Journal of Social Development in Africa (1991), 6,1,75-94 
Book Reviews 
Social Development in Africa 1950-1985, AregaYimam, AveburyGower, London, 1990 
(364pp,£35hbk). 
This book, a product of a PhD thesis, provides an historical perspective on the problems of 
underdevelopment in Africa, and shows how a developmental approach focusing on 
economic growth has resulted in the marginalisation of the majority of the African 
population. The author sees social development as an alternative development approach 
that views people as both the means and end of development. He, therefore, attempts to 
provide a conceptual framework for social development and discusses its constituent 
elements. 
For the reader who is not familiar with the political and sociocconomic circumstances 
of Africa, the Introductory Chapter provides very useful background information and a 
useful analytic framework. Chapter 2 discusses the historical development of social welfare 
in Africa, and observes that before Independence social welfare services were provided by 
three systems: theextendedfamily.thechurch and the colonial administration. Unfortunately 
this Chapter is not well organised and fails to provide a meaningful link between these three 
systems of welfare provision. 
la Chapter 3 the author draws attention to the lack of progress in the area of social 
development between 1954 and 1960, but fails to clearly articulate the reasons for this 
apparent lack of progress. The author does not discuss at length the impact of the 
development approaches adopted by colonial governments. He does, however, observe 
that the majority of African people live in poverty, without access to basic life sustaining 
goods and services. Despite this weakness, the author provides a satisfactory conceptual 
framework for social development He sees social development as "a crossbreed between 
social welfare and community development", and argues that social welfare can only 
promote social development if it adopts a developmental outlook. Social development is 
seen as encompassing social service programmes, social welfare programmes, social 
security, youth programmes, labour relations programmes, population planning, agrarian 
reform and food security. The distinction the author makes between social welfare and 
social services is somewhat confusing as it lacks concreteness. 
InChapter4the author examines possible alternative approaches to African development 
He points out that there are only two choices available to African governments, capitalism 
and socialism. He is quick to observe, however, that the "political and economic systems 
currently in operation in many African countries are the result of historical accident or 
internal pressures rather than properly chosen, properly adapted, and integrated policies". 
Aidhasinmany cases influenced the ideological orientation of some governments in Africa. 
What is important in this connection is adopting strategies that promote self reliance and self 
sufficiency.
76 Book Reviews 
In Part 2 of the book the author analyses selected areas of social development: social 
welfare, education, health,. housing, population planning, social security and social 
development training. However, the discussion on urbanisation is misplaced and would 
have been more useful if it had been part of the Introductory Chapter. The author's 
conclusion is that these areas of social development were moulded on the experiences and 
value premises of the former colonial powers, hence their inability to respond appropriately 
to the needs of Africa, The author sums up his discussion by pointing out that development 
in Africa is unbalanced as it favours the urban elite - whilst the rural people who constitutes 
70% of the population remain impoverished and marginalised. 
Social development is a topical subject, particularly in developing countries, and this 
book makes a meaningful contribution towards an understanding of social development 
Unfortunately the author spoiled the flow of discussion by dwelling on unnecessary and 
unfocused details and the issues raised in the discussion do not seem to link. However for 
the patient reader the book provides an interesting analytic framework for understanding the 
problem of underdevelopment in Africa. 
Reviewed by E Kaseke, Principal, School of Social Work, Harare. 
The Role of Community Participation In Development Planning and Project 
Management, Report of a Workshop in Washington DC Sept 22 - 25 1986, Michael 
Bamberger, Economic Development Institute/IBRD, Seminar ReportNo 13, World Bank, 
Washington DC, 1988 (361 + xpp, US$5,95). 
The concept of community participation has gained enormous popularity in social 
development circles. It pervades the literature and is a recurring topic for discussion it 
international gatherings. A large number of reports, studies and journal articles on the 
subject have been published, and it is an integral element of the philosophies of large 
development agencies such as UNICEF which has been an avid proponent in recent years. 
