By Takura Zhangazha*
Within the context of the Covid 19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
there are increasingly many social and economic injustice issues that are being muted. Most times deliberately and
in rarer cases by default. In the process
there is also the rarely mentioned factor of class that emerges as a result of
the fact of obfuscation of our current economic realities.
And by economic realities here I mean what we would consider
lived realities of many Zimbabweans in the current moment. In the same way, by
making reference to ‘class’ I mean the at least four tier class system we have
by default in Zimbabwe. Namely and in an
order that reflects the powerful to the powerless respectively; the bourgeoisie
(global financialised capital- mine, financial/stock exchange, agricultural
property owners), the comprador bourgeoisie (retailers, bankers, politicians,
religious leaders) ; the aspirational middle class (academics, medical doctors,
small scale farmers/business owners, Diaspora, NGO workers, drug dealers) , the
urban working peoples (formerly proletariat, i.e teachers, nurses, artisans,
informal sector workers/vendors, unemployed youths), rural working people
(formerly peasantry: i.e women, war veterans, resettled farmers, unemployed but
somewhat self-reliant youths).
For regular readers of this blog, this may appear to be a
mouthful and slightly complicated. But
the key element is to understand that within the context of Covid 19, Zimbabwe remains
a highly economically stratified society.
A state of affairs which has been obscured by our high levels of
political polarization as it has occurred in at least the years since the December 1987 Unity Accord between Zanu and Zapu. And accelerated from 2000 to the present
between the current ruling Zanu Pf and opposition MDC formations.
In this, there would be many Zimbabweans who would mistake
similar political emotions and biases for equality. All based on the assumption
that if one's relative/friend from a wealthier class or section of society holds
and imparts an opinion, despite my current vastly different economic positioning then we are
equal. Moreso if they demonstrate a specific
material benevolence that enables one to occasionally access ‘nicer’ things in
additions to what should not be patronage motivated other basic commodities that
they occasionally provide.
This basically means if one belongs to any of the top three aforementioned
classes (bourgeoisie, comprador bourgeoisie and aspirational middle class) there
is greater likelihood, in our Zimbabwean context that one holds greater sway
over populist public opinion among what we would in the Marxian sense consider ‘lower
classes’ (urban and rural working people).
And in the process always argue in favour of a specific privileged perspective
on the preferred state of affairs of mainly the politics but underlying
economic state of affairs of the country.
I will give an example. In the wake of the economic crisis that
began in the 1990s until present, the argument for liberalization of the
economy was given by our best and brightest minds (comprador bourgeoisie and
aspirational/transitional middle classes). It is an opinion that has venerated
private capital and hedonism to God-like status in Zimbabwe. So the (urban or rural) working class
Zimbabwean, swayed by such an inorganic populist opinion begins to think that
the problem is not one of the economic or wealth distribution structure of our
society. Instead it becomes their own
individual fault that they did not have the political connection, the religious
vision or the multiple degrees to own a property in an urban settlement. But, in an ironical twist, still seek to
manipulate the political economic system as far as is possible to live lives
beyond their economic let alone sustainable means.
So what is raised high is the so called political bar and not
the economic equality and social justice one. In this the priority questions are
around party affiliation and material experiences in between elections with
same said preferred party. As opposed to
queries on values, principles and perspectives on the collective well-being of
our society.
And all of this remains understandable if not repetitive
with the passage of time. The top two classes outlined above have an unwritten
but default understanding of the need to maintain their neoliberal hegemony
over Zimbabwean society. No matter their
political differences or competition for support and allegiances with global
private or state-controlled financialised capital. And to perpetually give the majority working urban
and rural poor a false impression that they can not only aspire to live that
fabled good life of the rich and famous/shameless. Hence in many instances the songs of
Zimbabwean version of dancehall or hip hop music sound exceedingly contradictory
by way of the music videos in which they present and re-present a desire for a materialist
and ‘departure from the ghetto’ life they may never have or value.
It is the third, fourth and fifth tier class (aspirational
middle class in organic tandem with urban and rural working people) that
perhaps in a Cabralian sense remains most important. In the moment. So long the
third stops having false assumptions of superiority or as they say in the
global north, ‘curbs its enthusiasm’ for inequality motivated
consumerism/materialism. And sees the country
as one that should be constructed on democratic values that guarantee social
and economic justice for all.
*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity
(takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment