MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
A popular story in the bourgeois press this week gave an interesting
side-by-side comparison of the lumpen in the United $tates to the Third
World proletariat. The story came on the heels of new repressive
practices targeting Latinos in the state of Georgia with immigration
laws beginning July 1 of this year. For fear of deportation and
imprisonment, both of which restrict their ability to work, migrant
labor crews made up of Mexicans and Guatemalans are steering clear of
Georgia. As a result fruit is rotting in the fields.(1) The story
exposes the extreme parasitism of this country that cannot even harvest
its own food. Amerikans are so rich and spoiled that the labor market
cannot fill jobs paying above minimum wage if the work is too hard. If
the labor market were free and open the jobs would fill up instantly,
but Amerikans oppose this vehemently as they cannot maintain
exploiter-level incomes without closed borders. In these times of
economic crisis many of these parasites would have you believe that they
are “struggling to put food on the table.” As they let food literally
rot in the fields, we see that just is not true.
To solve the relative labor shortage, the governor of Georgia turned to
the population that sits somewhere between the foreign-born and the
Amerikan in terms of citizenship rights – prisoners and the formerly
incarcerated. Generally defined as the permanently unemployed, excluded
from what Marxism calls the “relations of production,” the lumpen class
includes most prisoners by definition. There is a degree of continuity
between the lumpen on the street and the imprisoned lumpen, but many get
out of prison to join the petty bourgeois class that dominates this
country.
One article cites the Georgia Department of Corrections as claiming that
unemployment for all probationers in the state is only 15%, but the
Governor’s office reports that it is 25%.(2) While much higher than the
overall rate of 10% in Georgia, this is still lower than most estimates
for young Black male unemployment, and therefore suspiciously low
considering that most job applications in the United $tates require you
to declare whether you have been imprisoned or convicted of a felony,
and this information is used against the applicant. Just looking at the
25% number might suggest that 75% of Georgia probationers have a greater
continuity with the (employed) petty bourgeoisie than with a lumpen
underclass. Yet recidivism rates in this country over 50% indicate that
many of the alleged 75% with jobs will not be staying in the workforce
for long. The majority of parolees will not remain in the workforce, but
will cycle in and out of jail, prison, rehab, hustling and short-term
employment.
While many former prisoners of the United $tates will never live the
Amerikan dream, their ideology reflects that culture more than that of
the working people of the world. One farmer in Georgia did a
side-by-side comparison with a crew of probationers and a crew of
migrant laborers and the migrants picked almost 6 times as many
cucumbers.(1) Apparently the probationers didn’t even bring gloves, and
we assume most had no experience with this type of work, so there was
certainly room for improvement. But the whole crew didn’t even last a
full day before quitting. The reports are vague about how many
probationers actually lasted more than one day of work, but it was
evidently a minority in this small sample.
In response to recruitment efforts for these jobs among U.$. citizens,
one Black womyn in Georgia was reported to say, “The only people that
would even think about doing that are people who have nothing else left…
An educated black person does not have time for that. They didn’t go to
school to work on a farm, and they’re not going to do it.”(3) We call
those “who have nothing else left” the proletariat, and those who
“[don’t] have time [for hard work]” a parasitic class living off the
labor of the proletariat. By virtue of living in the United $tates
alone, even the lumpen have access to many resources through the highly
developed infrastructure in this country: welfare programs, religious
and charity organizations, and just living off of the excess and waste
of the general population. Overall they are not driven to take the
hardest jobs, and U.$. capitalists must look to the Third World for
labor, even for production that is tied to U.$. soil and therefore pays
exploiter-level wages. (Legally the jobs start at the minimum wage of
$7.25, while piecework incentives allow the fastest pickers to make $20
an hour at one cucumber farm.(1) Of course, when only migrants without
papers are working and the press isn’t around it is common for
agricultural work to pay well below the legal minimum wage.)
During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR), in a country
where a professor or shop owner was far poorer than the unemployed
Amerikan, the Chinese had to actively combat the type of thinking
epitomized in the petty-bourgeois womyn quoted above. Millions of
petty-bourgeois Chinese went to the countryside to work and be
re-educated. Many youth went happily, excited about building a new
China, while many cried the whole time and went on to write books about
it to explain to Amerikans why the GPCR was so horrible.
There are righteous reasons why a population of unemployed Blacks would
be resistant to working at hard, lower-paying jobs while Amerikans
around them are making much more for sitting around in air conditioning
pushing paper, and we don’t expect that to change under capitalism. That
is why all U.$ citizens will require re-education to become productive
members of society, from the poorest lumpen who despises working for the
white man to the richest CEO whose income could support a large village.
Unlike other social services in the United $tates, public education is
the only one where the quality of service you receive is directly
impacted by the assessed value of property in your locality. Besides
limited busing, there isn’t a way around the fact that poorer
neighborhoods have crappier schools. When attempts are made to resolve
disparities between districts, the rich districts do all they can to
resist the change. The obvious methods of spreading the existing money
evenly to all districts, and dividing kids evenly across all schools,
are seen as taking money away from the rich districts. The rich
districts don’t think the poor kids deserve the same level of education
if it comes at their expense. Poor school districts are predominantly
Black and Latino. Very few white kids have to try to get an education in
a school that lacks books, desks, teachers, and in some cases even
basics like toilets and heat. In 1991 statistics showed that some cities
have per-pupil funding for the poorest district equal to only one fifth
of the funding in the richest.(1)
“[A] circular phenomenon evolves: The richer districts - those in which
the property lots and houses are more highly valued - have more revenue,
derived from taxing land and homes, to fund their public schools. The
reputation of the schools, in turn, adds to the value of their homes,
and this, in turn, expands the tax base for their public schools. The
fact that they can levy lower taxes than the poorer districts, but exact
more money, raises values even more; and this again, means further funds
for smaller classes and for higher teacher salaries within their public
schools.” Kids educated in poor districts can’t compete with the
education rich kids are getting by the time they are applying for
college.(2)
In 1988, Eastside High School, in a poor and mostly Black and Latino
district in Paterson, New Jersey gained some publicity and praise by
former U.$. Education Secretary William Bennett and former President
Ronald Reagan because the principal, Joe Clark, threw out 300 students
in one day who he claimed were involved with violence or drugs.
Clark often roamed the halls of his school with a bullhorn and a bat,
and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Two-thirds of
those kids ended up in County Jail. Paterson even destroyed a library
because it needed space to build a new jail.(3, 4) Joe Clark was an
atypical high school principal, but his defense and support by the
President and Education Secretary sent a clear invitation to other
principals to adopt Clark’s methods.
These facts show how public education is not intended to be, and does
not function as, a force to uplift the oppressed nations within U.$.
borders. Wealthy districts’ protection of “their” tax dollars prove that
they will not share their wealth without being forced to do so. The only
way to equal education and employment opportunities for everyone is
through socialist revolution, and eventually communism.
