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From: berman@ihlpg.UUCP (Andy Berman)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: South Africa
Message-ID: <1009@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Aug-85 11:27:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpg.1009
Posted: Thu Aug  1 11:27:24 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Aug-85 02:21:50 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 52

Not much discussion on the net about South Africa. But why should
there be? Why should we bother discussing something so relevant as
an ongoing revolution when we can discuss the fine points of 
libertarianism, a philosophy based on laissez-faire capitalism
that was already obsolete in 1890? How else can we prove our
irrelevance in a world in change?


Now with that off my chest, here's my opinion on South Africa:

1)  Should we divest?

    Damn straight! We should have divested years ago. Trade with the
US and Britain has been the economic base of apartheid. We can and
should pull it out and let that vicious violent system fall.

2) Should we support "constructive engagement"?

    This is Reagan's hypocritical policy that only excuses continued
de-facto support for apartheid in the face of nearly unanamous world
wide comdemnation of the racist regime. It is based on the tragic
assumption that any regime, so long as it is anti-communist, should
get American support. Fascists and racists make teriffic
anti-communists.

3) What about the future of South Africa?

    Well it's time, really past time, to learn about the revolutionary
movement in South Africa. We could have yielded much influence in the
past. We probably still could do so to some extent if we have the courage
of our own revolutionary heritage and break immediately with the 
apartheid regime.
    The major revolutionary movement is led by the African National
Congress (ANC), which led a 50-year non-violent struggle against 
apartheid until the lessons of history forced them to accept that
apartheid would not yield without armed rebellion.
   The ANC is committed to a multi-racial society. It's 20-person
leading body comprises Africans, Indians, Whites and persons of
mixed race. It is committed to a democratic society based on social
justice and equality. (UH-OH sounds as red as Tom Jefferson!).
Their leader Nelson Mandela has been imprisoned for 20 years. The
ANC is the clear representative of the majority of the people
of South Africa, and its victory is probably close to inevitable.
    The only question is how much blood will be shed before the
racist apartheid regime tumbles. US policy can be an important
factor in limiting that suffering.
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---Andy Berman  ...ihnp4!ihlpg!berman

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