KENYA SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC
ALLIANCE (KSDA)
Thursday 17th July 2003
Of KCA Congress, Socialism, Capitalism and their implications to the Kenya
we want.
Although this piece was supposed
to give a critical analysis to the Kenya Community Abroad‘s annual conference,
it deviates and throws some light on socialism Vis a vis capitalism, and their
implications on the Kenya we want. The reason is that my request for the
official text of the KCA Congress has gone unanswered, and the information
posted to KCA website only gives a summary of speeches by invited guests to
the same.
In this analysis, i will attempt to respond to pertinent
issues raised in KSDA‘S website by an exiled former Kenyan political
prisoner, indirectly though.
I will borrow heavily from the Dutch system, herein after referred to as
the ‘polder model’, which is similar to the ‘third way’-to which i will attempt
to give more explanations.
And i cannot purport to have complete grasp of socialism and capitalism
as it were, for information technology is a far much different discipline
from political science. Further, two decades and some two years may not give
me the leeway to fully comprehend the implications of these systems to Kenya.
I will try to give my opinion on the structure of the state, socialism,
capitalism (=’liberalism’) and it’s 20/21st century offspring: ‘the Third
Way’.
Let me start out by saying that any democratic system can only survive when
its principles are upheld. Even a democratic election of a totalitarian regime
doesn’t make it democratic. The same goes for governments in which a religious
element (church) is present. I am not saying that religion should not play
a role in politics. The Christian, Muslim -and even Hindi- values may be of
importance to build or strengthen society. Yet Church is not to have an active
role in politics if we want justice for all. Not that I don’t believe in
the goodness of God, it is just that the people who interpret Biblical words
are not always trustworthy and have their own agenda. Indeed, i go to church
every Saturday and subscribe to the dictates of the Seventh Day Adventist
Church. What i am try to suggest is that it is unwise to bestow one person
with (too) many –divine- powers, it is simply not democratic since it is
impossible to discuss politics with the Lord directly. In the constitution
some religious elements return, sometimes as a variation/interpretation of
the Ten Commandments, but without the rhetoric ‘eye for an eye’ or ‘turn the
other cheek’. Either we are created equal or we are not… there is little room
for debate.
For a (Western) democratic system to properly work the three forces (‘Trias
Politica’ by Montesquieu) should be separated; Judicature (the law), Legislature
(the rulers/government) and the executive power (the police) must supposedly
function independent from each other to ensure impartial behavior.
Theoretically it should also prevent any particular leaders from corruption,
since they have no power over any judicial or police investigations, nor can
they influence politics.
But let us now go into Socialism and Capitalism, because in theory these
powers could be separated in both of the political systems. Socialism and
Capitalism are essentially different when it comes to ownership of ‘factories’
and such. In socialism these ownership rights are divided amongst the workers
(society). The presence of an elite in society is regarded as not favourable.
In Capitalism the ownership rights of ‘factories’ and such belong to a small
elite. Theoretically no one would want any elite to have all the resources
and the public (workers) to have nothing, depending on what side of the line
you are on.
That is why Socialism in theory has much to go for, since chances are that
-at birth- one is not part of any elite. The major problem of socialist theory
is that there will always be an elite: to govern the country and to manage
factories. Next to that, a socialist system may experience problems with people’s
individuality, since the interests of society may not always be compatible
with those of the individual. Even in a democratic system minorities are
to be protected from the whims of the majority.
Capitalism has similar systematic structural flaws, sustaining inequality
(the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’). Yet it takes a visionary, an entrepreneur to
run a factory or to invent something new… in order to make money or to ‘enrich’
society. The notion of self-control, or the idea that you are in control
of your own destiny is of the utmost importance in this liberal theory.
Life is what YOU make of it, not what the State or society may or may not
make of it. The state should provide for education, ‘protection’ and other
public resources for people in order to achieve personal development, that
is why one pays taxes. The drive towards excellence is absent in a system
where responsibilities are shared up to a point where it doesn’t really matter
any more; it creates ‘public laziness’, because who would want to stick his/her
neck out when there is no individual gain? People are more than potential
consumers, but they are also more than workers. They are individuals, who
should have a strong bond with society.
Is there something like a ‘Liberal Socialist’? As I have experienced since
my childhood, in Kenya the resources are not always in the hands of the people.
Often certain families or individuals own relatively more resources than others
do. Thus theoretically an ‘elite’ is present. Therefore it is understandable
that many may be in favour of a socialist state. Yet this elite must be lured/persuaded
to pay a fair share of taxes: from history it is a proven fact that it is
of mutual benefit. It should be noted that Communism (in my view an extreme
form of socialism) didn’t quite make it into the 21st century. I will not
take the pain of explaining why this so happened, since i am not keen on persuading
any side. I am not a capitalist, for how do i support a system that has exposed
me to a horrendous state of perpetual poverty? Neither am i a socialist.
So, for now, allow yours truly to sit on the fence.
To belabor the point that capitalists will go all the way to achieve their
ambitions, i will disturb my good friend, the immortal Tom Mboya from his
sleep, and use him as an example.
In the challenge of Nationhood, he defends himself against accusations that
he sought the help of his capitalist friends to draft the famous Sessional
paper number ten. Hear TJ, “This issue has been shrouded in confusion, embellished
with slogans and pat phrases, and nearly drowned in a sea of contradictory
statements and allegations.”
I would be the first to admit that any assessment of Tom Mboya‘S relations
with the US Embassy in Kenya of the 1960‘S should be based on anecdotal rather
than empirical evidence. Mboya himself is dead and many of his American colleagues
who were with him are perhaps prevented from speaking out on the issue by
the US equivalent of the Officials secrets Act. I came into existence a decade
or so after his demise. To that extent, i will not attempt to quote from any
other source, (even though Ngugi Wa Thion‘go for example, says in one of
his books that the famous Sessional paper number ten, which was on of Mboya‘S
key policy papers- and which set the note for the young nation’s policy of
African Socialism, in reality capitalism, was the work of an American economist
at the US Embassy. That several apparently bonafide American dignitaries were
in reality Mboya‘S private think tank, helping him to draw economic blue
prints to outwit his adversaries, and that his success was not the individual
effort of a towering genius, but was largely subsidized by his capitalist
American friends.
We leave that for debate and move to marketization of society.
In Capitalism ‘money may matter more than people’, but in Socialism the
individual is ‘assimilated into the collective’. Socialism pleads for the
education of the workers, but once socialist leaders are in place, they would
not want others to endanger their positions, hence further personal development
is not appreciated; it would become a threat to the new Socialist ‘elite’.
The first system will create slaves of labour; the second system will create
slaves of the State.
Logistic and structural problems in this system should warn us all!
The cold-hearted atmosphere of capitalism is also a reason for concern.
Ergo both systems experience problems when theory is put in practice.
Over the years the two systems have showed flaws; they function only in
specific situations. The static behaviour of socialism when it comes to the
place of the individual is apparent, so is the inability of capitalism to
think in terms of societies interests (other than a collective of individuals
or of consumers).
As an answer to the two flawed systems a ‘new’ type of politics emerged
in the late 90’s all over the (Western) world. This is called the Third Way;
a mix between Market -individual interests- and Society. In theory the best
of both worlds. This theory, in my opinion may perfectly work in Kenya, since
it is a custom made system, which addresses the needs of the specific country.
The elite owns the factories, but they pay their fair share of taxes. Employees
are united in factories unions and are in constant negotiations with the elite;
both have a symbiotic interest in the factory. The government distributes
these revenues equally over those who need the most care.
The question then that springs to mind is what structural mechanisms can
be put in place to avoid this system being abused? As i said, i am not a political
science guru, so i leave it to conjecture.
On the other hand individuals will have to take their lives into their own
hands. A government must create the right climate in which people can develop.
Financially this means enabling (international) co-operation. The emergence
of a strong (East)-African Union would in this respect mean a major step forward!
