Foucault Again

The Johannesburg Central Branch of the Young Communist League continues its political education classes tomorrow with Amilcar Cabral’s “The Weapon of Theory”, an address that was given by this great African liberation movement leader at the famous “Tricontinental” Conference held in Havana, Cuba, forty years ago. Che Guevara was also present and spoke at the conference. See the link below. The Chris Hani Institute has announced a two-day political school to be held on April 10th and 11th. The programme is not final. Speakers have not all confirmed. Nor is the venue stated. See link below. The ANC National Executive Committee met over the last weekend and has now issued its statement, touching on the recent election and e-mail controversies (linked). COSATU solidly backs the TELKOM workers and the security guards organised by SATAWU (linked). There are also COSATU-supported actions at Kalgold mine in the Northern Cape and at Goodyear in Port Elizabeth. Once again the unvarnished, comprehensive (linked) report given yesterday on the Friends of Jacob Zuma web site is likely to prove far better than the other media. Three NGOs attempted to intervene and practically to take the rape trial over on the grounds that they must tell the court about “general power relations”. The prosecution and the complainant opposed this most vigorously. So, naturally, did the defense. The judge sent the would-be “Friends of the Court” away with a flea in their ear. It was an extraordinary manifestation of some people’s passionate belief in the theory of abstract power relations (principally identified with the French philosopher Michel Foucault). This theory rejects the dialectical understanding of historical progress, including class struggle, and challenges the humanist rationalism upon which modern society, even if bourgeois, has rested up to now. The emphatic repudiation of Foucauldian theory in a South African court by combined force of prosecution and defense, complainant and accused, and Judge van der Merwe, is a more-than-somewhat historical moment. There is to be an Architecture Seminar at Wits University’s John Moffatt Building on April 4th at 17h30 on “Community-based planning in the context of Integrated Development Planning”. Links: Amilcar Cabral, The Weapon of Theory, 1966 (7710 words) Chris Hani Two Day Political School April 10-11 SACP Gauteng (2-page timetable) Statement of the ANC NEC, March 26th 2006 (771 words) COSATU backs Telkom and security guard struggles (617 words) NGOs lose application to intervene in rape trial, Friends of JZ (1379 words)