Non Government Organisations (NGOs) have also campaigned for enhanced community 
participation, particularly at the local level where many of their programmes and services 
are focused. Community participation has a strong appeal for social workers. 
Although community participation is frequently claimed as unique terrain for social 
development endeavour. It has attracted the attention of economists as well. As this report 
shows, hard headed economists at the World Bank's Economic Development Institute 
(EDI) have come to the conclusion mat social factors are important in development and that 
(pvii) "the involvement of intended beneficiaries in the planning and implementation of 
projects, applications of social analysis in development planning, and gender issues in 
developing planning and project management" are worthy of careful consideration. 
Founded by the World Bank in 1955, to train economists responsible for development 
planning, investment analysis and project implementation, the EDI has served as an 
important resource for World Bank personnel and senior civil servants concerned with 
economic development issues in member countries. Recognising that the social aspects of 
development have been neglected in its training programmes, EDI organised an international 
workshop on community participation in Washington in September 1986. Participants
Book Reviews Tl 
came from government and NGOs throughout the world, from staff at various international 
agencies, and from the World Bank's departments of urban development, population, 
health, nutrition and rural development. Twenty two papers were presented at the workshop. 
The Report of the workshop, which was published in 1988, contains a summary of the 
proceedings. 
Although it is commendable that the Institute involved itself in issues of social 
development and community participation, the report contains little that is new. Much of 
what was said at the workshop had been said previously in numerous United Nations reports 
and other documents. Indeed, given the anti-poverty emphasis of the MacNamara years, it 
is somewhat surprising that the Institute awoke (in 1986) to the realisation that it needed to 
be more sensitive to the social development perspective. It is almost as if the organisers of 
the workshop had never heard of the efforts of the United Nations to promote integrated 
socioeconomic developmentplanning in the late 1960s, or of the WorldBank's sponsorship 
of the redistribution with growth ideal in the mid-1970s. Similarly, discussions at the 
workshop on the definition of community participation, the need, benefits, and feasibility 
of community participation, etc, will be familiar to most social workers who have a 
knowledge of the issues. 
Nevertheless, the fact that economists are interested in social development issues such 
as community participation is very important The harsh austerity policies being implemented 
in many Third World countries today, by economists under International Monetary Fund 
conditionality policies, is having a devastating effect on the welfare of millions of ordinary 
people. Sensitising economists to these realities may mitigate the Darwinistic themes 
implicit in current economic development policies. More contact between economists and 
social development professionals is urgently needed. The Economic Development Institute 
istobecongratulatedforinitiatingadialogueofthiskind. Hopefully, it will undertake many 
more similar ventures in die future. 
Reviewed by James Midgley, School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton 
Rouge, USA. 
Successful Development in Africa. Case Studies of Projects, Programmes and 
Policies, Economic Development Institute of the Third World, World Bank, Washington 
DC, 1989 (222pp, US$11,95). 
This publication focuses on the countries of SubSaharan Africa. It is basically a collection 
of case studies of a variety of development projects, programmes and policies undertaken 
in selected countries. The common denominator, in the eyes of the authors, appears to be 
that all the case studies are based on activities that have been deemed successful. In Parti 
the case studies covered include an Agroforestry Project in Burkina Faso, an Ochorerciasis 
Control Programme in West Africa, a Gravity-Fed Piped Water System in Malawi, and the 
production and export of horticultural commodities in Kenya. In Part 2 the following 
activities are covered: a case study of the Export Processing Zone in Mauritius, the 
Economic Recovery Programme in Ghana, and the Macroeconomic Management of 
Commodity Booms, 1975-86, in Botswana.
78 Book Reviews 
The question that inevitably comes to the mind of the leader is: What is meant by the 
term 'successful' in this publication? The authors have, albeit with limited success, 
attempted to explain what is meant by this term. They concede that success has many 
dimensions, and also that there is always room for disagreement about how successful any 
particular policy or project has been. They then proceed to say that by successful is memi 
(pv) "that the policies achieved their intended objectives and that the economic benefits 
outweigh die costs". 
