Campi
I
lay wit!
ou h A·fri a's fut
ermine
y 0 D
I have just returned from
rticipating in a semin r in
Crica on "U.S. and Soviet
Policy in Southern Africa" ..
The eminar a held in
Zimbab e under the
auspice of the E st- West
progr m of the American
Friend Service Committee
(AFSC) and the Southern
Africa Political Economy
Series rru 1 (SAPES).
Outst nding schol rs
Irom the Soviet Union. the
United St res nd S uthern
Africa attended the cminar
in addi lion to, rcprc­
. entatives of th libc ration
movement in South Africa
- Th African Natienal
Congre (AN C). The P n
African Congress (PAC).
The Black Co ciou ne
Movement (BCM). nd the
M ss Democratic Movement
(MOM).
WHAT JI:M ERC; ED from
the seminar was an outline
of the pro pcct Ior future
development in Southern
Africa in general and South
Africa in particular given
- lhe: current state of U.S. -
Soviet relation .
There II a consensu
that the cold war competi­
tion between the U.S. and
the Soviet Union i all but
over in light of the dramatic
upheaval' in Ea tern Europe
nd the Sovie t Union'. ur­
gent pre-occupation with in­
ternlll domestic problem.
I There a' uh t niiat di -
a reement on what the col­
the economic interest of
U.S. corpor tion. nd by ex­
te ntion the i nt re t of
we tern capital] m.
IT"I TU .. : context of
the truggle in South Arric
there was the clear' percep­
tion that the U.S. and
Brit in, in pursuit of their
intere ts, woul pre s for an
outcome that ould result in
"Black power itb guaran­
tees for whites".
The net errect or this out­
come ould be Black
m jority rule politically with
white retaining economic
control - real power.
Whi te economic control
would keep intact the
privileged statu of lhe
minority white popul lion
and m inlain a safe nd
lucrative haven for U.S. and
we tern investment .
The Blac popu tion
would gain political
freedom" but would remain
economically disadv ntaged
and impoveri hed ..
Indeed Afric a-American
scholars. largely with their
while counterpart offering a
dis renting view, argued that
U.S. policy would be.guided
by a p ion to insure white
domination in Southern
Africa, Africa and the en­
tirely of the Third World.
. n Americ n
SOIIOIM- rs pointed to Zirn­
habwe at an example of how
a liberation struggle can
gain political power and yet
not chieve economic em­
powerment for the. African
ma se .
lap e of the cold war means
for Southern At'ric: .
Soviet scholars generally
articulated a view that a new
er of U.S. Soviet
cooperation. a reflected in
recent agreements around
Angola and amibia. por­
tends well in term of peace
nd developm nt for
Southern Africa ..
Scholars from Southern
Africa were quick to point
The solu . on to the crisi of
Black rking class people isn't
more conce ions. We need
legislation re tricting the
po erful corporations from
moving capital and factories
outside the U.S. and from state -
to state.
o IMPO TANTLY,
WE need new aggressive
Ie dership in organized labor,
to fight for wor er ' interests.
We need to revive militancy
of the 1937 sit-down strike,
demandiag that a job, health
care, and drug-free com­
munities are human rights.
D,. Manning Marable is
Professor of PolitiCill Science
and Sodolo&Y III 1M Univmityof
CoIonulo III Boulder. .
out that the Soviet Union
. had tended to be ve ry up­
portive . of the liberation
. movement in Africa. while
the United State. had most
often supported colonial
regimes in opposition to the
aspirations of the liberation
movements.
Serious concern was
rai cd about the possible
withdrawal of Soviet
military and economic assis­
tance for liberation move­
ments.
lie' THE SOVIET Union
become a non-factor in
Southern Africa the fear i
th r, left unchecked. the
United States could attempt
to impo c' its will in South
Africa and throughout the
region.
This' latter concern
revolved around the conten­
tion that U.S. interests in
South Africa arc essentially
imperialistic and neo­
colonial. in nature.
That is to . ay that the
United States is intere ted in
fo. tcring or preserving
relation 'hip' and. structure
which protect a 'advanc
re
Bee use df e Lane ster
Agreement h ch provided
extraordin ry "guarantees"
for whi test th re h been
very little prog ss economi­
cally for the va t majority of
BI ck in Zimb bwe.