MIM(Prisons) has been steadily expanding our education efforts both in
response to the lack of education afforded our readership, and because
it is one of the most important forces we can utilize to advance
revolution. Our primary task at this historical stage is to increase
public opinion in favor of national liberation movements. And as we
organize for revolution we must be sure we are following a correct path
and not one that will lead to failure and setbacks. We determine this
through our study of history and current conditions, and share these
ideas with others through education. Much more could be done, and
ultimately this effort should be picked up and spread by people on the
inside, but we play a valuable supporting role.
One way MIM(Prisons) supports education behind bars is through our Serve
the People Free Political Books for Prisoners Program. Prisoners who
cannot afford to buy books can instead exchange revolutionary work for
revolutionary literature. Our selection includes magazines and old
newspapers from the Maoist Internationalist Movement; classic essays by
Mao,
Lenin, Marx, and others; history
books
about China under Mao and the socialist Soviet Union;
materials
by the Black Panthers and the Young Lords; and
works by modern
Maoist theorists. We encourage participants of the Free Books
Program to share the lit with others, study it with them, and write to
MIM(Prisons) with their questions or thoughts so we can better help them
with their political education.
A more structured way MIM(Prisons) supports education behind bars is
through the various study groups that we facilitate. There are two
levels of introductory study groups that will help someone who is new to
revolutionary thought, or who is already well-versed but wants to know
more about MIM(Prisons)’s politics. Comrades who complete these courses,
do not have a worked out line against MIM(Prisons), and are actively
involved in some kind of writing work will be invited to join the
Under Lock & Key Writers group. This group participates in
a higher level of study and discussion, and participants use their
knowledge to contribute articles to Under Lock & Key and
other anti-imperialist projects.
In the past several years we have put together over a dozen study packs
for comrades to use on their own, or in correspondence with
MIM(Prisons). We especially encourage people to form study groups inside
their prison using these study packs as a guide. Some study pack topics
include: strategy (focused on MIM Theory 5), organizational
structure, culture (focused on MIM Theory 13), False
Nationalism, False Internationalism, fascism, and more. We send
these study packs to people whose letters seem like they could benefit
significantly from the process, and to participants of the Free Books
for Prisoners Program.
We have also been in the long process of compiling a Maoist glossary to
post online at
www.prisoncensorship.info
and to send in to our readers. It will be a miniature dictionary of
terms for our struggle, defined from a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist
perspective. Comrades who want to contribute to this project can write
us for a draft version of what we have so far.
Although we have been developing, with much invaluable help from our
comrades inside, useful tools to expand and spread revolutionary
education, you can teach others without using even one of them. If you
can read this article, you can start educating others about Maoism, our
need for revolution, and how we can get there. Start by sharing
Under Lock & Key with someone and discussing the articles.
What did you find interesting? What did you disagree with? Why do you
think the author made a particular statement? What was confusing for
you? What new information did you learn? What are you going to do with
that information? What do you want to learn about more?
Because education and study rely so heavily on the written word, we
should be putting some energy into teaching others how to read. One
persyn who knows how to read can spread political education to others
exponentially. But someone who cannot read on their own is limited in
their ability to fully grasp the difficult questions of making
revolution. We are building our revolutionary leadership and need to
help others lead by helping them to read.
MIM(Prisons) has been trying to develop our support for literacy
programs. Comrades behind bars should take up this important task of
teaching others to read, and let MIM(Prisons) know what we can do to
better support their efforts. We are especially interested in hearing
from people who learned how to read while locked up, and what helped
them.
This issue of Under Lock & Key is focused on education
because it is the basis of our practice at this time. Education and
study are the only ways that we are going to be able to develop as
leaders of the revolution toward a just society free of starvation,
rape, war, and oppression of all kinds. Theoretical education improves
our organizing and mass education work, which is the only way we are
going to turn people on to the need and possibility of liberation, and
in favor of efforts of the oppressed to liberate themselves.
This flyer can be used as a whole-sheet flyer, or print it double-sided,
cut it in half, and it becomes a half-sheet flyer. Use it to spread the
word about the
striking
prisoners in Pelican Bay State Prison.
On the flyer there is an example of a support letter to send to
administrators about this issue. It is reprinted below for your
convenience.
Dear Warden Lewis,
I am writing this letter to you to express my concern for the prisoners
held in Pelican Bay State Prison’s short-corridor Group D. It is my
understanding that these people have no disciplinary charges, but are
being held in extreme isolation, unable to send photographs to their
families or speak to them on the phone.
I am concerned that these prisoners, who are under your responsibility,
are being denied their Constitutional right to due process. Not only do
these prisoners not have any disciplinary charges, but IGI is
intimidating and harassing them into fabricating information to avoid
false gang validations. This is illegal and upsetting. As a citizen of
the state of California, I fund your paycheck, and I expect more from a
state employee than to allow these gross violations of the Constitution
to happen right under your nose.
Studies prove time and time again that prisoners who have contact with
their family are able to rehabilitate much better than those who are
isolated. They are better able to adjust to society when they are
released, and avoid being sent back to prison. It is completely
irresponsible that you would permit IGI to cause this potential damage
in a person’s life, when they are supposed to be allowed these
privileges.
Since you are the Warden of Pelican Bay State Prison, I am asking that
you intervene in these illegal and irresponsible practices going on in
short-corridor Group D. Please allow the prisoners held there their full
privileges according to CDCR policies, and end the harassment and
intimidation of prisoners, especially ones who have no information, and
no disciplinary actions.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I also thank you for
your future efforts to resolve this problem.
Meditations on Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth: New Afrikan
Revolutionary Writings by James Yaki Sayles Kersplebedeb and Spear
& Shield Publications 2010
Available for $20 + shipping/handling from:
Kersplebedeb CP
63560, CCCP Van Horne Montreal, Quebec Canada H3W 3H8
“THE BOOK IS ABOUT HOW THE”WRETCHED” can transform themselves into the
ENLIGHTENED and the SELF-GOVERNING!! If you don’t take anything else
away with your reading of [The Wretched of the Earth], you must take
this.”(p.381)
Like many of the books reviewed in Under Lock & Key,
Meditations On Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth is written
by someone who spent most of his adult life in a U.$. prison. That there
are so many such books these days speaks to the growing plague of the
mass incarceration experiment that is the U.$. injustice system. The
content of many of these books speaks to the development of the
consciousness of this growing class of people in the belly of the beast.
While of the lumpen class, they differ from the subjects of Fanon’s
The Wretched of the Earth in both their incarceration and their
First World status. And while great thinkers are among them, their ideas
are reflected in the general prison population superficially at best.
The need for the development of mass consciousness (one based in
revolutionary nationalism, and an understanding of how to think, not
what to think) and the project of oppressed people taking their
destinies in their own hands make up the main theme of this book.