This definition can be criticised from the point of view that it seems to look at success 
from the perspective of the authorities and not from mat of the intended beneficiaries. What 
is also curious is the fact mat the authors state that they selected successful projects fcr 
inclusion, but they confess that no systematic measurement or analysis had been carried out 
in some of the projects. For example, with the Burkina Faso project, the authors clearly state 
that (pl4) "the clearest way to measure the economic success of the PAF would be a costbenefit 
analysis that compared the total cost of research and development, training methods 
and labour to the market value of any increases in yields" . Yet this was not done. The 
authors go on to say that, probably because the particular project is rather small, no one has 
yet done this, and so the dearth of accurate cost data makes the analysis a rather crude 
exercise. On the basis of this statement, it is unclear what criteria are used to decide 
particular projects successful. 
Another example of the lack of clarity over what constitutes success is to be found in die 
West African case study of Ochorerciasis. The authors of this study also concede that (p38) 
"no one has attempted a complete cost benefit of the OCP, although the issue of how to do 
it (ie how to evaluate it) has sparked considerable discussion". It is clear from this statement 
that the obvious method of evaluating the project was not employed. This adds credence 
to this reviewer's concern that what was really meant by success was not clear, at least K 
far as choice of case studies was concerned. 
Four of the case studies analysed development programmes, while the other three 
analysed micro-economic programmes or policies. The final chapter suggests some wider 
implications emerging from the case studies. The fact that micro studies have been included 
with macro studies is also cause for concern. The publication could have concentrated 
wholly on micro projects. The authors say that the case studies are intended for use in 
courses and seminars offered by the EDI, and that they should be of interest to officials and 
scholars concerned with effectively promoting economic programmes in other developing 
countries. However, the calibre of personnel identified as the target group would probably 
benefit more from lessons drawn from micro projects than macro projects. For example, it 
would be fairly easy for them to identify with a piped water project from Malawi, but not 
with Ghana's Economic Recovery Programme. The former is likely to be more in line wifli 
their day to day activities, and the latter would be viewed as being the responsibility of those 
in the top echelons of government, the policy makers. In this view, the macro studies should 
have been omitted from the publication in favour of further micro studies. 
The publication is, however, well laid out Each study starts by looking at a particular 
activity in the context of experiences in carrying out the activity, the degree of success, and 
implications for similar activities in other settings. An important thread running the gamut 
of thepublicationisthatof learning from experience and adapting inordertoachievedesired
BookRtvkws 79 
objectives. The inclusion, in the Introduction, of summaries of all seven case studies is most 
useful. This will make life easier for readers who are not really interested in the minute 
details of each project but do want a broad overview. 
To enhance clarity, annexes have been included. However, with some of these annexes 
only those readers who are literate in statistics will find them useful. Useful references are 
also included at the end of each case study. Notwithstanding the flaws mentioned, the 
publication is a useful practical contribution to the area of development studies. 
Reviewed by R Mupedziswa, School of Social Work, Harare. 
Agricultural Extension in Africa, Nigel Roberts (ed), World Bank, Washington DC, 1989 
(114 pp, US$11,95). 
This monograph has been compiled from papers presented at two workshops on agricultural 
extension in Africa. The first was held at Eldoret, Kenya, in June 1984. It is focused on 
Extension and Research. The second seminar, on Agricultural Extension and its link with 
Research in Rural Development, was held at Yamoussokro.Coted'lvoire, in February 1985. 
The articles in this volume deal with the practical applications of the different methods of 
agricultural extension in Africa. 
