Masonwabe Sokoyi takes issue with Eusebius McKaiser’s opinion piece, The Nessie of SA politics.
Cape Town - Over the past few weeks, we have seen attempts by certain people who wish the SACP did not exist, to throw some vitriolic tantrums at the 94-year-old Communist Party, the oldest communist party on the African continent.
These attacks on the party are both within and without the alliance. The similarity and timing of these attacks all originate from non-card-carrying members of the party who have unanimously declared it to be non-existent.
Coincidentally, it is these same armchair analysts who try so hard to question the organisation’s existence and relevance based purely on the fact that they can neither comprehend nor accept the SACP’s ideological commitment, which is a socialist society devoid of exploitation, and ultimately communism. Thus, their narrow attempts have become a futile exercise.
Among these armchair pseudo-intellectuals who wish the SACP did not to exist is Mr Eusebius McKaiser, who, in some corridors, claims to be a political analyst.
In reality, an objective political analyst ought to rise above petty political squabbling and provide society with a clear analysis of domestic political dynamics, and most definitely not be completely subjectively consumed with concern over certain ideologies, because that on its own is the very source of the diverse views with different scientific theories.
From inception, the SACP has never requested acceptance from its opponents – monopoly capital. Thus, McKaiser might have his own views about various topics in society, but for such views to be consumed by the public, he has to appease the media conglomerate.
Is it not clear that the only reason why McKaiser is compelled to initially attack the Democratic Alliance (DA), then the Tripartite Alliance, and in this instance the SACP, is to appeal to media conglomerates to continue publishing his views? This is a sad case of a pseudo-intellectual who is desperate to stay relevant.
Contrary to this journalistic appeasement of a pay cheque and popular coverage, the SACP does not need to ask permission from an editor for its views to be known. Instead, it has direct access to 230 000 embers who subscribe to the founding principles of the SACP.
The SACP has long accepted and internalised that “dominant views in any society are those of the ruling class” and the South African ruling class remains monopoly capital, which McKaiser bows down to for his views to find expression.
Over the past eight days, McKaiser has found joy in a letter written by Comrade Trevor Manuel: “Blurring the blur”, with a subsequent response from the SACP’s Comrade Solly Mapaila and Jeremy Cronin. This is despite the baseless accusations of Comrade Trevor based on some issues he believes the party should have confronted, perhaps owing to amnesia contracted by his elevation to Ivory Towers.
Mr McKaiser has truly become confused, despite an attempt by Comrade Jeremy to clarify some of the wrong and illogical assumptions as raised by Comrade Trevor.
What is surprising about the article written by McKaiser – in which he calls the SACP “the Nessie of SA politics” – is for him to be confused but at the same time agree with the baseless and illogical conclusion which Comrade Trevor propagated. He then deliberately ignored whatever facts Comrade Jeremy was trying to clarify.
What is clear is that McKaiser’s imagining that the SACP does not exist exempted his analysis as a “political analyst”, but became subjective instead and furthers the attacks on the SACP by advancing views already canvassed by Comrade Trevor.
* Masonwabe Sokoyi is a SACP Western Cape spokesperson writing in his personal capacity.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Cape Times