Red Road to Freedom: a history of the South African Communist Party 1921-2021 by Tom Lodge, and: Precarious Power: compliance and discontent under Ramaphosa's ANC by Susan Booysen (review)

South Africa unravelled

Synonyms for the word 'superlative' include 'excellent', 'magnificent', 'glorious', 'marvellous', 'consummate', 'outstanding', and 'remarkable'. I am happy to settle for any of these to describe these two books, which fit very neatly together for review. Probably no-one else other than Tom Lodge, who is so thoroughly versed in the details as well as the grand trajectory of the popular struggles against colonialism and apartheid in South Africa could have written what will become the gold standard of histories of the South African Communist Party (SACP). I find it difficult to imagine that it can be bettered, even if release or discovery of further documents may nuance its arguments in future. Apart from anything else, it is quite simply a gripping read. Meanwhile, there is no other author who has done more to analyse the internal dynamics of the African National Congress (ANC) since the party moved into power in 1994 than Susan Booysen, with this latest tome being her latest of three volumes on the subject. Students of South Africa are very fortunate indeed to have two such highly knowledgeable and proficient chroniclers of this complicated country's political twists and turns.

Unravelling communism in South Africa

There are no surprises in the way that Lodge has organised his account. Separate chapters are provided on the pre-history of the party before its formation in 1921; the early history of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) 1921-26; the turn to the 'Native Republic' strategy 1927-32; and the turbulent period of the 1930s with its 'factions and fronts' 1932-1939. These are succeeded by treatments of the CPSA's 'Patriotic Unity' moment during the 1940s; the party's retreat to underground activity after its banning in 1953; its history and development in exile 1965-1977; and its 'Mayibuye iAfrika' period during 1977-1990 when its activities became increasingly influential within the internal struggle against apartheid. All this is wrapped up with an incisive discussion about the role of the SACP in the post-apartheid and globally 'post-communist' period.

Lodge's ability to combine survey of grand direction, debate with other historians, and intimate detail of the party's ups-and-downs, shifts and survival against odds is truly exemplary. Because he provides valuable summaries of the major developments covered in each of these chapters, it is possible to capture the gist of the text in a relatively economical fashion.

The communists early days

The introductory chapter, headlined 'Just like Russia', spells out what Lodge terms 'the genealogy of South African communism' (64). He highlights four dimensions which have needed greater emphasis than provided in previous accounts of the party's history. These are, first, its debt to anarchist syndicalism, drawn from the ideas of the Russian historian and revolutionary, Peter Kropotkin, as well as other sources imported by successive waves of immigrant workers from the English-speaking world; second, the evolution of a working class politics that, albeit inconsistently, broached issues of race and class-communal solidarity; third, the particular influence of Jewish immigrants, notably those with previously acquired familiarity with revolutionary networks and ideas current in the Russian Pale; and fourth–a crucial theme–is that of how South Africa's embryonic history was shaped by black individuals who re-shaped 'exotic visions' and a 'foreign lexicon' to their own circumstances and experiences of colonial conquest and domination.

Once the disparate Marxist groups which sprung up in South Africa came together to form the CPSA in 1921, South African communists were confronted by key questions: What was the role of the white working class, whose apparent anti-capitalism was combined with a very evident racialism? Furthermore, given that the white working class was mainly black and...