The book is another addition to the debate on the extension strategies that are most 
appropriate for the diverse conditions of African agriculture, and discusses the relative 
merits of the various extension methodologies of the developing world. The editor's 
defence of the training and visit system is very informative. Other issues discussed include 
the cost-effectiveness of extension; the weaknesses of African systems in generating 
technology; the tendeiK^ of governmentseivk;es to respowinrore to bim»ucratic imperatives 
than to farmers' needs; the difficulties in forging more productive partnerships between 
researchers, extenskmists, and farmers; flic limited participationof fanners in the management 
of extension; the ineffectiveness of public services; and the fragility of institutions and 
infrastructure in most of SubSaharan Africa. 
Teachers, lecturers and students of agriculture, extension practitioners, policy makers 
in rural development, and aid administrators who want to invest in rural development and 
extension, will find this book interesting and informative. It is a good guide to die more 
effective extension approaches in Africa, where one approach can not be taken as the 
answer. 
Chapter 1, an appraisal of the extension methodologies most commonly found in Africa, 
lays the foundation for the papers that follow. The strengths and weaknesses of the four 
major approaches to extension: the commodity-based approach, the training and visit 
system, and farmer participatory extension, are each illustrated with specific case studies. 
This makes the monograph down-to-earth and very different from other records of technical 
workshops. Instead of just describing die diversity of the approaches to extension in Africa, 
the papers in this book give the perspective or conditions in which these approaches operate. 
The examples enable people, who may be using different names for the same approach 
elsewhere in Africa, to understand and identify with the strategies being discussed.
80 Book Reviews 
Commodity-based extension is dealt with in Chapters 2 and 3, using the examples of the 
cash oops cotton and tobacco. In both cases the approach is top-down and the extensionists 
provide all the necessary resources. The next set of chapters are an exposition of the training 
and visit system. Li Chapter 4, the editor argues in support of this system, but both sides of 
the case are well-presented. In Chapter S, Gentil raises a number of questions on the T and 
V system, and a case study is provided. 
Chapters 7 and 8 discuss, elaborately, farmer participatory extension methodologies, and 
Belloncle proposes group instruction. Chapter 9 is a case study of a Village Producers 
Association in Mali. The theory behind farming system research and on farm research is 
given in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 is a case study of farming systems research in Senegal 
Morris discusses the merits and demerits of T and V and the farming system research 
methodologies under East African conditions in Chapter 12. He concludes that the two 
systems are complementary and are useful in the generation and dissemination of technology. 
In Chapter 13 the economic return on public investment in extension reforms is considered, 
and the management of field personnel is discussed. The final chapter, Chapter 14, is a 
review of issues in extension that require continuous attention. 
Although each chapter is clearly separated by section breaks and simple language is used, 
the presentation is marred by a lack of illustrations and other visual aids. Diagrams, pictures 
and other aids break the monotony of reading print continuously, help reduce the number 
of words used and enhance comprehension. However, overall, readers, especially academics, 
will find the book informative, educative and interesting. 
Reviewed by Livai Chenjerai Matarirano, Agritex, Harare. 
The End of the Third World: New Industrialising Countries and the Decline of an 
Ideology, Nigel Harris, Penguin, London, 1987 (pp231,£3,95). 
In recent months there has been much talk about Zimbabwe trying to join the ranks of the 
Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs). For those interested in pursuing such a course in 
this country, Nigel Harris' The End of the Third World should be required reading. 
The NICs are a group ofThird World countries which have transformed their economies 
over the last two decades. Starting out as mainly primary producers they have moved to the 
production and export of a wide range of goods. There is little argument amongst economists 
that such transformations have taken place in the six countries studied by Harris: South 
Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil and Mexico. Indeed the rate of increase in 
production in these nations has been prolific. South Korea, for instance, advanced from a 
minuscule builder of ships (20000 tons per year in the 1960's) to a 23% share of flic world 
market by 1983 (4 million tons). Taiwan, which like South Korea oriented its economy 
toward exports, organised a sophisticated electronics industry which by 1982 made Die 
Taiwanese the leading Third World electronics manufacturer. The city-states of Hong 
Kong and Singapore, as well as the two Latin American giants Brazil and Mexico, 
underwent similar changes to become large-scale exporters of goods ranging from textiles 
and office machinery to weapons" systems.
