92 Book Rellill_
Zimbabwe: A Revolution that Lost its Way?, Andre Astrow, Zed Press, London, 1983
(no price stated).
Zimbabwe: POUtiCS,Economics and Society, Colin Stoneman and Lionel Cliffe, Pinter,
London. 1989 (no price stated).
Along with Mandaza's The Political Economy ofTransltion, these two volumes represent
the most serious attempts to analyse Zimbabwe's version of socialism. Writing nearly a
decade ago, Astrow was probably the first author to predict that newly independent
Zimbabwe would never become anything approaching a socialist state. For Astrow this Will
a foregone conclusion, a "predictable result of the nationalist leadezship' s class interests and
the nationalist movement's entire strategy" (P2).
A Marxist of the orthodox Trotskyist variety, Astrow repeatedly stresses that the
working class was nevenea1ly asignificantcomponentofthestruggle to liberate Zimbabwe.
Without working class involvement, Astrow argues, any transition to socialism after 1980
was impossible. This situation Astrow blames on two factors. First, he targets the trade
unions. Before 1980 he contends that the role of trade union leaders was "policing the
African worldng class" (P25) rather than mobilising the workers for action. The author
documents how the pre-independence federations such as the Southern Rhodesia Trade
Union Congress actively tried to keep unions out of nationalist politics and steer them in a
capitalist direction.
Aside from the historic weakness of the workers' movement in Zimbabwe, Astrow also
criticises what he calls the "Political Programme of the Petit Bourgeoisie" (P135). 'The
writer argues that the leadership ofbothZANU andZAPU, despite thetorical remarks to the
contrary, never were genuinely socialist 'The goals of the liberation movements, in
Astrow's view, was "to democratise the existing political structure, in order to eliminate
racial discrimination" (P136). However, due to the intransigence of the settler regime, I
moderate political1eadership was forced to take up arms and make radical promises to the
masses in order to enlist their support
Astrow demonstrates this dynamic between the leadership and the masses by concretely
examining ZANU andZAPU's positions on the land question. While the militaxy wings of
both groups mobilised peasants with promises of land, according to Astrow at no point did
either movement promise unequivocally that they would expropriate a large proportion of
settler farms. WhileZANU often suggested that all land would be nationalised, Mugabe's
quote of 1978 puts these suggestions in context (P139):
"Yau cannot start off by nationalising everything. You have to take into account the
realities of the situation" .
Reading Astrow's worlc nearly ten years after it was written is an interesting exercise.
The hindsight of ten years of independence can surely verify some of his points. many of
which seemed outlandish in the early 1980's. Yet for all Astrow's documentation of whaJ:
he calls the "petit bourgeois interests" of the liberation movements, his analysis is too flcile
and formulistic. One reason for this is that the book was based on a PhD thesis Astrow wrote
without ever visiting Zimbabwe. While he displays a comprehensive knowledge of
historical and political documents available to overseas researchers, his work: lacks the
critical insights that can only be gained by actually talking to participants in a struggle.
Book RevillW3 93
Although even the bestresearchercarmot gain a full wxlerstanding ofpolitica1 andhistoricaJ
dynamics in just a short visit to a country, to so comprehensively condenm the outcome of
a liberation struggle without any direct contact with those involved smlCb of the worst type
of First World academic arrogance. Astrow's words would ring much truer to residtnta of
Zimbabwe if they were supported by primary sources which were readily available to him
had be managed to visit Zimbabwe or neighbouring countries before 1980.
Aside from this major shortcoming Astrow's work suffers from the rigidity of his
ideological outlook. Like many dogmatic Marxists, Astrow simply reduces things to the
lowest common de:nom.inat.oI'. Accordini to AsIrow'. party line, there is no progress
without the total overthrow of the capitalist sy.tem. Though independent Zimbabwe may
be a disappointment to many, the situation is more than Astrow paints it: a simple change
from white leadership to black leadership. The whole intertwining of change and continuity
in post-1980 Zimbabwe is much more complex than black leadership replacing white. Many
of Astrow's conclusions may be valid but he doesn't quite grasp the subtlety of the social
forces which are involved in the class struggle in Zimbabwe.
