOW THE ENEMY, the impact of these factors must be fully grasped. First among them is IMPERIALISM, for it is mainly against EPLOITAION AND POVERTY that our peoples revolt. It is therefore of paramount importance to set out the strategy of imperialism in clear terms:

1. The means used by the enemy to ensure the continued economic exploitation of our territoris.

2. The nature of the attempts made to destroy the liberation movement.

Once the compenentsof the enemy's strategy are determined, we wiill be in a position to outline the correct strategy for our own struggle in terms of our actual situation in accordance with our objectives.

Before the Second World War, the world divided into:

(a) Capitalist states practising orthodox imperialism under the generally known form of imperialism.

(b) Colonial territories which fed the economies of the capitalist imperialist states.(The Latin American territories had already passed from the status of "Spanish" and "Portuguese" colonies to that of neo-colonial colonies)

However, after the Second World War, serious economic, social and political tensions arose in both spheres.

(a)Inside the capitalist-imperialist states, workers' organisations had become comparatively strong and experienced, and the claims of the working class for a more substantial share of the wealth produced by the capitalist economy could no longer be ignored. The necessity to concede had become all the more imparative since the European captialist system had been seriously shaken up by the near-holocaust which marked the experience of imparialist wars.

(b) While the capitalist system of exploitation was coming to grips with its internal crises, the world's colonised areas were astir with the upsurge of strong liberation movements. Here again, demands could no longer be cast aside or ignored especially when they were channelled through irresistible mass movements, like the Rassemblement Democratique African (RDA) the Parti Democratique de Guinee (PDG) and the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) in Ghana. In certain areas, for example in Vietnam, Kenya and Algeria, direct confrontation demonstrated the readiness of the oppressed peoples to implement their claims with blood and fire.

Both in the colonial territories and in the metropolitan states, the struggle was being waged against the same enemy: international finance capital under its external and internal forms of exploitation, imperialism and capitalism.

Threatened with disintegration by the double-fisted attack of the working class movement and the liberation movement, capitalism had to launch a series of reforms in order to build a protective armour around the inner workings of its system.

To avoid internal breakdown of the system under the pressure of the workers' protes movement, the governments of capitalist countries granted their workers certain concessions which did not endager the basic nature of the capitalist system of exploitation. They gave them social security, higher wages, better working conditions, professional training facilities, and other improvements.

These reforms helped to blur fundamental contradictions, and to remove some of the more glaring injustices while at the same time ensuring the continued exploitation of the workers. The myth was established of an affluent capitalist society promising abundance and a better life for all. The basic aim, however was the establishment of a "Welfare State" as the only safeguard against the threat of facism or communism.

However, the problem was to find a way to avoid sacrificing the all-important principleof ever-increasing profits for the woning minority, and also to find the money needed to finance the welfare state.

By way of a solution, capitalism proceeded to introduce not only internal reforms, but external reforms designed to raise the extra money needed for the establishment and the maintenance of the welfare state at home. In other words, modern capitalism had come to depend more heavily that before on the colonial territories. On the external front, therefore, it became necessary for international finance capital to carry out reforms in order to eliminate the deadly threat to its supremacy of the Liberation movement.

The urgent need for such reforms was made clear by the powerful growth and expansion of the liberation forces in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where revolutionary movements had not only seized power but were actually consolidating their gains. Developments in the USSR, China, Cuba, North Vietnam, North Korea and in Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Algeria and other parts of Africa, showed that not only was the world balance of forces shifting, but that the capitalist-imperialist states were confronted with a real danger of encirclement.

Collective Imperialism

The modifications introduced by imperialism in its strategy were expressed:

(a) through the disappearance of the numerous old fashioned "colonies" owing exclusive allegiance to a single metropolitan country.

(b) through the replacement of "national" imperialisms by a "collective" imperialism in which the USA occupies a leading position.

