J Arthur Brown is not vain. There are no pictures of him on the Internet. But vain and arrogant are two different things. Arrogance is not the same as greed, either. The story of the 32-year-old ex instant lawn “entrepreneur” who got his hands on the life-support system of 47,000 widows and orphans of dead South African miners is not a story of greed. It is a story of arrogance and of how far arrogance can take you down the road to hell.
Read of the arrogance of J Arthur Brown and think what it means. See the linked articles below. These are three superb pieces of journalism by Moneyweb.
Alec Hogg, summing up, says: “The Fidentia cupboard is bare.” He says it is: “Our worst nightmare.” Who is that “we”? It is not the 47000 widows and orphans. They are not likely to surf the net to Moneyweb’s site. It is the exposed bourgeoisie of whose nightmares Hogg writes. Its system protects the strong but leaves the poor to swing in the wind. It is a system that celebrates and rewards arrogance. And this arrogance infects every part of bourgeois society. It even affects the labour movement and it tries to creep into the Communist Party. In South Africa, arrogance is a national disease.
Arrogance is alas only one of the many problems suffered by the Communist University in recent days. Others include the effects of crime, death, taxes and the common cold. But the arrogant denial of resources is still the most relentless problem the CU has faced all along, and on every side. People demand, and expect to receive, but don’t give. People hog resources and fail to make use of them, and for one main reason: arrogance. Resources that could be put to use for the people go to waste. Time is dragged out endlessly and uselessly. Opportunities are squandered. Life slips away.
The SACP at the level of Gauteng Province can send e-mails, but does not. The SACP Johannesburg District would like to, but says it cannot. These two home-turf structures are more opaque to the Johannesburg Communist University than millions of other structures on the Internet. The SACP Johannesburg Central Branch Executive Committee sends hard copy, with no return address to which you can send an apology. The following paragraph is from such a letter, received today:
“We are urged to call this meeting among others by a growing concerns and complaints by members of the branch around the circulated emails under communist university – which is part of branch sub-committees, the previously agreed disclaimer on the circulated emails, quoting and misquoting of issues and matters discussed in branch meetings.”
Comrades, people need to understand that the Communist University is, for want of a better word, virtual. It is no bigger or smaller than the work that goes into it. It will continue to meet on Wednesdays for as long as it is permitted a venue. Tomorrow (Wednesday January 14th) it will discuss the tremendous Chapter 1 of “On War” (Vom Kriege) by Carl von Clausewitz. Unfortunately the senior YCL figure who was committed to open the discussion tomorrow has given apologies for lateness, just like George Raphela did last week. It seems like the CU is condemned to death by half-measures.
On the CU flyer for the past couple of years the following has been written: “Openers should be on time to open the discussion”. For people to take the publicity and then give apologies at the last minute “for lateness” is a sick joke. Thanks for nothing, Floyd Shivambu.
As for the electronic side of the CU, it will continue as and when time permits. People, you have to think about what you want. The Internet is a socialist place. Whatever is there is only held up by work. There is no neutron bomb for the Internet. You can’t beat down the people and steal the goods. If you beat down the Internet people, you will find there is nothing there to steal, just emptiness where before there was life.
Sincere thanks to those who asked where the CU had gone.
Click on these links:
Moneyweb opener on J Arthur and Fidentia (641 words)
Arrogance More Than Greed, Alec Hogg, Moneyweb (2662 words)
Fidentia, our worst nightmare, Alec Hogg, Moneyweb (575 words)
Read of the arrogance of J Arthur Brown and think what it means. See the linked articles below. These are three superb pieces of journalism by Moneyweb.
Alec Hogg, summing up, says: “The Fidentia cupboard is bare.” He says it is: “Our worst nightmare.” Who is that “we”? It is not the 47000 widows and orphans. They are not likely to surf the net to Moneyweb’s site. It is the exposed bourgeoisie of whose nightmares Hogg writes. Its system protects the strong but leaves the poor to swing in the wind. It is a system that celebrates and rewards arrogance. And this arrogance infects every part of bourgeois society. It even affects the labour movement and it tries to creep into the Communist Party. In South Africa, arrogance is a national disease.
Arrogance is alas only one of the many problems suffered by the Communist University in recent days. Others include the effects of crime, death, taxes and the common cold. But the arrogant denial of resources is still the most relentless problem the CU has faced all along, and on every side. People demand, and expect to receive, but don’t give. People hog resources and fail to make use of them, and for one main reason: arrogance. Resources that could be put to use for the people go to waste. Time is dragged out endlessly and uselessly. Opportunities are squandered. Life slips away.
The SACP at the level of Gauteng Province can send e-mails, but does not. The SACP Johannesburg District would like to, but says it cannot. These two home-turf structures are more opaque to the Johannesburg Communist University than millions of other structures on the Internet. The SACP Johannesburg Central Branch Executive Committee sends hard copy, with no return address to which you can send an apology. The following paragraph is from such a letter, received today:
“We are urged to call this meeting among others by a growing concerns and complaints by members of the branch around the circulated emails under communist university – which is part of branch sub-committees, the previously agreed disclaimer on the circulated emails, quoting and misquoting of issues and matters discussed in branch meetings.”
Comrades, people need to understand that the Communist University is, for want of a better word, virtual. It is no bigger or smaller than the work that goes into it. It will continue to meet on Wednesdays for as long as it is permitted a venue. Tomorrow (Wednesday January 14th) it will discuss the tremendous Chapter 1 of “On War” (Vom Kriege) by Carl von Clausewitz. Unfortunately the senior YCL figure who was committed to open the discussion tomorrow has given apologies for lateness, just like George Raphela did last week. It seems like the CU is condemned to death by half-measures.
On the CU flyer for the past couple of years the following has been written: “Openers should be on time to open the discussion”. For people to take the publicity and then give apologies at the last minute “for lateness” is a sick joke. Thanks for nothing, Floyd Shivambu.
As for the electronic side of the CU, it will continue as and when time permits. People, you have to think about what you want. The Internet is a socialist place. Whatever is there is only held up by work. There is no neutron bomb for the Internet. You can’t beat down the people and steal the goods. If you beat down the Internet people, you will find there is nothing there to steal, just emptiness where before there was life.
Sincere thanks to those who asked where the CU had gone.
Click on these links:
Moneyweb opener on J Arthur and Fidentia (641 words)
Arrogance More Than Greed, Alec Hogg, Moneyweb (2662 words)
Fidentia, our worst nightmare, Alec Hogg, Moneyweb (575 words)
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