Wretched has greatly influenced many in our circles, and is
itself a book highly recommended by MIM(Prisons). It is of particular
interest in being perhaps the most complete and accurate discussion of
the lumpen-proletariat that we’ve read to date. While not completely
applicable to conditions in the United $tates, it is even more relevant
to the growing numbers of displaced Third World people living in slums
and refugee camps than when it was first written. For the most part,
Yaki discusses Wretched as it applies to the oppressed nations
of the United $tates, in particular New Afrika.
The four-part meditations on Wretched make up the bulk of the
book. The introduction to this section is an attempt to break down
The Wretched of the Earth for a modern young audience. In it
the author stresses the importance of rereading theoretical books to
fully grasp them. He also stresses that the process of studying and then
understanding the original and complex form of such works (as opposed to
a summary or cheat sheet) is itself transformative in developing one’s
confidence and abilities. At no stage of revolutionary transformation
are there shortcuts. The only way to defend the struggle from
counter-revolutionaries is to thoroughly raise the consciousness of the
masses as a whole. “Get away from the idea that only certain people or
groups can be ‘intellectual,’ and think about everyone as
‘intellectual.’”(p.192) And as he concludes in part two of the
Meditations, We often forget that our whole job here is to
transform humyn beings.
The National Question
As part four of the meditations trails off into unfinished notes due to
Yaki’s untimely death, he is discussing the need for national culture
and history. He echoes Fanon’s assertion that national culture must be
living and evolving, and not what the Panthers criticized as “pork chop
nationalism.” He discusses the relevance of pre-colonial histories, as
well as the struggles of oppressed nations during the early years of
colonization, to counter the Euro-Amerikan story that starts with them
rescuing the oppressed nation from barbarity. These histories are
important, but they are history. Sitting around dressed in Egyptian
clothing or speaking Nahuatl aren’t helping the nation. It is idealism
to skip over more recent history of struggles for self-reliance and
self-determination in defiance of imperialism.
We don’t even need to go back to ancient times to identify histories
that have been lost and hidden; many of us don’t even know our recent
past. Recording the little-known history of the “wretched” of the
richest country in the world is the first step to understanding how we
got here and how we can move forward. We are working on this with a
number of comrades as an important step to developing national (and
class) consciousness.(1)
Yaki agrees with the MIM line that nation is the most important
contradiction today, while presenting a good understanding of the class
contradictions that underlay and overlap with nation. Recently, debates
in another prison-based journal, 4StruggleMag, have questioned
the relevance of nationalism as the basis of revolutionary organizing;
taking an essentially Trotskyist view, but justifying it via “new”
conditions of globalization.(2) Really the theory of globalization is
just one aspect of Lenin’s theory of imperialism. The author, critiquing
nationalism, discusses that nations themselves were a modern concept
that united many groups that were once separated by culture and land.
This was true for the nation-states of europe that united internally and
the nations of the colonial world that were united by their common
oppression under european domination. It was in this colonial
relationship, and specifically with the demands of imperialism, that
nations solidified in dialectical relationship to each other: oppressor
vs. oppressed.
Yaki disagrees with the reading of history that sees nations as a modern
construct. He stresses the importance of recognizing that oppressed
nations existed as people with rich cultures before europeans drew up
national boundaries based on colonial land claims (ie. Egypt, China,
Maya). While true, talking about “nations” that predate capitalism is
similar to talking about the “imperialism” of the Roman empire. For
followers of Lenin, empire does not equal imperialism. Imperialism is
the highest stage of capitalism; an economic system forced by the
extreme accumulation of capital that requires its export to other people
(nations) to maintain profit rates, without which capitalism will not
continue to produce (one of its inherent contradictions and flaws).
When we talk about nations, we are talking about imperialist class
relations; the relations of production and distribution under the
economic system of imperialism (which is not more than a couple hundred
years old). More specifically, we are talking about a system where whole
nations oppress and exploit other nations. While different classes exist
within each nation, these questions are secondary to the global class
analysis in the period of imperialism. To answer the anti-nationalist
author in 4StruggleMag who claims nationalism never led to
liberation, or to internationalism, we refer to socialist China, the
most advanced movement for the liberation of people from capitalism to
date in humyn history. Even within the confines of this imperialist
country, the most advanced movement took nationalist form in the
Black
Panther Party.
Any theoretical questioning of the relevance of the nation to
revolutionary anti-capitalism must address the nature of imperialism.
Within the United $tates the lines between oppressor and oppressed
nation have weakened, particularly on the question of exploitation. This
provides a material basis for questioning the relevance of nationalism
within our movements here. As Yaki wrote, “here, in the seat of empire,
even the ‘slaves’ are ‘petty-bourgeois,’ and our poverty is not what it
would be if We didn’t in a thousand ways also benefit from the spoils of
the exploitation of peoples throughout the world. Our passivity wouldn’t
be what it is if not for our thinking that We have something to
lose…”(p.188) But globally, the contradictions between nations continue
to heighten, and there is no basis for debate over whether nation
remains the principal contradiction.
As we said, nations, like all things in the world, are dialectical in
nature. That means they constantly change. There is nothing to say that
nations will not expand as implied by the globalization argument, but
this will not eliminate the distinction between exploiter and exploited
nations.
While we won’t try to address the relevance of revolutionary nationalism
within the United $tates definitively here, Yaki is very adamant about
the need for an understanding of the internal class structure of the
internal semi-colonies. And as different as conditions were in
revolutionary Algeria, many of the concepts from Wretched apply
here as Yaki demonstrates. “[D]on’t We evidence a positive negation of
common sense as We, too, try to persuade ourselves that colonialism and
capitalist exploitation and alienation don’t exist? Don’t We, too, grab
hold of a belief in fatality (very common among young people these
days)? And, what about OUR myths, spirits and magical/metaphysical
superstructure? In our context, We employ conspiracy theories, the
zodiac and numerology, Kente cloth and phrases from ancient languages;
We invoke the power of a diet and the taboo of certain animals as food
products.”
Those studying the class structure within the oppressed nations, New
Afrikan or not, within the United $tates will find much value in Yaki’s
writings. Even in the introduction, the editors remind us that, at the
very least, revolutionary nationalism was a powerful force in our recent
history. For example, in 1969 Newsweek found that 27% of northern Black
youth under 30 “would like a separate Black nation.”(p.19) And in the
1960s communist teens from the Black Disciples organized comrades from
various gangs to defend Black homes in other parts of Illinois from
drive-by shootings by the White Citizens Council and their backers in
local police departments.(p.16) In the same period, when Malcolm X was
alive and pushing a no-compromise revolutionary nationalist line on its
behalf, the Nation of Islam had reached over 200,000 members.(p.18)
Shortly thereafter, a majority of Blacks in the United $tates felt that
the Black Panther Party represented their interests. When we look around
today and ask whether New Afrikan nationalism has any revolutionary
basis, we cannot ignore these recent memories.