Certainly aricber work than Astrow's is Zimbabwe: Politics, Economlcund Society
by Colin Stoneman and Lionel Cliffe. Like Astrow, the two authors are leftwing critics of
Zimbabwe's brand of socialism. However, unlike Astrow they have been frequent visitors
to Zimbabwe and display a much deeper understanding of the country. In this relatively
short work (slightly more than 200 pages) Stoneman and Cliffe review various aspects of
Zimbabwe's political and economic landscape, from party structures to the agricultural
sector to the development of the working class. Their approach is farmore systematic than
Astrow's and the work is further enhanced by the availability of a wide range of data on
Zimbabwe's fIrst years of independence.
Ofparticularrelevance is Chapter Five, "Class and Race". Here the writers try to analyse
the position and power of various class groupings which they label the bourgeoisie, the black
petty bourgeoisie, the working class and the peasantry. They aIso include a very superfIcial
section on "the special position of women". Unlike Astrow, they do not pl"esent a rigidified
class structure, but one in flux. With respect to the bourgeoisie, the authors try to explore
to what extent Zimbabwean capitalists represent a "national bourgeoisie" (ie one devoted
to local economic development) as opposed to a "comprador bourgeoisie" (one which is
totally the servant of transnational corporations). While they do not reach defInite
conclusions on the question, they do neatly detail the battleground where a large degree of
Zimbabwe's fate has been and will continue to be decided. In light of the present moves
toward trade liberalisation. the authors' depiction of this power struggle is useful for
assessing the contradictions of the future.
Inexamining the working class, Stoneman and Cliffe also display an emphasis different
from Astrow's. In fact they label Astrow a "Marxist purist" for making the blanket
conclusion that workers hadnothing whatsoever to do with the liberation struggle. Though
the organised trade unions gave little assistance to the liberation movements, many
individuals "did participate or give support to the nationalist struggle, butofte:n clandestinely"
(p65). Astrow's classical Mll'Xist vision of the Zimbabwean working ellSS sees them either
as the inevitable emissaries of a socialist order or nothing at all. His portrayal of
Zimbabwean workers neglects the linb that many workers still have to the ruraI areas.
Cliffe and Stoneman are aware of this nuance of the Zimbabwean working class when they
observe that "workers and peasants cannot yet beregarded as distinct classes" (194). Inthis
context there is little wonder that Zimbabwean working class history has been something
different than Marx's traditional characterisation.
In concluding, Stoneman and Cliffe do not self assuredly give a prescription for the
revolutionary path as Astrow has done. Nonetheless, they do project a negative view of the
country's attempts at socialism (P192):
"Certainly there has been precious little attempt so farto transform the socioeconomic
structure or to change the terms of the country's involvement with the world
economy in directions that would suggest a transition to socialism and that are
differentiated from a more Africanist-oriented path of capitalist development after
the decades of racial capitalism".
Inthe end, for Stoneman and Cliffe, Zimbabwe"s "Marxist ambitions" may be merely
a "camouflage for an ambiguously neo-colonial and capitalist project" (p 195), nonetheless
they back off from a view of total predetermination (pI94):
"In these circumstances Zimbabwe's prospects are still not completely determined.
They are, however, limited .....
Both of the volumes reviewed here are important contributions to an indepth analysis
of post-independence Zimbabwe. The views of all authors represent a leftwing critique of
Zimbabwean political parties which rarely sees the light of day within the country outside
the pages of SAPEM or Social Change and Development. Despite both volumes almost
total neglect of women they do ask many of the right questions. Astrow's key concern is
whether the liberation movements ever were socialist in character. His answer is an
unwavering no. Stoneman and Cliffe focus on to what degree the present problems in the
country are a product of the failures of government policy and political orientation. They
present this as adynamic situation rather than succumbing to Astrow's more static view. Of
the two, Stoneman and Cliffe's work is more valuable and comprehensive, but both should
be carefully read by those at all concerned with the path this country has followed and where
it will go from here.
Reviewed by Jo1m Pape, Harare.
References
Mandaza Ibbo (ed) (1986) The Political Economy of Transitioo, CODES RIA, Dakar.