Again, we say: Biology is not ideology!

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OPINION

By Kenneth David Mafabi

To respond to uninformed comments we encounter as we implement the Mwangaza Online Ideological Study Programme, we again reproduce our September 2021 article, which appeared as Biology does not Define Ideology. We are harangued, “ideology is totally irrelevant to the development process” … “the answers to present and future challenges of society, lie with the ‘younger generations’”!

‘Each generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.’ This quote from revolutionary Frantz Fanon (addressing the Second Congress of Black Writers in 1959) is quite often misused to justify any kind of juvenile adventure instigated by all manner of pretenders to the leadership of the people.

This is how some of the pretenders arrive at incredible positions, for example: that their mission is to ‘kick Museveni out of Government, then all shall be well’; that their mission is to ‘take Uganda to the next level’; etc. When you ask them what the ‘next level’ means, they give you a blank look.

There is no ‘generation mission’ which exists outside national specificities, outside national historical tasks. When Fanon spoke at the Congress mentioned above, he was addressing himself to questions of national liberation, national consciousness and the culture of people of colour — in the anti-colonial and anti-neo-colonial struggles, etc.

Naturally, as we grow older, we slow down. We are not able to do all the things we did when we were younger — or do them as quickly as we used to. Put differently, biology inevitably slows us down. However, that is precisely why revolutions painstakingly develop different echelons of ideological, political and technical cadres — to sustain the revolutionary process into the future. In this sense, when we speak about cohesion amongst different generations of cadres, the connecting thread is ideology, not biology.

The youthful enthusiasm and energy of younger people are very important. They are a vital physical force in any revolutionary process. It is impossible to do without them. Except, youth are a transient social category — they age every day. Younger people do not, in themselves, therefore, constitute a social class by virtue of being younger. Younger people do not espouse distinct social class interests, distinct world views or ideology by virtue of being younger.

Herewith below, we flag several categories and concepts that indicate the central importance of ideological and political clarity in the struggle for transformation, rather than birth cohorts or generations.

First, we must locate ourselves in the journeys of various peoples from backwards to advanced societies. How far along that journey each person or community have moved defines our overall objective needs and tasks — not the different birth cohorts or generations to which we may belong. It does not matter how young or old slaves are — all are slaves. Serfs in a feudal order are serfs; it does not matter how old each is.

Second, we must critically examine the prevalent mode of production. How do people or communities produce and reproduce their means of sustenance and wealth? Who produces? Who appropriates the products of labour and surplus in such a community? These questions lead us straight to the social class composition of that society. They are of more fundamental import than who is older or younger than whom.

Third, when we return to what is produced and how it is produced, we have come face-to-face with the productive forces of society. For example, more productive forces have been generated by humankind under capitalism over the last 600 years than in all preceding millennia. This, again, is of more fundamental import than who is older or younger than whom.

Fourth: What is the source of the ideas, thoughts, norms and values in human communities? These, do not spring from how young or old the individual members of the communities are. Thought and consciousness are products of the human brain, in the same way man himself is a product of nature. Thought and consciousness, therefore, develop along with the totality of the development of the material and spiritual environment of human communities. They are not the products of how young or old individual members of the communities are.

Fifth: The role and position of ideology. Once we start dealing with the four points immediately above, we move into the realm of critical thought, worldviews and ideology. Random and sporadic thoughts do not constitute ideology. Okugenda n’ebigenda (go with the flow) is not ideological — it is random thought, probably leading to anarchy and/ or populism.

Ideology denotes a systematic, coherent and consistent appreciation of our reality, of our world. In the final analysis, ideology has nothing to do with our age. It certainly has nothing to do with appreciating society at the much lower level of social psychology, i.e, of everyday experience. Ideology reflects definite socio-economic interests. It reflects objective reality, concrete historical reality and concrete historical tasks. Ideology is the guide or compass to revolutionary action for fundamental transformation in the digital, nuclear and space era. Birth cohorts are absolutely irrelevant here.

Six: We need to examine the central place and role of the National Liberation Movement in the organisation of politics rather than the classical political party. The formations, which go by the tag of ‘party’ in our enclave economies, are in reality nothing of the kind. Deep down, all of these are largely peasant (traditional society) formations, with no distinct ideological identity. This is the epoch of broad fronts and movements, rather than political parties.

Now, this does indicate the absence of ideological clarity? Far from it. This is the epoch of national or new democratic ideology, which must seek dominance as a mass political line over the multifaceted peasant (traditional society) formations. That dominant revolutionary mass line must be protected at all times … This is why, for example, the liberation movements’ election of national leaderships is guided by central executive committees. This ensures that at every phase of struggle, WHAT specific tasks need to be discharged are clearly identified, before turning to WHO is best suited to discharge them. The WHAT, ultimately, defines the WHO.”

The writer is a senior presidential advisor/political affairs (special duties) State House