Class, then Back to Nation
In his essay, On Transforming the Colonial and “Criminal”
Mentality, Yaki addresses George Jackson’s discussion of the
potential in the lumpen versus their actual consciousness, which
parallel’s Marx’s point about humyns consciously determining their own
conditions and Lenin’s definition of the masses as the conscious
minority of the larger proletariat, which as a class is a potentially
revolutionary force.(3) He quotes a critique of Eldridge Cleaver’s line
on the lumpen, which glorified organized crime. The critique argues that
organized crime has its interests in the current system, and it is a
carrot provided to the internal semi-colonies by imperialism.
MIM(Prisons) looks to organized crime to find an independent national
bourgeoisie (such as Larry Hoover, whose targeting by the state is
mentioned in the book’s introduction), but many are compradors as well,
working with the imperialists to control the oppressed for them. This is
even more true where the state has more influence (i.e. prison
colonies).
While Yaki’s focus on consciousness is consistent with Maoism, we have
some differences with his application. Yaki, and his ideological camp,
disagree with George Jackson and the MIM line that all prisoners are
political. The state is a political organization, serving a certain
class interest. We say all prisoners are political to break the common
misperception people have that they are in prison because they did
something wrong. Yaki’s point about the lumpen is that if they don’t
turn around, understand the conditions that brought them there and then
work to transform those conditions, then they are no use to the
liberation struggle, and they are therefore not worthy of the term
“political prisoner.” He argues that to allow those with bourgeois ideas
to call themselves a “political prisoner” dilutes the term. His camp
uses “captive colonial” to refer to the New Afrikan imprisoned by
Amerika regardless of one’s ideology. That is a fine term, but by
redefining the commonly used “political prisoner” from its narrow petty
bourgeois definition, we push the ideological struggle forward by
reclaiming popular language. In our view, “political prisoner” does not
represent a group with a coherent ideology, just as “proletariat” does
not.
Yaki puts a lot of weight on ideology when he defines nation as a “new
unity” as well by saying, “[t]o me, being a ‘New Afrikan’ is not about
the color of one’s skin, but about one’s thought and practice.”(p.275)
While skin color is an unscientific way to categorize people, we would
caution that there are in fact material factors that define a nation;
it’s not just how we identify as individuals. Saying it is only about
thought and practice leaves open the possibility of forming nations
along lines of sexual preference, colors, favorite sports teams - lines
that divide neighbors in the same community facing the same conditions.
On the flip side, it creates space for the white-washing of national
liberation movements by denying the group level oppression that the
oppressor nation practices against the oppressed. To say that nations
are fluid, ever-changing things is not to say that we can define them
based purely on ideas in our heads and have them be meaningful.
Yaki Offers Much Knowledge
The use of the term “meditations” in the title is indicative of Yaki’s
approach, which clearly promotes a deep study of the material as well as
making connections that lead to applying concepts to current situations.
It is not a study guide in the traditional style of review questions and
summaries. It does provide a critical analysis of the race-based
interpretations of Fanon, such as that in Fanon for Beginners,
which make it a valuable counter-measure to such bourgeois work.
His stress on hard work to build a solid foundation leads him to an
agreeable line on armed struggle in contrast to others we have studied
from the same ideological camp. On the back of the book,
Sanyika
Shakur quotes the author as saying, “i’d rather have one cadre free
than 100 ak-47’s” after Shakur was imprisoned again, related to
possession of an assault rifle. Shakur writes, “t took me years to
overstand & appreciate that one sentence.” Discipline is something
the revolutionary lumpen must develop, and taking a serious, meditative
approach to study can help do just that.
In his essay, Malcolm X: Model of Personal Transformation, Yaki
concludes, “We can go through the motions of changing our lives… but the
test of the truth comes when the prison doors are opened, or, when
otherwise We’re confronted with situations which test our characters.”
(p.118)
Yaki was a New Afrikan revolutionary and a Prisoner of War. As part of
the post-Panther era, Yaki reflects realistically on security questions,
pointing out that it’s too late to start instituting security measures
after Martial Law has been enacted. From reading this book, everything
you can gather about Yaki builds an impression of seriousness and
commitment to our cause. In this way, this book is more than just a
useful study guide for understanding and applying Fanon’s ideas; it is
an exemplary model for revolutionaries to help develop their own
practice.
The basis of any real unity comes from an agreement on certain key
ideas. This statement does not grant authority to any party over any
other party. We are mutually accountable to each other to uphold these
points in order to remain active participants in this united front.
Peace WE organize to end the needless conflicts and
violence within the U.$. prison environment. The oppressors use divide
and conquer strategies so that we fight each other instead of them. We
will stand together and defend ourselves from oppression.
Unity WE strive to unite with those facing the same
struggles as us for our common interests. To maintain unity we have to
keep an open line of networking and communication, and ensure we address
any situation with true facts. This is needed because of how the pigs
utilize tactics such as rumors, snitches and fake communications to
divide and keep division among the oppressed. The pigs see the end of
their control within our unity.
Growth WE recognize the importance of education and
freedom to grow in order to build real unity. We support members within
our organization who leave and embrace other political organizations and
concepts that are within the anti-imperialist struggle. Everyone should
get in where they fit in. Similarly, we recognize the right of comrades
to leave our organization if we fail to live up to the principles and
purpose of the United Front for Peace in Prisons.
Internationalism WE struggle for the liberation of all
oppressed people. While we are often referred to as “minorities” in this
country, and we often find those who are in the same boat as us opposing
us, our confidence in achieving our mission comes from our unity with
all oppressed nations who represent the vast majority globally. We
cannot liberate ourselves when participating in the oppression of other
nations.
Independence WE build our own institutions and programs
independent of the United $tates government and all its branches, right
down to the local police, because this system does not serve us. By
developing independent power through these institutions we do not need
to compromise our goals.
How to join the United Front for Peace in Prisons?
Study and uphold the five principles of the united front.
Send your organization’s name and a statement of unity to MIM(Prisons).
Your statement can explain what the united front principles mean to your
organization, how they relate to your work, why they are important, etc.
Develop peace and unity between factions where you are at on the basis
of opposing oppression of all prisoners and oppressed people in general.
Send reports on your progress to Under Lock & Key. Did you
develop a peace treaty or protocol that is working? Send it in for
others to study and possibly use. Is your unity based on actions? Send
us reports on the organizing you are doing.
Keep educating your members. The more educated your members are, the
more unity you can develop, and the stronger your organization can
become. Unity comes from the inside out. By uniting internally, we can
better unite with others as well. Contact MIM(Prisons)’s Free Political
Books for Prisoners Program if you need additional materials to educate
your members in history, politics and economics.
[This statement was drafted by members of the Maoist Internationalist
Ministry of Prisons, United Struggle from Within, the East Coast
Consolidated Crip Organization, and the Black Order Revolutionary
Organization, with input and review from other organizations and
individuals working on peace and unity in U.$. prisons. If your
organization wishes to join the
United
Front, you may submit your own statement of unity/support to Under
Lock & Key.]