Book Reviews 81 
The conclusions which economists have drawn from the advances made by these NICs 
vary widely. Conservative 'liberalisers'have been qtiick to praise the new industriil might 
of these countries as a success for free market forces. They view countries like Taiwan and 
South Korea as the first wave of a successful capitalist future for the underdeveloped world. 
This is certainly the prevailing view amongst international financial institutions such as the 
IMF and World Bank. 
As aMarxist, Harris dissents from thisanalysis. He details how history and international 
economic conditions were on the side of these NICs. His first point is that none of the 
countries noted are realty 'new' industrialisers. By as early as 1950 all had success in some 
industrial fields. Theirexpertiseandtechnology wereatalevelfarabovemostunderdeveloped 
countries when they began rapid expansion. 
Even more importantly, the NICs growth took place at a time when the developed world 
was experiencing a boom. In the late 60's and early 70*s Western powers were receptive 
to the importation of goods produced in places like Taiwan and Singapore. In addition, 
multinational banks were eager to finance overseas ventures. But, in Harris's view, all this 
has changed. Since the mid-1970's global capitalism, except for Japan, has somewhat 
slumped. Western countries now feel the need to protect their own industries. In the wake 
of mounting world debt, banks and international financial institutions are less willing to 
gamble on Third World enterprises. Thus the possibility for other countries to follow the 
path of the NICs seems somewhat remote. 
Besides showing the limited chances for NIC style growth in the future, Harris details 
how the newly industrialising countries were not based on a free market system at all. 
According to traditional free market notions the state should play an absolutely minimal role 
in the economy. Yet during South Korea's expansion period Harris claims the (p42) "state 
dominated the entire process of growth". The government nationalised the nation's five 
largest banks and the state controlled two-thirds of investment Even the Chairperspn of 
Daewoo, one of South Korea's largest corporations, complained that (p42) "the government 
tells you its your duty and you have to do it, even if there is no profit. Maybe after the year 
2000 Korean businessmen will be able to put their company's interests ahead of those of 
society or government". With similar evidence, Harris concludes mat all of the six NICs, 
with the possible exception of Hong Kong, were "state capitalist" rather than free market 
economies. 
Harris's last and perhaps most relevant point is that NIC type growthmust be carried out 
at the expense of the majority. He alleges (pl96): "TheaimofthegovernmentsoftheNICs 
has been to do all in their power to frustrate the growth of the most modest forms of worker 
involvement embodied in independent organisation and bargaining." In other words, even 
if international conditions were favourable, an authoritarian state prepared to suppress 
moves to democratise the economic system is an integral part of NIC type growth. As Harris 
puts it (pl95): "A regime whose main instrument to enforce conformity is terror for the 
majority and bribes for the few can keep up an impressive rate of growth of crude output 
regardless of what the woikforcc thinks". Only in such a state can the type of low wages 
and industrial revolution style labour conditions, such as those found in South Korea or 
Mexico, be sustained.
82 Book Reviews 
As an advocate of democratic socialism Harris does not see the NIC model to be of 
benefit to the workers of underdeveloped countries. While he does argue that the NICs have 
changed the structure of their economies so that they can no longer be considered to be Third 
World', these changes have, in his view, merely brought new problems, not prosperity, to 
workers in the NICs. For Harris the only salvation for the majority of citizens in 
underdeveloped nations lies in the development of some type of international working class 
solidarity. The NICs blossomed in a period where technology, particularly in transport and 
telecommunications, gave multinational corporations the option of producing where labour 
costs were lowest Frequently mis meant relocation of factories from North America and 
Western Europe to cheap labour areas in underdeveloped nations. Foremost among these 
cheap labour areas were the NICs. It was this sort of foreign investment which was a 
precursor to the rise of locally owned multinationals. 
