Lessons of Struggle

Providing an in-depth analysis of thirty years of South African opposition, this work focuses on the development of the Black Consciousness movement founded by Steve Biko, the ANC-aligned United Democratic Front, and the burgeoning trade unions, and examines how each group’s ideology, in regards to racial assertiveness, national unity, and class organization, influenced each other’s and shaped popular activism. Presenting the South African conflict in the context of general theoretical debates on the role of ideas in shaping social change and theories of race, nation, class, and revolution, Marx assesses the lessons learned in the process of the South African struggle and not only explains recent events in South Africa, but also suggests the likely implications of these past patterns of conflict on future developments. Based on unique interviews and previously undisclosed or undigested internal organizational documents, Lessons of Struggle will be invaluable to all those interested in the South African conflict.