If the last 40 years have proven anything to us, it is that Amerika
wants us at war with each other and locked in their prisons. The idea
that banging is what we’re just born into, as if we have no power over
our own lives, is no longer acceptable if we want to survive. For the
next generation to repeat what we have been through would be genocidal.
We embrace internationalism because we recognize that most of the people
in the world face potentially genocidal conditions under imperialism and
that there is strength in numbers. This is a call for peace, unity and
understanding amongst the many prison organizations currently in
opposition to each other and individual non-gang affiliated comrades
alike to take on an approach that utilizes the strength of our numbers
in revolutionary struggle.
We have awareness that there’s nothing cool about the hardships we as
gang members and petty criminals put ourselves, our families, our
communities and each other through. If we have to struggle and if we
have to sacrifice then it’s more logical that we put our strength and
resources collectively against one target - the oppressor.
Too many of us are already in jail. To engage in reckless behavior that
could get us locked up or locked down only helps Amerika control us.
Tupac Shakur, who also helped draft a code of principles to unite lumpen
organizations, referred to the Thug Life stage of his life and his music
as the “high school” phase for ghetto youth. By the time he was locked
in prison he was growing and expanding beyond Thug Life, while
recognizing it would always be a part of him. He referred to this as his
“college” phase, saying that some people never get out of high school.
Our comrades often draw parallels between the intellectual growth of
college students and prisoners. But prison should not be where certain
groups of people must go to learn and grow.
A parallel example is found in the ideology of the Almighty Latin King
Queen Nation, which describes its followers passing from the Primitive
Stage to the Conservative (or Mummy) Stage to the New King Stage. The
Primitive Stage is usually characterized by gang-banging and reckless
behavior. The Conservative Stage steps away from previous recklessness,
distancing oneself from the whole organization. “The New King recognizes
that the time for revolution is at hand… A revolution that will bring
freedom to the enslaved, to all Third World People… The New King is the
end product of complete awareness, perceiving three hundred and sixty
degrees of enlightenment. He strives for world unity. For him, there are
no horizons between races, sexes and senseless labels. For him,
everything has meaning, human life is placed above materialistic values.
He throws himself completely into the battlefield, ready to sacrifice
his life for the ones he loves, for the sake of humanization.”
(Kingism: Three Stages from The King Manifesto)
Despite our different paths of evolution over the years, all of our
organizations share a common history that arose from the need to defend
oneself and one’s community in a society that has always kept us as
outsiders. It is sad that we must find ourselves in the most horrid of
oppressive situations (i.e. control units or death row) before our
organizations can begin working together in our common interests. The
purpose of this united front is to incorporate that commonality as part
of our continued growth. Unity evolves from the inside out. Once we’ve
begun to grow as individuals, our first task is to build unity within
our group around the principles of the united front.
As we work to build unity with others, we must remember that rumors are
tactics of pigs and snitches. Too many people have a habit of talking
shit and creating disunity, as if it’s a game. Comrades should know when
to speak, where to speak, what to speak, to whom to speak, how to speak
and when to keep absolutely silent.
There have been a number of attempts to unite various sets and cliques
under one banner for a positive cause. But when such efforts are led by
the criminally-minded these causes are only served superficially and the
organizations continue to work in the interests of the greed and power
of the few.
In the United $tates we are surrounded by wealth and excess, which
breeds a sick love for their system of exploitation. Yet success for
much of the oppressed nations is still handed out like winning lotto
tickets, whether as a boss on the street or a ball player or other
entertainer. And therein, we become oppressors of our own community,
nation and the rest of the world. Meanwhile, our oppressed peoples as a
whole are not allowed to determine their own destinies as nations.
The easier way out of the ghetto is to become overt oppressors by
joining the white man’s army. The imperialist wars of aggression are
wars against the oppressed nations of the world. We are killed and
injured in these wars to help kill and control the oppressed people the
world over. To join the military of the oppressor (United $tates) is to
betray and sell out our collective peoples.
We fully recognize that whether we are conscious of it or not, we are
already “united” – in our suffering and our daily repression. We face
the same common enemy. We are trapped in the same oppressive conditions.
We wear the same prison clothes, we go to the same hellhole box
(isolation), we get brutalized by the same racist pigs. We are one
people, no matter your hood, set or nationality. We know “we need unity”
– but unity of a different type from the unity we have at present. We
want to move from a unity in oppression to unity in serving the people
and striving toward national independence.
We cannot wish peace into reality when conditions do not allow for it.
When people’s needs aren’t met, there can be no peace. Despite its vast
wealth, the system of imperialism chooses profit over meeting humyn
needs for the world’s majority. Even here in the richest country in the
world there are groups that suffer from the drive for profit. We must
build independent institutions to combat the problems plaguing the
oppressed populations. This is our unity in action.
We acknowledge that the greater the unity politically and ideologically,
the greater our movement becomes in combating national oppression, class
oppression, racism and gender oppression. Those who recognize this
reality have come together to sign these principles for a united front
to demonstrate our agreement on these issues. We are the voiceless and
we have a right and a duty to be heard.
Jasiri X sides with the labor aristocracy in Wisconsin.
Jasiri X is a hip hop artist from Pittsburgh who raps the news over some
dope beats produced by The Grand Architect Paradise Gray of X Clan. The
two release these tracks as videos on
youtube.com in a
series titled “This Week with Jasiri X.” Jasiri X is popular in activist
circles, frequently performing and speaking at benefits and rallies.
We’ve been bobbing our heads to his tracks since the release of
OG3 - Oscar Grant
Tribute in January 2009, but in light of his most recent release,
American Workers
vs. Multi-Billionaires, we decided to take a closer look.
OG3 tells the story of the murder of Oscar Grant and the
rebellions following his murder, from the points of view of Oscar Grant
and the protesters. Although the facts aren’t 100% correct in
OG3, it is a good example of the many tracks Jasiri X has
released about police brutality and aggression against Black people in
Amerika. A track titled
Free the Jena 6
was one of the first that got peoples’ attention, and he continues to
shout out victims of police execution and violence by name.
When working on an international piece, Jasiri X correctly draws
connections between police brutality here and imperial aggression
against Third World peoples around the world. He recently released a
track about the uprisings in Egypt with M-1 of
Dead
Prez, titled We
All Shall Be Free!
Despite his revolutionary lean, Jasiri X still holds on to his
Amerikanism on several issues, which comes up big time in American
Workers vs. Multi-Billionaires. The video for this song was shot
inside the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, against a backdrop of
labor aristocrats raising a stink to keep their “fair share” of the
imperialist pie. The title implies that a line is being drawn between
Amerikan “workers” and the capitalist multi-billionaires with this union
busting legislation. However, as outlined in several articles and
books(1) Amerikan “workers” are actually fundamentally allied with the
imperialist, capitalist class on an international level. It is only
because of the pillage of resources and lives in the Third World that
the government employees in Wisconsin even have health care in the first
place. Defending this “right” to health care is essentially the same
thing as supporting Amerikan wars, which Jasiri X says he is against.