But Harris does not think the future economic expansion of undeveloped countries 
should rest merely on the super-exploitation of the workforce. He contends that the type of 
labour exploitation which occurred in these NICs can only be stopped when labour becomes 
as international in perspective as the multinational corporation employers. No form of local 
nationalism is enough to deter the rising force of international Capital. Without any 
powerful international labour organisations, Harris believes multinational corporations will 
continue to gravitate toward nations where labour is cheapest. The result will be superexploitation 
in these nations, and millions of unemployed in other countries whose chief 
hope for finding a job will rest in underbidding their fellow workers across the globe. 
Clearly Harris would be no advocate of trade liberalisation programmes such as 
Zimbabwe's new Investment Code. Those who are now championing the liberalisation 
cause locally would do well to consider Harris's points. The author clearly knows his 
economics. Furthermore, unlike economists in general, and Marxists in particular, he writes 
in an accessible style that is devoid of rhetoric. His biggest shortcoming is that in offering 
international labour solidarity as an alternative vision to rapid capital accumulation, his 
suggestions are not very concrete. Some hints about what type of international labour 
organisation could effectively serve workers' interests, and how they could develop into a 
global force, would go a long way towards making his arguments more worthy of serious 
contemplation as an alternative to the present world dominance of the free market idea. 
Reviewed by John Pape, Harare. 
Africa and Empire: W M MacMUIan, Historian and Social Critic, Hugh MacMillan and 
Shula Marks, Gower, Aldershot, 1989 (353pp, £29,50). 
This fine collection of stimulating essays on Southern African historiography is a trifle overgenerous 
towards its subject, W M MacMillan. His gentle Fabian approach to politics was 
wholly ineffective in the face of the rapaciousness of those who gave Southern Africa 
segregation and apartheid while removing the gold. His writings, in retrospect, have not the 
power of Eddie Roux's Time Longer Than Rope, nor the understanding later to be found 
in Simons's Class and Colour in South Africa. One who could write in 1930, when the
Book Reviews 83 
Communist Party already had a strong 'black' membership, that (p70) "the semi-barbaric 
masses are nowhere near ready to acquire a swamping vote" can hardly be called a liberal, 
let alone a liberator. The book bathes MacMillan in a warm, yet scholarly, light: "the warts 
are visible, but their size varies in the beholder's eye. Some chapter authors are kinder than 
others, and the work is characterised by healthy contradictions. 
Introducing the book, Hugh MacMillan writes "the greatest virtue of MacMillan's 
analysis was that 'black' and 'white' workers were the product of similar and related 
pressures of proletarianisation., .by 1930 he had an enlarged and clarified vision of South 
Africa as a single political economy". Jeremy Krikler's penetrating chapter on MacMillan 
and the working class claims the opposite, mat for MacMillan (p70) "economics and 
political struggle were radically divorced from one another". 
It must be remarkably difficult to assemble a fair academic analysis of one's own father. 
Hugh MacMillan has proved himself a highly competent historian in doing so, with Shula 
Marks' help. Chapter authors include scholars such as Christopher Saunders, William 
Beinart, Robert Ross and Jeffrey Butler, treating topics as widely varied as the Seretse 
Khama marriage and Dr John Philip's work towards Ordnance 50 of 1828. Yet the book is 
best summarised by examining Jeremy Krikler's excellent chapter. 
Krikler traces how MacMillan, son of a minister-school teacher from Scotland, defined 
himself against the growing Afrikaner nationalism of his childhood town, Stellenbosch, as 
being more in sympathy with the (p38) "coloured people" than with his "white compatriots". 
Yet sympathy is not the same as being able to achieve changes in the plight of the oppressed, 
and MacMillan's social achievements were small. 
A poor man on a Rhodes scholarship, MacMillan was driven by the activities of the 
aristocratic bloods of Merton College, Oxford, towards a worker Christianity, and towards 
reform not revolution (p40-l). In vacations he bicycled across England and Scotland, 
writing about the lives of the workers and peasants he saw. About the Scottish crofter he 
wrote (p45): 
"The evils of landlordism have put the people 'against the landlords' at any price and 
made the most truly conservativepeople imaginable into the most ardentradicals...so 
we may well say with the suffering Gael...- 'basgha nafeidh' - Death to the Deer". 
