Imperialism no threat to organised people

Imperialism no threat to organised people

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By Mutumwa D. Mawere
(www.mmawere.com)

AT 84, and after 28 years in power, President Mugabe genuinely believes that Zimbabwe’s sovereignty is still under the threat of imperialism and it would, therefore, make no sense for him to relinquish state power prior to the annihilation of the alleged vestiges of imperialist forces that are allegedly manifesting themselves in the form of resistance to the land reform and empowerment/indigenisation projects.

The outcome of the March 29 election has been described by President Mugabe as a triumph of imperialism against nationalism.
President Mugabe who still has to recognise his competitor, Morgan Tsvangirai, as an independent thinking Zimbabwean, is convinced that Zimbabweans made a mistake by voting for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the runoff elections offer another chance for the mistake to be corrected.

President Mugabe believes, as many of his colleagues do, that the change agenda is being driven from without and the driving force for this kind of agenda is the desire by the former imperial power, the United Kingdom, to entrench the status quo ante in so far as the control of Zimbabwean resources is concerned.

Whether the threat of imperialism to the sovereignty of Zimbabwe is real or imagined is not the issue but what seems to ignite emotions is that there appears to be no guarantee that the post-Mugabe era will not lead to the reversal of the recent changes in land ownership pursuant to the operation of the controversial land reform programme.

The interest Zimbabwe continues to enjoy at the global level is used by Mugabe as evidence that there is more at stake than the interests of the long suffering majority Zimbabweans. It is argued by supporters of President Mugabe that he is their most potent weapon against imperialism and Zimbabweans are more vulnerable without his personal protection and stewardship.

An argument has been advanced that targeted sanctions have been put in place to undermine the regime for the political expediency of imperialist forces. The real beneficiaries of the sanctions regime, in the eyes of President Mugabe, are the imperialists and their kith and kin that stand to benefit from the change of government.

The threat of imperialism has provided President Mugabe with a convenient excuse for clinging on to power in so far as he can argue that his regime has been prevented from delivering on its promise by external forces that were lying low as long as his leadership played along with the neo-colonialist agenda of entrenching the pre-colonial class and racial relations.

If the argument that President Mugabe was good leader until he started attacking the property rights of the white Zimbabweans is accepted, then the imperialist conspiracy theory gains traction. Zimbabwe is then seen as a target for imperialist games.

President Mugabe who is a disciple of Karl Marx believes, like his mentor, that colonialism was an aspect of the prehistory of the capitalist mode of production. It was Lenin who identified imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism and it cannot be denied that monopoly finance capital was dominant in Lenin’s time as it is now forcing nations and private corporations to compete to control Africa’s rich natural resources and markets.

Even critics of Mugabe have to accept that no significant changes have taken place in post-colonial Zimbabwe through the invisible hand of the market and to a large extent the inherited class relations that were predominantly race based are still intact. The people who had most to lose in post-colonial Zimbabwe did not do anything to protect their interests, choosing to leave the burden on people whose views and attitudes were inherently anti-capitalistic.

The colonial government was structured is such a way to benefit a target group and, therefore, an argument has been advanced that the post-colonial state should focus on the majority who were, in any event, excluded by the colonial state. However, evidence suggests that the primary victims of the post colonial order are the very people the system was supposed to advantage.

Imperialism is mostly understood in relation to empire building as the forceful extension of a nation’s authority by territorial conquest so as to establish economic and political domination of other nations. It also describes the imperialistic attitude of superiority, subordination and dominion over foreign people and is often autocratic and monolithic in character. The term is also equally applied to domains of knowledge, beliefs, values and expertise.

When it is argued that Zimbabwe is a failed state, the counter arguments that are then used typically are framed in anti-imperialist language. It is often argued that imperialists do not have any regard for the values, beliefs and traditions of their victims.

When Prime Minister Gordon Brown takes the role of spokesman for the change agenda in Zimbabwe, the implied hypocrisy is easily exposed and used as a basis for mobilising support for the entrenchment of the status quo. President Mugabe believes that no imperialist is qualified to talk about rule of law and property rights when history informs that natives were never protected by the law.

Proponents of the change agenda argue that it is irrelevant to imply that imperialism is at the root cause of the Zimbabwean crisis. President Mugabe’s party has been in control of the state for a sufficiently long time to address the alleged ills of colonialism and it is then argued that it would be opportunistic for an incumbent to seek to remain in power using old and recycled arguments.

While President Mugabe mourns about the vices of imperialism it is instructive that he also believes that sanctions have had an adverse impact on the economy. Why would President Mugabe want his country to benefit from an evil system like imperialism? Should he not have developed an alternative ideology that works for the kind of Zimbabwe he wanted to see when he was fighting for liberation?

The role of imperialism in undermining the sovereignty of developing nations will continue to be a subject for debate. To what extent was the colonial state subsidised by the imperial state? It has been argued that Rhodesia survived not because the settlers were waiting for handouts from the colonial master but because the settlers themselves believed in the idea of creating a new civilisation that they funded from their own initiatives but underpinned by a repressive colonial state.

In terms of institution building, it has been accepted that the settlers were clear that they wished to be self governing and in some instances there were clashes with the imperial state. The settler farmers formed their own system of government owned by its members. They believed that the colonial state was their creation and, therefore, they did not see any role for the natives who were regarded as inferior.

The colonial agricultural system was underpinned by a collective approach to business. Building societies and friendly societies were established to support the colonial state. There was a realisation among the settlers that they were on their own and had to fend for themselves.

In 1927, Old Mutual opened its first office in Harare. However, we still have to form our own new mutuals. The role of the state actors in empowering citizens to take ownership of their future cannot be understated. Why is it the case that the last 28 years of self governing has not translated itself into institution building where citizens informed by the experiences of the colonial state take ownership of their own destinies?

It should not be sufficient to critique imperialism without offering alternatives. Regrettably it has become a habit in developing countries to point a finger at others without offering viable and sustainable alternatives. If President Mugabe were to be re-elected, what new ideas can be expected from him? The world is informed by interests and will continue to be so whether President Mugabe is in power or not. What is important is that a leadership be put in power that believes in service and not in blaming others for things they can do something about.

Imperialism should not be a threat to organised people. After 28 years in power someone must accept responsibility for failing to provide the kind of leadership required by a rainbow nation like Zimbabwe. It should not be acceptable to argue that after 1980 and its promise that race should be used as an election strategy by an incumbent who has failed to lead.

Mutumwa Mawere's weekly column is published on New Zimbabwe.com every Monday. You can contact him at: mmawere@global.co.za
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