History has shown that the multi-billionaires won’t give up theirs
without a fight.
“When did the American worker become the enemy? Why is wanting a
living wage such a penalty?” - Jasiri X from “American Workers
vs. Multi-Billionaires”
The Amerikan “worker,” or labor aristocrat, is the enemy of the majority
of the world’s people because their lives are subsidized by the economic
exploitation of the Third World. Third World peoples’ sweat, blood, and
lives are wasted to pay for the Amerikan “worker’s” pensions and health
care. This is because most of the “work” that Amerikans do does not
generate value; we have a service-based economy. The only reason our
society has such a disproportionately high “living wage” (as if those
who make less die) is because we are comfortable swinging our
weight around in imperialist wars of aggression to extract wealth from
the Third World. Jasiri X seems to be opposed to this extraction of
wealth, but does not make the connection that Amerikan “workers” are
directly benefiting from it, and not just the multi-billionaires.
Jasiri X seems to adhere to an anti-racist model of social change.
Besides being supported by an incorrect analysis of history, it also has
him defending Obama as a Black man, rather than attacking him as the
chosen leader of the largest and most aggressive imperialist country in
the world. Jasiri X correctly pins Obama as an ally of the Amerikan
people; their key to a comfortable lifestyle and fat retirement plan.
But as an ally of the oppressed, Jasiri X should accept that Obama, and
the labor aristocracy, are enemies of the majority of the world’s
people, and leave patriotism behind. Agitating for the betterment of
people in Haiti, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, etc. as Jasiri X does through
some of his raps, while at the same time defending Obama and the
Amerikan “worker,” is a recipe for stagnation. If we want to end
oppression the world over, we need to have a clear idea of who are our
friends and who are our enemies.
[Leaders] realize that the success of the struggle presupposes clear
objectives, a definite methodology and above all the need for the mass
of the people to realize that their unorganized efforts can only be a
temporary dynamic. You can hold out for three days – maybe even for
three months – on the strength of the admixture of sheer resentment
contained in the mass of the people; but you won’t win a national war,
you’ll never overthrow the terrible enemy machine, and you won’t change
human beings if you forget to raise the standard of consciousness of the
rank-and-file. Neither stubborn courage nor fine slogans are enough. -
Frantz Fanon, Wretched of the Earth, p. 136, chap. 2, paragraph 57.
Starting in Tunisia on December 17, and spreading across the region in
January and February, the people of north Africa and the Middle East are
taking to the streets to fight brutal dictatorships in their respective
countries. Taken by surprise by the force and longevity of these protest
movements, the various imperialist-backed regimes are working hard to
come up with changes that will pacify the people without fundamentally
changing the system. These just struggles of the people are primarily
targeting the figureheads in government, but the real problem lies in
the system itself and at this stage we are only seeing some shuffling of
the leadership.
Protests are sweeping across the region as the people are emboldened and
inspired by the actions and results of those in neighboring countries,
even moving further south into other parts of Africa. As this article is
being written, there are reports of people’s uprisings in Bahrain,
Libya, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Djibouti, Syria, Morocco and
Jordan. In other parts of Africa, less visible in the media, popular
revolts are also happening in Sudan, Gabon and Ethiopia.(1) Protesters
are facing violent repression by the governments in most of these
countries.
The response in the United $tates has been strong condemnation of
Mubarak and other leaders targeted by protests (among those paying
attention). Arabs may falsely look to Amerikans as friends in their
current struggles. But where was this Amerikan “support” for the last
thirty years as their country bank-rolled Mubarak with billions of
dollars? In reality, their reaction is a sick reminder of what went down
in Iraq. The same seething opposition to Mubarak was aimed at Saddam
Hussein, resulting in the deaths of millions of Iraqis and the
destruction of one of the most developed Arab countries. Iraq is just
one example to demonstrate how Amerikan racism quickly lends itself to
popular support for militarism, the savior of post-WWII U.$. global
dominance.
Economics of the People’s Struggles
There are many differences between these mostly Arabic-speaking
countries, but the one common enemy of the people there is the enemy of
the people throughout the world: imperialism. Capitalism is a system
that is defined by the ownership of the means of production (factories,
farms, etc.) by the wealthy few who we call the bourgeoisie, and who
exploit the majority of the people (the workers, also called the
proletariat) to generate profit for the owners. Imperialism is the
global stage of capitalism where the territories of the world have been
divided up and exploited for profit. Under imperialism, the economy in
each country no longer operates independently, and what happens in one
country has repercussions around the world. Because of this global
interdependence, events in the Middle East and north Africa are very
significant to the Amerikan and European capitalists, and are related to
events in the global economy.
The question of real change hinges on whether the exploited countries
that are now mobilizing stay within the U.$.-dominated economic
structure, or whether they look to each other and turn their back on the
exploiter nations. While militarily and politically controlled by the
United $tates, their economic relationship to imperialism is dominated
by the European Union who was responsible for 50% of trade for countries
in the southern Mediterranean region in 1998. A mere 3% of their trade
was with each other that year.(2) In 2009, these percentages had not
changed, despite the lofty promises of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade
Area to develop trade between Arab countries.(3) Tunisia, where the
first spark was lit, had 78% of its exports and 72% of its imports with
the European Union. Compare these numbers to the ASEAN and MERCOSUR
regional trade groups, also made up of predominately Third World
countries, which had about 25% of their trade internally.(4)
The problem with Europe dominating trade in the region is based in the
theories of “unequal exchange” that lead trade between imperialist and
exploited countries to be inherently exploitative. Part of this is
because the north African countries mostly produce agricultural goods
and textiles, which they trade for manufactured goods from Europe. The
former are more susceptible to manipulations in commodities markets
that, of course, are controlled by the imperialist finance capitalists.
The latter are priced high enough to pay European wages, resulting in a
transfer of surplus value from the north African nations to the European
workers.
In order to develop industries for the European market, these countries
have been forced to accept Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) from
the various world banking systems (World Bank, International Monetary
Fund). This has further tied the governments to imperialist interests
over the years, as SAPs have many strings attached. The loans
themselves, which are larger in this region than for the average Third
World country (5), serve to transfer vast amounts of wealth from the
debtor nations to the lender nations in the form of interest payments.
Countries in the Middle East and north Africa generally have greater
relative wealth compared with Third World countries in the rest of
Africa, Asia and Latin America. As a result the people in these
countries enjoy higher levels of education, better health and fewer
people living in poverty.(see World Bank, World Health Organization and
CIA statistics) General trends since WWII are a growing middle class
with an emigrant population that expanded and benefited from European
reconstruction up to the 1980s. Since then immigration restrictions have
increased in the European countries, particularly connected to
“security” concerns after 9/11. The north African countries relate to
the European Union similar to how Mexico does to the United $tates, but
Mexico remains more economically independent by comparison. These
uprisings are certainly connected to the growing population and the
shrinking job market with slower migration to the EU.
Locally, there are economic differences within the region that are
important as well. Other than the stick of oppressive regimes, some
governments in the region have been able to use their oil revenues as a
carrot to slow proletarian unity. Even so, extreme international debt,
increasing unemployment with decreasing migration opportunities and the
overall levels of poverty indicate that these countries are part of the
global proletariat.
The recent economic crisis demonstrates the tenuous hold the governments
of the Middle East and north African countries had on their people.
Because imperialism is a global system with money, raw material and
consumer goods produced and exchanged on a global market, economic
crises happen on a global scale. The economic crisis of the past few
years has affected the economy of this region with rising cost of living
and increased unemployment rates. In particular food prices have reached
unprecedented highs in the past few months.(6) One might think this
would help the large agricultural sectors in these countries. However,
food prices affect the Third World disproportionately because of the
portion of their income spent on food and the form their food is
consumed in. On top of this, all of these countries have come to import
much of their cereal staples as their economies have been structured to
produce for European consumption.
Reliable economic statistics are difficult to find for this region.
Estimates of unemployment in any country can range from under 10% up to
40% and even higher, and there is similar variability in estimates of
the portion of the population living below the poverty level. But all
agree that both unemployment and poverty have been on the rise in the
past two years. We suspect this trend dates back further with the
decrease in migration opportunities mentioned above.
In Egypt about two-thirds of the population is under age 30 and more
than 85% of these youth are unemployed. About 40% of Egypt’s population
lives on less than $2 a day.(7)
The middle class in these countries, who enjoy some economic advantages,
are sliding further into poverty. This group is particularly large in
Tunisia and Egypt compared to many other countries in the region.(8) In
Egypt the middle class increased from 10% to 30% of the population in
the second half of the 20th century, with half of those people being
“upper” middle class.(9) This class has been closely linked to the rise
of NGOs encouraged by the European-led Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade
Area. They know that it is possible for them to have a better standard
of living and enjoy more political freedom without a complete overthrow
of the capitalist system. And so we saw many of the leaders and
participants in the recent protests demand better conditions for
themselves, but generally leave out the demands of the proletariat.
In fact, some middle class leaders, like Wael Ghonim (an Egyptian Google
employee who was a vocal leader in the fight against Mubarak), are
calling for striking workers to go back to work now that Mubarak has
stepped down, effectively opposing the demands and struggles of the
Egyptian proletariat. Without the leadership of the proletariat, who
have never had significant benefits from imperialism, these protests end
up representing middle class demands to shuffle the capitalist deck and
put another imperialist-lackey government in place. The result might be
a slight improvement in middle class conditions but the proletariat ends
up right back where they started.
In Tunisia and Egypt, where the uprisings started, the leadership and
many of the activists were from the educated middle class youth.(10) In
Tunisia people were inspired to act after the suicide of Mohammed
Bouazizi, an impoverished young vegetable street seller supporting an
extended family of eight. He set himself on fire in a public place on
December 17 after the police confiscated his produce because he would
not pay a bribe. Like many youth in Tunisia, Bouazizi was unable to find
a job after school. He completed the equivalent of Amerikan high school,
but there are many Tunisian youth who graduate from college and are
still unable to find work.
The relative calm in the heavy oil producing region that includes Saudi
Arabia, UAE, Oman and Qatar underscores the key role of economics and
class in these events. These countries enjoy a much higher economic
level than the rest of the region, as a direct result of the consumerist
First World’s dependence on their natural resources. Only Libya joins
these countries in having a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita above
$5000, while all others in the region are below that level.(11) That’s
compared to a GNI in the U.$ of $46,730.(12)
One economic factor that has not made the news much and which does not
seem to be a focus of the protesters so far, is the importing of foreign
labor to do the worst jobs in the wealthy oil-producing countries. In
the Gulf Cooperation Council (consisting of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the
UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman) there are an estimated
10 million foreign workers and 3 million of their family members living
in these countries.(13) This was used as a carrot to the proletariat who
were losing opportunities to work in the European Union. Egypt in
particular encouraged this emigration of workers.
Revolutions or Unrest?
To belittle the just struggles of people around the world, typical
imperialist media is referring to the recent uprisings as “unrest,” as
if the people just need to be calmed down to bring things back to
normal. On the other side, many protesters and their supporters are
calling these movements revolutions. For communists, the label
“revolution” is used to describe movements fighting for fundamental
change in the economic structure. In the world today, that means
fighting to overthrow imperialism and for the establishment of socialism
so that we can implement a system where the people control the means of
production, taking that power and wealth out of the hands of just a few
people.
The global system of imperialism puts the nations of the Middle East and
north Africa on the side of the oppressed. These nations have comprador
leaders running their governments, who get rich by working for
imperialist masters. Yet these struggles are very focused on the
governments in power in each country without making these broader
connections. Until the people make a break with imperialist control,
changes in local governments won’t lead to liberation of the people.
Further, we have heard much from both organizers and the press about
social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a tool of the revolution.
These tools are celebrated as a replacement for leadership. It is true
that the internet is a useful tool for sharing information and
organizing, and decentralization makes it harder to repress a movement.
But the lack of ideological unity leads to the lowest common
denominator, and very few real demands from the people. No doubt
“Mubarak out” is not all the Egyptian people can rally around, but
without centralized leadership it is hard for the people to come
together to generate other demands.
Related to the use of social media, it is worth underscoring the value
of information that came from
Wikileaks
to help galvanize the people to action in these countries; the
corruption and opulence of the leaders described in cables leaked at the
end of 2010 no doubt helped inspire the struggles.(14)
Egypt provides a good example of why we would not call these protest
movements “revolutions.” The Egyptian people forced President Mubarak
out of the country, but accepted his replacement with the Supreme
Council of the Military - essentially one military dictatorship was
replaced by another. One of the key members of this Council is Sueliman,
the CIA point man in the country and head of the Egyptian general
intelligence service. He ran secret prisons for the United $tates and
persynally participated in the torturing of those prisoners.
Tunisia is also a good example of the lack of fundamental revolutionary
change. Tunisia’s president of 23 years, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
stepped down on January 14 and fled to Saudi Arabia. But members of Ben
Ali’s corrupt party remained in positions of power throughout the
government and protests continue.
In State and Revolution Lenin wrote that the revolution must
set a goal “not of improving the state machine, but of smashing and
destroying it.” The protests and peoples’ struggles in the Middle East
and Africa reinforce the importance of this message as we see the
sacrifice of life in so many countries resulting in only cosmetic
changes in governments.
What is the United $tates interest?
The United $tates is the biggest imperialist power in the world today;
it controls the largest number and most wealth-producing territories in
the world. Just as the economic crises of imperialism affect the rest of
the world, political uprisings around the world affect the United
$tates. The capitalist corporations who have factories and investments
in this region have a strong financial interest in stability and a
government that will allow them to continue to exploit the resources and
labor. And with capitalism’s constant need to expand, any shrinking of
the imperialist sphere of influence will help trigger future crises
faster.
The Amerikan military interest in this region relies on having some
strong puppet governments as allies to defend the interests of Amerikan
imperialism and hold off the independent aspirations of the regional
capitalists. This includes managing the planet’s largest oil reserves,
which is important for U.$. control of the European Union, and defending
their #1 lackey - Israel.
Tunisia is a long-standing ally of the United $tates, cooperating with
Amerikan “anti-terrorism” to maintain Amerikan imperialist power in the
region. Other imperialist powers also have a strong interest in the
dictatorships in Tunisia including France whose government shipped tear
gas grenades to Tunis on January 12 to help Ben Ali fight the
protesters.(15)
Bahrain is a close U.$. ally, home to the U.$. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.(16)
Egypt has been second only to Israel in the amount of U.$. aid it gets
since 1979, at about $2 billion a year. The majority of this money,
about $1.3 billion a year, goes to the Egyptian military.(17) Further,
the United $tates trains the Egyptian military each year in combined
military exercises and deployments of U.$. troops to Egypt.(18) So for
Amerika, the Supreme Council of the Military taking power in Egypt is a
perfectly acceptable “change.” To shore up the new regime and its
relationship with the United $tates, Secretary of State Clinton
announced on February 18 that the United $tates would give $150 million
in aid to Egypt to help with economic problems and “ensure an orderly,
democratic transition.” In exchange, the Council has already pledged to
uphold the 1979 peace accords with Israel. Prior to 1979, much of the
Arab world was engaged in long periods of wars with the settler state.
United $tates aid to countries in this region is centered around Israel.
The countries closest geographically to Israel are the biggest
recipients of Amerikan money, a good way to keep control of the area
surrounding the biggest Amerikan ally. In addition to Egypt and Israel,
Jordan ($843 million) and Lebanon ($238 million) received sizable
economic and military aid packages in 2010.(19) Compared to these
numbers, “aid” to the rest of the region is significantly smaller with
notable recipients including Yemen ($67M), Morocco ($35M), Bahrain
($21M) and Tunisia ($19M). The United $tates gives “aid” in exchange for
economic, military and political influence.
Is Wisconsin the Amerikan Tunisia?
The global economic crisis clearly affects imperialist countries like
the United $tates just like it does other countries of the world, but we
don’t see the people in this country rising up to take over Washington,
DC and demanding a change in government. Like the Middle East, the youth
of Amerika are having a harder time finding jobs after graduation from
college. But unlike their counterparts in the Middle East, Amerikan
youth and their families do not face starvation when this happens.
Some people are drawing comparisons between the widespread protests by
labor unions in Wisconsin and the events in Tunisia and Egypt. These
events do give us a good basis for comparison to underscore the
differences between imperialist countries and the Third World. Amerikan
wealth is so much greater than the rest of the world (U.$. GDP per
capita = $46,436); even compared to oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia
(GDP = $24,200). GDP does not account for the distribution of wealth,
but in the United $tates the median household income in 2008 was
$52,029. This number is not inflated by the extreme wealth of a few
individuals, it represents the middle point in income for households in
this country.
On the surface, unemployment statistics for the United $tates appear
similar to some numbers for countries in the Middle East and north
Africa. In 2008, 13.2% of the population was unemployed in the United
$tates based on the latest census data.(20) However, with income levels
so much higher in Amerika, unemployment doesn’t mean an immediate plunge
into poverty and starvation. For youth in this country, there is the
safety net of moving back in with parents if there is no immediate
post-college job.
Similarly, U.$. poverty statistics appear quite high, comparable to
rates in the Middle East and north Africa, at 14.3% in 2009. But this
poverty rate uses chauvinistic standards of poverty for Amerikans. The
U.$. census bureau puts the poverty level of a single individual with no
dependents at $11,161.(21) Much higher than the statistics that look at
the portion of the population living at $2 or $1.25 per day (adjusted
for differences in purchasing power). Wisconsin public teachers average
salaries of about $48k per year.
The Leading Light Communist Organization produced some clear economic
comparisons between Egypt and the U.$.: “The bottom 90% of income
earners in Egypt make only half as much (roughly $5,000 USD annually) as
the bottom 10% of income earners in the U.$. (roughly [$]10,000), per
capita distribution. Depending on the figures used, an egalitarian
distribution of the global social product is anywhere between $6,000 and
$11,000 per capita annually. This does not even account for other
inequalities between an exploiter country and an exploited country, such
as infrastructure, housing, productive forces, quality and diversity of
consumer goods, etc.”(22)
In the United $tates it is possible for the elite to enjoy their
millionaire lifestyles while the majority of the workers are kept in
relative luxury with salaries that exceed the value of their labor. This
is possible because other countries, like those in the Middle East and
Africa, are supplying the exploited workforce that generates profits to
be brought home and shared with Amerikan workers. Even Amerikan workers
who are unemployed and struggling to pay bills are not rallying for an
end to the economic system of capitalism. They are just demanding more
corporate taxes and less CEO bonuses. In other words they want a bigger
piece of the imperialist pie: money that comes at the expense of the
Third World workers. These same Amerikan workers rally behind their
government in wars of aggression around the world, overwhelmingly
supporting the fight against the Al-Qaeda boogeyman in Arab clothing.
Down with Amerikanism, Long Live Pan-Arabism
Whether in Madison or Cairo, signs implying that Wisconsin is the
Tunisia of north Amerika are examples of what we call “false
internationalism” on both sides of the divide between rich and poor
nations. Combating false internationalism, which is inherent in any
pro-Amerikanism in the Third World, is part of the fight against
revisionism in general.
What no one can deny is the connection between the mass mobilizations
across the Arab world. That this represents a reawakening of pan-Arabism
is both clear and promising for the anti-imperialist struggle. Even
non-Arab groups in north Africa that have felt marginalized will benefit
from the greater internationalist consciousness and inherent
anti-imperialism with an Arabic-speaking world united against First
World exploitation and interference.
Of course, Palestine also stands to benefit from these movements. The
colonial dominance of Palestine has long been a lightning rod issue for
the Arab world, that only the U.$. puppet regimes (particularly in
Egypt) have been able to repress.
Everyone wants to know what’s next. While the media can create hype
about the “successful revolutions” in Tunisia and Egypt, this is just
the beginning if there is to be any real change. Regional unity needs to
lead to more economic cooperation and self-sufficiency and to unlink the
economies of the Arab countries from U.$. and European imperialism.
Without that, the wealth continues to flow out of the region to the
First World.
As Frantz Fanon discussed extensively in writing about colonial Algeria,
the spontaneous violence of the masses must be transformed into an
organized, conscious, national violence to rid the colony of the
colonizer. Unfortunately, his vision was not realized in the
revolutionary upsurge that he lived through in north Africa and
neo-colonialism became the rule across the continent. Today, the masses
know that imperialism in Brown/Black face is no better. As fast as the
protests spread, they must continue to spread to the masses of the Arab
world before we will see an independent and self-determined people.