Back from Britain, as lecturer in charge of Economics and History in Grahamstown, 
MacMillan at once attempted Fabian social reform, publishing on sanitary conditions and 
on economic conditions generally in the town, setting out how poverty was to be alleviated, 
or, rather, prevented, because charity would be inadequate. 
No less a Fabian than Sidney Webb reviewed MacMillan's work in the New Statesman, 
referring to it as being (p49) "on Booth, Rowntree, Bowley lines". But Krikler notes the 
boundaries of Fabianism, which meant MacMillan did not challenge the racism around him 
(p49):
"The cheap unskilled black workers, argued MacmiHan, through their competition in 
the labour market, tended 'to degrade whites down to and below their level'; this, 
he suggested, was 'the solid basis of the native menace'". 
Li mis period of his life, MacMillan effectively proposed an alliance of 'white' workers 
with the 'white' middle class, against the 'black' working class. Krikler observes that, 
logically, to end white poverty, the undercutting effect which MacMillan observed could
84 Bex* Reviews 
only be destroyed by raising the condition of the black workers, rather than by combining 
Against them. 
The travels in writing the Agrarian Problem exposed MacMfflan to what he called the 
'poor-black' question, and led to his major work. Complex South Africa (1930) (p60X «t 
scholarly andpasskmate intervention against the segregationists". By now MacMillanlad 
cometo see that the solutkmto South Africa's problems lay inraising the condition ofblack 
workers. In Complex South Africa MacMfflan wrote (p60): 
"Colour may be a peculiar social complication, but is is still only «n accident, and in 
economics the blackness of the native makes no difference. The problem he 
represents is in essentials that of 'dilution', familiar enough to workers in Eorope 
when the war brought about an invasion of the skilled engineering trades ly 
women . 
Krikler concludes this picture of MacMillan by analysing his writings about the 1919 
and 1922 strikes on the Rand. MacMillan was strongly opposed to the 'Soviet' direction of 
the 1919 incidents, notwithstanding the follies of the City Council, which precipitated the 
strike. He consistently advocated moderation on both sides of the 1922 strike, and, unlike 
his friends, became neither a scab nor a special constable. "I knew that the best of the men 
had a case" (p63). Yet Krikler criticises MacMillan's writings on 1922 (p65): 
"A gifted historian such as he should surely have perceived that an insurrectiomry 
struggle cannotbe explained by complaining of the implacability of the contending 
social forces thatcomposeit....Whatmademeirclashso unremitting? An analysis 
of such questions was more likely to create the sympathy for the strikers which 
MacMillan, in his decency, sought to create. Such analysis, however, would h»ve 
required an emphasis upon the essential class nature of the fateful combat of 1922. 
And it was precisely 'class struggle' from which MacMillan was taking flight". 
In short, MacMillan's moderation prevented him from understanding the great sod«l 
issues of his day. Just as one cannot be moderate about whether the earth is round or ftot, 
amoderate, or classless, anarysisof the 1922revoltprevents historical understanding of thtf 
revolt Similarly, no matter the degree of sympathy which MacMillan had for 'black' 
people, his racism in denying the (p70) "semi-barbaric masses a swamping vote" meant that 
he was politically the enemy of democracy. 
Reviewed by Renfrew Christie, University of the Western Cape, South Africa, 
(no references supplied. Ed) 
Maids andMadams. Domestic WorkersUnder Apartheid, Jackryn Cock, The Womoi's 
Press, London, 1989 (rev) (206pp, £6,95 pbk). 
In the wake of increased international interest in South Africa, the Women's Press of London 
has issued an updated and revised version of Jacklyn Cock's Maids and Madams. This 
volume has virtually become a classic of South African social science. Based on Cock's 
PhD research in the Eastern Cape in 1978-9, Maids and Madams forcefully depicts the 
lives of black women domestic workers under apartheid.