TE YEARS after "inde­
pendence" the 100.000 white
settlers who constitute about
t % of the popul tion control
nearly 2/3 of all the wealth.
Meanwhile th 9.3 million
African control only 1/3 0
the wealth. uffer from an
unemployment rate of 25't',
and are plagued by ma ive
underemployment. BI c
"control" the politics but
whiles control the wealth.
Zimbabwe i often held
up . a "model" of Black
and white reconcllation nd
co-exi renee. Is the Zim­
babwe model what the U.S.
and its we tern partner
have in mind for South
Atrica?
.. The African and African
American schol rs were of
the opinion that left tit·
own devise the U.S. w uld
be pleased with uch an out­
come.
There was strong agree­
ment among Afric nand
African American cholars.
however. that the "African
American lobby" in the U.S.
could be the decisive ele­
ment in radically altering
the intent of U.S. policy in
South Africa and the region.
A combination of mas ive
external pre sure for
genuine political democracy
and economic right for the
Black majority in South
Africa and continued ma s
pre' ure by the liberation
movement inside South
Africa might be the only
hope tor a ju t ttlcment in
South Africa.
Without that potentially
potent cornbin tion there is
the pro peer that protection
for "white rights" will he the
dominant i ue determining
the outcome in South Africa.
Ron Daniel serve a
President of the Institute for
Community Organization
and Del' lopment in
Youngstown, Ohio. He may
be contacted at (216) 746-
5747.
Thumbs down on,' latest
deficit reduction gimmicks
By CONGo AUGUSTUS F.
HAWKINS
An economic battle of major
proportions is underway the
nation debates the best ay to
meet our national priorities.
. Some believe that deficit
reduction should be the central
goal of aU government policy
decisions. '
In general, the e policy
maker believe that federal
spending. even for widely sup­
ported worthwhile programs
like education and Social
Security, uldtakeab c seat
to cutting the deficit.
They are motivated by a
desire to calm financial inter­
est , who skeptically view
government involvement in the
economy.
, Rep. Dan Rostenko ki (D­
IL), has sent up a trial balloon­
proposal th t would achieve
deficit reduction by freezing all
federal omestic pending.
I ADOrnO, HE ould
reprogram anticip ed [peace
dividend] dele . to go
solely towards deficit reductio
and make some tax in­
cludingincr consumption
taxes on gasoline, alcohol,
tobacco and other elected
items.
While incre sing taxe on
item th t pose enormous
health concerns may be a ood
idea, excise t in general
tend to hit hardest on people
with modest incomes ..
For' aace, an increase in
the co t of gasoline could
preven a low wage worker from
getti g a better paying job far­
ther from their home, due to in­
creased transportation costs.
Further, calling for a freeze
in domestic spendiag i re Iy
cut in current oper ting lewels.
If inflation runs about 4%, a
freeze in compensatory educa­
tion, for example, can mean a
4% reduction in the number of
children who receive math d
reading basic skills assistance. I
am opposed to the Ros­
tenko . proposal It does not
address the true causes of the
deficit.
A BUDGET PLAN. m
evalu to the unmet tion
needs that constitute our
-humaD deficits", and thc�
provide the pendiDg and •
uthority to legislate t
progr m that can addre
those priorities.
Spending in the public sector
is not built-in burden on
economy.
Investmen in educ tion,
training, housing, health care
and nutrition, as wen making
needed improvemen in our
communities, are key in­
gredients in our nation's ability
to compete effectively in world
markets.
FO EXAMPLE, IT ha
been proven that $1.00 spent on
cad Start to prepare a child
for school, returns $6.00 in
reduced costs for special educa­
tion, public assistance and
crime.
On dollar ($1.00) pent on
the Job Corps, preparing youth
for a life time of productive
employment, yield $1.45 in
benefits to American society.
One dollar ($1.00) pent
. solely on deficit reduction in­
vests in nothing tangible; it
produces nothing of national or
personal worth.
I say thumbs down to ny
proposal • ch does n focus
on cutting the human deficits.