It is surprising that despite their historical knowledge and the extent to which the tenets of the Freedom Charter are being applied by the ANC, Professor Saleem Badat, Selvan and Kiru Naidoo (POST, June 25-29) have failed to recognize the Charter for what it is – a blueprint for communist hegemony.
Selvan and Kiru Naidoo are correct in stating that the Charter is “no mere political manifesto” and that it is “subversive.” But Professor Badat is very much deceived when he says it is “not a socialist programme.” Drafted by communists Joe Slovo, Ben Turok, Lionel Bernstein and Ruth First, its content reflects communist ideology and aspirations in every respect.
The populist appeal of the Charter promising “a democratic state based on the will of the people” disarmingly masks its totalitarian intentions. That is obvious from the demand that all resources, mineral wealth, banks and industry will be owned by the people. Nowhere is there any mention of private or individual enterprise. Nowhere is there any recognition of possible alternatives.
How this grand scheme of “the will of the people” is implemented is the point at which the illusion of democracy unhinges and the dictatorial grip of the totalitarian state manifests itself. This occurs when the state claims to be acting on behalf of “the will of the people.” In reality, it means a small number of ideological adherents claim the authority to exercise control over all aspects of life covered in the Charter. This cabal determines the narrative on every subject and enforces it where dissent arises. That is how communism is practised.
Since 1994, tenets of the Charter have been incrementally implemented. All water is owned by the state. The mining of mineral resources is being increasingly brought under state control through ever more demanding regulations. Education is being subverted by Marxism. Private healthcare is to be replaced by the NIH. Foreign investment requires 30% control by party cadres. Private property may be expropriated. Employment is based on demographic quotas.
If Professor Badat were familiar with life in the Soviet Union, he would not express disappointment that, under the ANC, wealthy elites have emerged who are focused on their own interests and that poverty has not been eliminated. From the time of Lenin through to Gorbachev, all the top communists in the USSR—the vlasti—were millionaires who enjoyed exclusive lifestyles – unlike the masses, who were mired in mediocrity and suppression.
Cuba, much admired by the ANC as an ideological destination, exemplifies everything the so-called Freedom Charter stands for. It’s where the equality Professor Badat hopes the Charter will deliver means equality in poverty. And that is why the Charter is not a “tapestry of hope,” as the heading to Selvan and Kiru Naidoo’s article reads, because its real name should be the Servitude Charter.
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