The roots of this process may be traced back to the period of the Second World War, when the socialist camp was still too small and weak to give decisive assistance to the European working class movement. The workers were therefore all the more easily deflected from the objectives of their struggle, and allowed themselves to be dragged into a bloody war of imperialism.

The Second World War seriously strained the political and economic strength of Europe, although capitalism asa system emerged relatively intact. However, the true winner of the whole contest turned out to be the USA. Having helped the allies to win the war, the USA was from then on able to retain its pre-eminent position, and to acquire increasing influence in the economic life of the exhausted European states.

This "internationalisation" or "Syndicalisation" enabled US imperialism to forestall temporarily an incipient crisis by fulfilling two sin qua non conditions:

The need to expand

The US-European post war alliance not only enabled the USA to benefit from the advantages of the European market, which had hiterto, been largely closed to its penetration; but also opened up new horizons in Asia, Africa and Latin America where the USA already superceded European supremacy and established neo-colonialist domination.

The need to militarise

The milatarisation of the US economy, based on the political pretext of the threatening rise of the USSSR and later of the Peoples Republic of China as socialist powers , enabled the USA to postpone itsinternal crises, first during the "hot" war (1939-1945) and then during the "cold" war (since 1945)

Militarisation served two main purposes:

1. It absorded, and continues to absorb, an excess of unorganised energy ito the intense armaments drive which supports imperialist aggression and many blocs and alliances formed by imperialist powers over the last twenty years.(1967-68)

2. It made possible an expensive policy of paternalist corruption of the poor and oppressed people of the world.

The principle of mutual inter-imperialist assistance whereby American, British, French and West German monopoly capital extends joint control over the wealth of the non-liberated zones of Africa, Latin America and Asia, finds concrete expression in the formation of interlocked international financial instituions and bodies of credit:

International Monetary Fund(IMF), USA 25% of the votes.

International Developement Association (IDA), USA 41% of the votes.

On a lesser scale, Europa as a whole and W. Germany in partiular, find profitable outlests for big business in Africa through the agencies of such organisations as the European Commom Market (EEC).

The imperialist even make use of the United Nations Organisation in order to camoflage their neo-colonilist objectives. This can be seen, for example in US policy in South Korea and the Congo.

Sham Independance

But as far as the imperalist are concerned the real solution to the problem of continued exploitation through concessions and reform lies in the concept of "sham-independance" A state can be said to be neo-colonialist or client state if it is independent dejure and dependent de facto. It is a state where political power lies in the conservative forces of the former colony and where economic power remains under the control of international finance capital.

In other words, the country continues to be economically explooited by interests which are alien to the majority of the ex-colonised population but are intrinsic to the world capitalist sector. Such a state is in the grip of neo-colonialism. It has become a client state.

Neo-colonialism

The pre-requisite of a correct and global strategy to defeat neo-colonialism is the abliity to discover and expose the way in which a state becomes neo-colonialist. For although a neo-colonialist state enjoys only sham independence it is to all outward appearances independent, and therefore the very roots of neo-colonialism must be traced back to the stuggle for independence in a colonial territory.

If the liberation movement is firmly established, the colonial power invariably resorts to a "containment" policy in order to stop any further progress, and to deaden its impact. To achieve this objective, the colonial power uses its arsenal of alliances, its network of military bases, economic devices such as corruption, sabotage and blackmail, and equally insidious, the psychological weapon of propaganda with a view to impressing on the masses a number of imperialist dogmas:

1. That western democracy and the parlimentary system are the only valid ways of governing; that they constitute the only worth-while model for the training of an indigenous elite by the colonial power.

2. That capitalism, free enterprise, free competition, ect., are the only economic systems capable of promoting development; that the western powers have mastered the liberal-capitalist technique perfectly; that the colonial territory should become an economic satellite in its own interst; that there is no reason to put an end to the policy of "co-operation" pursued during the colonial regime; and that any attempt to break away would be dangerous, since the colonial power is always ready to give "aid"

3.That the slightest "lapse" on the part of the leaders of the liberation movement could push the country into the grip of "communism" and of "totalitarian dictatorship".

