The Moment of Western Marxism in South Africa

Class versus Nation: A History of Richard Turner’s Eclipse and Resurgence

“…This move simultaneously enabled the introduction of the new field of labour studies into the mainstream syllabus. discussed shortly, that they were operating on a blank slate with the workers, that no socialist history had preceded it (Nash 1999).…”

“…This article seeks to historicise the reasons for the eclipse of Turner and to contextualise the reasons for Turner"s renewed popularity. Andrew Nash (1999) compellingly argued that Turner and the New Left failed to engage with the salience of nationalism. This article aims to give historical texture to this account, to qualify this criticism by pointing to other factors that led to Turner"s eclipse, namely: government repression, a new generation"s need for surer intellectual answers, and disagreement within the New Left itself about tactics and organisational forms that weakened the movement, making it more susceptible to eclipse by a populism mobilised around "the people" (Chipkin 2007), what Nash refers to as nationalism.…”

Rick Turner and South Africa's “Sixties”

“…Turner's book sought to highlight what he called “the necessity of utopian thinking” (Turner [1972], 1). But, as Andrew Nash observes, “the main problem in understanding Turner's historical role is the apparent discrepancy between his philosophical utopianism and the strategic realism of the trade union movement in whose beginnings he played so active and widely‐acknowledged a role” (Nash , 69). The idea of “workers’ control” marks the juncture at which such utopianism and pragmatism converged.…”

'Out in the dark': knowledge, power and IPE in southern Africa

“…While critiquing liberal ideas, a number of Marxist scholars (most of them in exile, including Rob Davies, Dan O'Meara, Martin Legassick and Harold Wolpe), argued that racial domination in South Africa was intrinsic to the development of the capitalist economy (see Helliker and Vale 2013: 26). Their criticism was also partly directed at the Soviet-inspired communism of the South African Communist Party which, they held, emphasised race over class (Nash 1999).…”