Ten steps towards being the Perfect Revolutionary

(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)

Introduction

This short article is written for all comrades all over the world, but primarily for comrades of Swaziland. All comrades have a wish to be like other popular revolutionaries Like Chris Hani, Moses Kotane, Joe Slovo, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin, and many other “perfect” revolutionaries. Sadly, a good formula towards that goal has never been tabled for all comrades to follow. Consequently, they find themselves committing too many mistakes before they can actually make a revolution in their country or continent. By that time they are at an old age and consequently go to the grave still having that wish. But comrades do not need to reach old age before they can be perfect revolutionaries. Comrades must ensure that they are perfect revolutionaries before they attain the age of thirty-five.

The reference to “comrades” is used to refer generally to the different people engaged in the struggle for freedom in Swaziland and beyond. Even people who are not members of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), or the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) or the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) have constantly referred to themselves as comrades. We have, for instance, many comrades who are priests, pastors, reverends, bishops, and so on, and in NGOs.

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Comrades who do not know what they need to do in order to be on the route towards being perfect revolutionaries should no longer despair because these easy-to-follow steps will, within one year, transform an ordinary comrade or member of an organisation into a revolutionary, and from there be on the progressive route towards being the perfect revolutionary. For the first time in the history of the Swaziland struggle, you are presented with the most important ten steps towards being the perfect revolutionary that you have always wished to be, right here.

1.    Read and Write

All revolutionaries must read and write. Reading and writing must always complement each other. Since you also wish to be a revolutionary you must practice these. Reading and writing is a practical exercise. In order to get better you must do it on a daily basis.

Read everything; from news, to opinion pieces, to mere notices on walls and chart boards. The reading of revolutionary material, such as the works of Karl Marx, is encouraged. But you may be surprised that even Karl Marx had to read a lot of capitalist and oppressive writings in order to critique them. That is why you should also read everything. Do not be put off by your comrades when they accuse you of reading capitalist material or of sometimes mingling with capitalists. It is an important step.

Whilst you must read the news every day, you must also learn the skill of collecting news yourself and putting them in writing. This goes a long way in sharpening your writing skills. When you see the bulky writings of great revolutionaries like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin and Mao Zedong, amongst others, it is easy to be discouraged and see the feat as impossible. But they also started somewhere.

All great writers must start by writing a small paragraph in expressing their opinions. If they do this more regularly, they keep getting better at it and in no time they find themselves writing thick and classic books. Thus, you should do the same. Aim to write a short paragraph on any issue on a daily basis, even if you are not going to publish it. If you do this, you will find that within a year you have attained the skill of writing a whole book.

2.    Upgrade yourself academically

Many comrades make the mistake of believing that a perfect revolutionary is one who has attained qualifications in the field of the Social Sciences in general, and Political Science in particular. Any field of study will open your mind. So do not be misled. For instance, a comrade who has studied Agriculture and practiced in its field will make an invaluable contribution when the agrarian revolution is being implemented. Even a study in engineering is vital. You do not necessarily have to attain a Degree or Master’s Degree in any field for you to be said to have studied. The most important thing is to constantly improve yourself academically from whatever academic level you are in at that particular period. Even those with high qualifications such as PHD must seek to improve themselves academically, and thus open new worlds for themselves (their minds) to explore.

Again here, as in point 1 above, allow yourself to start small; a three-month certificate course, a six-month certificate course, and before you know it you will be attaining your diploma. Keep growing!

3.    Take up leadership positions

Basically, all comrades, one way or the other, find themselves in organisations. It can be churches, NGOs, community police, deep tank stations, schools, companies, and so on. In all these organisations there always comes a time when people must be elected or appointed into committees. When members have shown confidence in you, simply take up that position. It shall be easy for members to show confidence in you, and for you to be able to position yourself well for key positions, if you have been consistently doing 1 and 2 above. Taking up leadership positions will enable you to earn priceless leadership experience. This is something you will not even have to go to college for. You will get it in the concrete conditions on the ground as you lead.

4.     Contest power

Revolutionaries are always engaged in revolutions. Revolutions are not about carefully picking roses and applying make-up on yourself trying to look good to everyone. At a certain point you must contest power in the organisations or community you are part of.

It does not matter if you lose. Contest power even if you know that you will lose. What is important is that you should not be alone in such contests. Work with others with whom you have a common goal.

In the future democratic Swaziland we will be engaged in election campaigns and other testing campaigns. Contesting power today will hone your skills in so far as future campaigns are concerned. Experience the pain of losing, the joy of winning and the immense challenges that come with winning. When you lose, for instance, you will learn how to handle a loss, likewise when you win you will learn how to handle victory.

People who will tell you that you must never contest power are misleading you. In any event, political parties are always engaged in contesting state power, and workers of the world, as the Communist Manifesto famously says, have a world to win.

5.    Learn to work with others

Individuals may inspire populations towards a certain direction, but it is populations that will make revolutions possible. No matter how intelligent an individual can be, they will in many instances find that they must engage with others and plan programmes together. Terminators and Rambos can never wage revolutions. Revolutions are the festivals of the oppressed, as Lenin stated. No matter how intelligent the great revolutionaries of the past were, they always found greater strength in the group. They shared ideas, debated them, agreed and disagreed on other issues, and so on. A lone-ranger is nowhere close to being a revolutionary. The so-called “communists” who do not want to affiliate with Communist Parties are nowhere close to being communists!

Come to think of it, even people who believe in the existence of a God do not hold the view that only one “super” being was involved in the creation of the world or universe. Those who regard ancestors highly also believe that deceased ancestors work together in order to bring down blessings “from above.”

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6.    Learn about other issues beyond general politics

If you immense yourself exclusively on political material you will find that the society you seek to conscientise has changed drastically and you are still caught up in 1917. The society you seek to change is constantly engaged in sports and entertainment, weddings, funerals and so on. If you are not aware of such issues that happen around you then you may as well forget about being the perfect revolutionary. Thus, you must always seek to know who the top rugby player is in a particular era, for instance, or which song is enjoyed widely in parties and other ceremonies.

If you do this, you will learn that all of life is connected to politics, all life is politics and that human beings are political beings by nature. Thus you cannot separate humanity from all of this. This is why those who continuously proclaim that “the struggle cannot be Face-booked” are continuously finding themselves on the wrong side of history.

7.    Open your ears – shut your mouth

When you have been able to do all the things mentioned above it is easy to fall into the temptation of thinking that you are a super-revolutionary, that you, and only you, have answers to all questions raised, and that everyone else is wrong. This is incorrect and it will lead you to your own destruction. No matter how much you view other people’s opinons, you must nevertheless learn to listen to them. How will you correct them if you have not listened thoroughly to what they say? Through other people’s views you will be able to grow yours and sharped them. You will also learn that you are not alone in this world. It will teach you the art of making a revolutionary compromise when debates seem to be approaching a dead end. Thus, stop talking and start listening.

8.    Question everything

If you have read all the points made above and yet you have not questioned anything that has been said, then something is terribly wrong with you. Something is awfully wrong with you if you also have not questioned the fact that only “ten steps” are being provided in order to be the perfect revolutionary or the fact that there are steps in the first place.

Further, you need to be killed if you have not questioned the above paragraph under this sub-heading. The point that is being made here is that you must always question everything. Nothing is always as it seems. We are living in a capitalist world today, but it has not always been a capitalist world and it will not always be a capitalist world. Capitalism will fall just like feudalism, slavery and other past systems also fell. Karl Marx’s favourite motto was doubt everything, his idea of happiness was to fight, and his idea of misery was to submit. Follow this step and in 100 revolutions you wage you shall be victorious.

9.    Get some rest

There is a popular saying that revolutionaries only rest when they are dead. Revolutionaries, indeed, must be daily engaged in the struggle. This helps them to be pro-active in whatever they do. Notwithstanding this, all revolutionaries must at some point rest. Your mind and body can only function well only up to a certain limit. Many revolutionaries have no choice but to keep stretching their minds far beyond the normal or average limits. Try as best as you can to find some resting time nonetheless. Create a 25^th hour for yourself so that you can use it to rest. When you have reached the stage of being able to create this 25^th hour for yourself, then you will know that you are closer to being the definition of the perfect revolutionary.

In this era of smartphones and many other digital gadgets, you should find that it is well-nigh impossible to get some time to rest and not be disturbed. Switch off all your gadgets, including your cell-phones, and then take a guilt-free rest. Taking a rest is as important as working hard.

10.  Be imperfect

The point here is that you should learn that you are an imperfect being. You will make mistakes in the process, mistakes which you never have to necessarily apologise for. If you do not think that Karl Marx ever made mistakes then you need to re-read point number 8 above.

A revolution is a continuously ongoing process. Friedrich Engels once said, nothing is stable except instability, nothing is immovable except movement. Thus, what was true 500 years ago may not necessarily be true today. Society is constantly developing. Thus, you must acknowledge the fact that you do make mistakes and are imperfect. You must embrace change, allow yourself to make mistakes. People who never make mistakes are those who have never done anything at all. Such people are the greatest mistake of the world.

This article has “ten steps” towards being a “perfect” revolutionary. “Perfect” revolutionaries will always find, after a long careful analysis, that they are imperfect. They will then seek assistance from other people. Even doctors must every now and then consult other doctors and in many instances will consult nurses and social workers. They do this because they understand that they are imperfect. You must also understand this fact.

Lastly, under this very sub-heading, you must understand that there need not necessarily be “ten steps” towards being the perfect revolutionary or towards being anything at all. The author of this article has also demonstrated that he is also full of imperfections, so much that he even forgot to end this article with a proper conclusion as he was taught in high school and university. Oh how imperfect he is! [ALSO READ: International Criminal Court and al-Bashir: Imagine King Mswati were charged by ICC]

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[1] An Article In Memory of Comrade Alex Langwenya who passed away on 7 October 2014. He was the 1^st Secretary General of PUDEMO, elected in February 2014 PUDEMO Congress.