4. That the carve-up agreed upon by the imperialist during the colonial period is fair and sacred; that it would be unthinkable even to attempt to leberate areas in terms of their common cultural and historical links; That the only acceptable version of "liberation" must apply to the arificial units designed by the imperialist and hurriedly labelled "nations" in spite of the fact they are neither culturally unifed, nor economically self-sufficient.

As a further justification of its policy, imperialism usually resorts to all types of propaganda in order to highlight and exploit differences of religion, culture, race outlook, and of political ideology among the oppressed masses, or between regions which share a long history of mutual comercial and cultural exchange.

Such methods aim to orientate the leaders of the liberation movemnts towards a brand of nationalism based on petty-minded and aggressive chauvinism, as well as to steer the liberation movement along a reformist path. The problem of "liberation" is therefore usually raised in terms of a paricipation of "good" indigenous elements in the administration of the colonised territory, for instance through a policy of "Africanisation" devoid of any fundamental changes in the political, economic and administrative structure of the territory.

So, I assume there is a "how to " guide of imperialism?confused3

Interesting read thanks for the info.....

Below is a link to a video lecture by Dr.Michael Parenti on workingtv.com, it's in 5 - 15 minutes parts, he talks about Globalism which encompasses imperialism and capitalism in the first 2 parts,(which I think complements Tahliba post), then talks about terrorism etc in the last parts.
http://www.workingtv.com/parenti.html

This is the idiot who also said straight people are'nt as fit as homosexuals to marry and that Stalinism was a lie.

What colony did the US hold and "drain" after (Or before)WWII?

I don't know about the Parenti's personal crimes and misdemeanors, but his talk about imperialism and capitalism in the first 2 of those video clips are relevant...not the 3rd, 4th, or 5th cilps which goes on to talk about terorism and conspiracies.

I haven't looked into anything about Stalin so I can't comment but.....the west bankrolled nazism, essentially they made a boogyman only to defeat the boogyman, so in that respect... that would be a lie, because it needn't of happened.

What colony did the US hold and "drain" after (Or before)WWII?

The days of the British going around knocking people on their heads to do land/resource grabs are over....the face has changed into free trade & privatisation, capitalism, imperialism, this is used to achieve land/resource grabs, this alone can bring countries to their knees without military intervention.

Blair blamed for Indian farmers' deaths/privatisation

Apply the same to what the US, France, Germany does concerning free trade this is how countries hold and "drain"

Burning Spear wrote:

Damn, I've been looking for a handbook on do it yourself African coups. Got any "taking Over Sub-Saharan African Countries for Dummies books" lying around Tahlib?

I'm going offtopic.gif

Here's a small list of some of the backers, they were contributing berfore, during and after the 3rd reich. note: the list represents capitalism/imperialism, mentioning the USSR built bombers means nothing....go deeper to uncover more layers.

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) Media/press lord

Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937) 49th Secretary of the Treasury. founder of ALCOA which hindered US ability to produce aluminium for planes, but kept germany full of stock.

Du Pont corporation inluding General motors/suppiled military vehicles.

Standard oil of Jersey now Exxon founded by Rockefeller (ensured fuel supply)

Bank of England/Schroeder Bank, Rothschild (raw money, own part of the federal reserve)

Fritz Thyssen German industrialist and original banker of Adolf Hitler, had extra funding from WA Harriman & Co/Union Bank whose director was Prescott S. Bush(The President's Grandfather.)


Create a boogyman only to defeat the boogyman!

UK/US deficit means nothing again because some of these people own/create deficit. They have so much money it's not about money, just consolidation.

These people are all imperialists or capitalists whichever way you put it, they would have us all work for slave labour @ 50cent/25p per hour, BUT they can't, because we don't let them, so they go to china/india etc.... note the t-shirt phrase "I lost my job to India and all I got is this shirt"

Free Trade

By all means check them out.... just use a internet cafe or some other neutral computer.