Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen

Political Education Final Assessment

June 2021

Economic base
• What is the mode of production in South Africa?

According to Marx there can be different modes of production, the Asiatic mode of
production, the feudal mode of production or the capitalist mode of production. In south
Africa it’s the capitalist mode of production, because there is private ownership of the means
of production

• What are the main means of production in South Africa?

In south Africa the main means of production is land, agriculture, mining and it used to be
manufacturing

• Who owns them?

The owners to the means of production could be the land owners, could be the government
who also owns land, it could be
• Who works for whom?

The workers, selling their labours, they work for the land owners, they work for the mine
owners. The workers, especially in south Africa, are predominantly black workers

• Who controls distribution?

Owners of farms, owners of mines, factories usually controls the distribution. In some cases
laws controls the distribution of productions

• Describe the relations of production?

Conflicts between landowners and labour tenants have proved to be extremely bitter because
they go beyond the negotiation of terms, how many days labour is to be provided, how much
arable or grazing land is to be available, how much cash is to be paid. People challenge one
another’s claims to the right to use and to dispose over ‘their’ land and ‘their’ time, and seek
to endorce these claims through the courts or by direct deployment or threat, of private and
public violence
Take from capital and agriculture: the south African case by Gavin Williams

• How are the relations of production affected by the mode of production?

Dominant class
• Who are the owners of land, industry, business?

Owners of land are usally private people, usually white, farmers who own or bought the land,
businesses or companies, government who also own land
• What is the racial composition of this dominant class?
The dominant class are usually white.
But this could be changing as more and more people of other races, through different
avenues, are able to buy land and move towards being part of the dominant class

Leadership of the dominant class

• Who are the leaders of this dominant class?
It could be the owners of the land, or the ruling party who becomes government and can set
down the laws

• How is the dominant class organised?

Usually not an organsied group

• How are the interests of the dominant class expressed

Through their monetary powers or land ownership

Auxiliary Class
• Who are the auxiliary class?
• What occupations do they hold?
• What is the racial composition of this class?

Leadership of the auxiliary class

• Who are the leaders of the auxiliary class?
• How are the auxiliary class organised?
• How are the interests of the auxiliary class expressed?

Subordinate classes
• Who are the workers, producers, peasants?
• Who are the unemployed?
• What is the racial composition of these groups?

Leadership of the subordinate classes

• Who are the leaders of the subordinate classes?
• How are the subordinate classes organised?
• How are the interests of the subordinate classes expressed?

How does the dominant class influence and control the state in their own interests?

What are the ideological apparatuses of the state?

What are the political apparatuses of the state?

Ideological Agents
• Who are the ideological agents of the ideological state apparatuses?

Political agents
• Who are the political agents of the political state apparatuses?
• What is the racial composition of these political agents?

Hegemony – Ideological Persuasion

• How is the dominant position of the dominant classes reproduced through ideology?
• How is the capitalist mode of production justified?

Hegemony – Political Enforcement

• How are the laws, regulations and policies of the state enforced?
• How does this ensure that the capitalist mode of production is reproduced??
Movement for a new society
• What visions for an alternative society to the present one, are being propagated?
• Who is propagating these ideas?
• Where are these ideas being propagated?
• Is the movement for an alternative society organised, coherent and unified?

Alternative structures
• Are any alternative social, political economic structures beginning to flourish within the
present social formation, e.g. worker owned and controlled factories and businesses;
alternative education systems like workers education in the trade unions; etc.?
• Are any of these alternative structures beginning to replace the current dominant structures
of the social formation?

Balance of forces
• What is the balance of forces in relation to the current phase of the National Democratic
Struggle?
• What is the balance of forces in relation to the struggle for a socialist society?

Conclusion: The Dynamic Model as a Tool of Analysis

The above analysis of the South African social formation, the Dynamic Model, is a dialectical
method of
analysis, because it first of all embodies the four principles of dialectical materialism, which
as was
indicated in Theme 1, are: change, totality, contradiction and mediation. The Dynamic Model
also applies the
laws of the dialectic: the unity of opposites; the transformation of quantity into quality; and
the negation of
the negation. The Dynamic Model is also a Historical Materialist analysis because it focuses
on the
reproduction of the mode of production, the relations of production, classes and class struggle
and the role
of the state, civil society (the superstructure) and the economic base in the dynamic motion of
the social
formation. The Dynamic Model is also a conjunctural analysis because is delineates the
prevailing balance of
political and class forces. However, due to time constraints we have not focused on the
appropriate
strategies and tactics that should be applied in the current conjuncture so as to bring about
further
transformation of the social formation.
1. The Dynamic Model is taken from: Hope, A. & Timmel, S. (1984). Training for
Transformation: A Handbook for Community Workers.
Book 3. Gweru: Mambo Press.