Next to that there should be fair international trade regulations. That
is a task for the WTO as well as entities as the European Union or the US.
Protectionism (=one-way capitalism) of national interests is a mental disease
that only makes sense in the short run, but globalization has its limits
too... By protection the domestic market we hinder each-others development;
co-operation & fair competition is the key instead. Next to that one
may want to question whether Kenya should even use western models for its
reforms. In my view Kenya is more than capable to work out a functioning
system of co-operation without the West interfering once more.
Socialism and Capitalism worked because of specific characteristics of the
countries in which they were applied. Ancient feudal systems and also the
Industrial Revolution had resulted in Europe in modern slavery that had to
be countered (revolutions).
Copying specific solutions to any country may not generate similar results;
neither will forming a national workers union do. One would have to study
the Kenyan society before projecting and implementing (new) political systems.
Of course ultimately it is the Kenyan who must (re) build the country, in
that respect the notion of a community must be strengthened, but the individual
nature of mankind must not be lost in the process.
Governments have to provide chances for development, Kenyans must try to
‘capture’ these chances, but also they may create chances for themselves.
Also voters must put the government on its toes to ensure that these chances
are created, without losing democratic values. If people are somehow unable
to make it, there must be safety nets (e.g. health care, unemployment benefits
and pensions).
As former US president Kennedy said; “do not ask what your country can do
for you, but ask what you can do for your country”. What he meant is that
there should be a healthy synergy between state & community regulations
and the individual.
I would be doing a disservice to mother Kenya if i end without commenting
on tribalism, that disease which has hit us hard over the years. There is
nothing much that can be done, simply because tribes exist and actions to
counter them or to render them insignificant could seriously backfire.
People are proud of their cultural background, which they should! I submit
that tribal differences may be ‘exploited’ to build a community; use the differences
as chances instead of threats. Individual differences are the spices and
herbs that make the community more ‘digestible’. If it is possible to respect
others regardless of tribal heritage and (financial) differences, on the
basis of mutual respect, much is won!
Our community consists –in my respectful view- of groups of individuals
who have connecting interests within as well as between groups.
By creating chances for these groups to come together (trade, cultural markets
or discussion forums) or by actively linking these groups, we may boost the
sense of society. Because in the long run we have all similar objectives,
even if this may sometimes appear not to be the case. We may not even have
to call it socialism or capitalism; it will be Kenyanism;).
The Dutch system, from which i have extensively borrowed have always found
ways to maintain ‘efficiency’, this meant that all the parties had to sit
down and discuss how to proceed. (this is called the ‘Polder Model’ and is
similar to the Third Way).
Only in difficult situations did the model of moderating all interests not
work, but then the government(people) should decide.
Maybe my comments on religion in politics may hurt someone, that is why
I did not go deep into it. If it does, i offer my unqualified apology.
In my final submission, Kenya should not become a purely Socialist state,
neither should it be a Capitalist one.
I welcome positive criticisms from this commentary, since i intend to borrow
from it extensively to deliver a keynote address at Maseno University, when
the students eventually reopen.
And incidentally, i am looking for a book titled “bush at war.” It is written
by one Bob woodward, the same person who analysed the infamous W. gate scandal.
It is not available in local bookshops.
Anyone who knows where i cam get a copy could drop me a line.
Regards,
Jared Valentine Oluoch
The author is a student at Kenya College of accountancy-Kisumu
KSDA's
Response To This Article
KSDA is a revolutionary Socialist Alliance
which fights for Socialism in Kenya and the World. The Alliance believes
that the fundamental social, economic and political crisis facing Kenya today
requires a democratic Socialist revolution with Kenyan working class taking
a leading role in the struggle. The Alliance advocates for the formation
of a Workers' Party in Kenya and the abolition of capitalism in the country.
Contacts: KSDA Box 74, 123 22 Farsta, Sweden. website: http://www.kenyasocialist.org.
Tel: 00 46 736533068.