April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

Self-organisation for self-emancipation
Horace Campbell First Published in Pambazuka 31 January 2011
In the wake of the ousting of entrenched Tunisian president Zine al-
Abidine Ben Ali, Horace Campbell reflects on events in the country,
regional implications and the inspirational example of the Tunisian people
in organising for a new future.
The full explosion of the Tunisian revolutionary process is now taking root
across Africa, far beyond the town of Sidi Bouzid, from where Mohammed
Bouazizi had sent a message to youths all across the world that they should
stand up against oppression. The overthrow and removal of the dictator
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January 2011 was an important stage in this
revolution. When this dictator (who was a top ally of the USA and France)
fled to Saudi Arabia, dictators and corrupt party leaders all over the world
trembled as the popular power in the streets found support in all parts of
Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe. This revolution in Tunisia is a
typical example of the self-mobilisation of ordinary people for their own
emancipation, independent of a vanguard party or self-proclaimed
revolutionaries. The iteration of the Tunisian revolution in other parts of
Africa and the Middle East is fast becoming a pattern that speaks volume
about the nature of 21st century revolutions.
At the time of writing this piece, the revolution is going through the third
stage where the popular forces are seeking a drastic change in the politics
of the society and demanding new order in Tunisia based on freedom,
democracy and social justice. In short, the people were calling for a form
of popular democracy that moves beyond alienation, and beyond the
separation of politics and economics. The first stage of the revolution
started with the self-immolation and self-sacrifice of Mohammed Bouazizi
in the region of Sidi Bouzid. The unemployed graduate Bouazizi set himself
on fire to protest police brutality after they harassed and stopped him
from selling fruits and vegetables, which was his only means of a
livelihood. The second stage involved the mass organisation and the
deployment of new networks for revolution among the youth and the
working people, leading to the popular overthrow of the dictator. The
third stage involved the merger of the caravans of liberation into Tunis,
the capital with the break in the ranks of the forces of coercion. It was at
this stage that the true revolutionary character of the self-organisation
started to emerge. At this third stage, the prolonged popular protest of
the organised poor emerged, with women and youth taking the lead in
calling for the arrest of the dictator and for a new government of the
people. It is at this delicate stage of this revolution that it is most
necessary for revolutionaries all over the world to stand together with the
Tunisians, and to draw the positive lessons that can spread the revolution
like a fire to burn off the corruption and destruction of capitalism and
neoliberalism.
The capitalist classes have been wounded in Tunisia and they want to do
all within their power to contain this new wave of revolution. However,
their ability to undermine this revolution will depend on the vigilance and
support of revolutionaries internationally. We must remember that
revolutions are made by ordinary people and that there are millions who
want a new form of existence where they can live like decent human
beings. In another era of capitalist depression and war, it was C.L.R.
James who commented that, ‘That is the way a revolution often comes,
like a thief in the night, and those who have prepared for it and are
waiting for it do not see it, and often only realise that their chance has
come when it has passed.’
James was referring to the Chinese masses who had led the way in the