BookRtvitws 85 
This work is representative of a range of writing by South African academics who are 
committed to the overthrow of the apartheid system. Cockmakesnoattempttohideherbias 
in collating data from interviews with 175 domestic workers and 50 employers. Her research 
was "undertaken in the belief that sociologists in South Africa have a particular obligation 
to record the injustice and exploitation that surround us and of which we are all too often a 
contributing part". The main thrust of this work was not lost on at least some ultra rightwing 
white South Africans. Maids and Madams elicited a steady campaign of harassment of 
Cock. Attacks against the Witwaterstrand University lecturer culminated in late 1980 with 
a bundle of dynamite being thrown through her front window as she ate a late night dinner. 
Only a faulty fuse saved Ms Cock from the lot of other assassinated white South African 
intellectuals such as David Webster, Ruth First and Richard Turner. 
Even ten years later there is much in this book that would anger a significant portion of 
the white population of South Africa. The power of this study lies in the repeated use of the 
voices of the domestic workers themselves. The sensitive rendering of the interview 
material was a product of Cock's diligence and the efforts of 'field worker' (co-author might 
be a better title) Nobengazi Mary Kota. Kota, herself a former domestic worker, did all the 
in depth interviews with the women. By dwelling on essential aspects of the domestic 
workers' existence, Cock and Kota have presented a grim portrait of the lives of these 
'trapped' women labourers. 
Perhaps the most compelling chapter is entitled "Deprivations". Here many workers 
reveal the intimate details of the oppressive routine apartheid has carved out for then them: 
"We leave our children early in the morning to look after other women's families and 
still they don't appreciate us" (p44). 
"I never sleep at home with my husband and children. Even if I have a half day offJ 
I have to come back and sleep at night" (p54). 
"I don't have time for friends visiting" (p46). 
Similarly telling were the responses the workers gave when asked to name the best thing 
about their job or employer (p55): 
"There is nothing good to say. My job is hell". 
"Perhaps that sometimes her daughter gives me a tip or a jersey but then my employer 
moans and says she is spoiling me". 
"She swears at me in a polite kind of way". 
"She does greet me in the mornings". 
If the comments of workers seem to reveal an excessively negative picture of their 
employers, Cock's chronicling of employerresponses hardly vindicates white 'bosses' and 
'madams'. When asked to describe their workers, typical depictions were: 
"An impossible thing, very self-willed, she is the first girl I've had that's gone to 
school...The completely raw ones are better (pi 13). 
"She is all right as long as she doesn't drink out of my cups" (114). 
"In Rhodesia (sic) a boy does three times the work these do" (119). 
In addition, employers' general comments about black people often showed the most 
undiluted racist views (pl40): 
"They have got a long way to go in evolutionary terms. Putting them in European 
clothes doesn't make them civilised".
86 Book Reviews 
Through the extensive use of such excerpts from the interviews. Cock has produced ahanh 
yet readable indictment of the effects of apartheid on a major sector of the black workforce. 
This trimmed down version of the original has lost none of its strength. In fact fte 
elimination of certain sections which focused on somewhat esoteric academic debates 
enhances the essential message of the author. 
Yet for all its power, Maids and Madams has not completely stood the test of time, h 
the 1970t most writers on the South African experience were primarily concerned with 
showing the oppressive nature of the apartheid system. However, more recent scholarship 
has also embraced the various ways in which black people in general and workers in 
particular have resisted apartheid. Writers such as Van Onsekn and Bozzoli of the 
Witwatersrand History Workshop, among others, have examined both trade union 
organisation and nonformal methods of worker resistance (such as theft, desertion, goslows, 
and sabotage). By drawing attention to resistance, these authors have emphasised 
that black workers are far more than passive victims of an apartheid system. 
Cock's work does not give us this fighting side of the domestic worker. She has tried 
to address this problem by adding a short chapter entitled "Struggles". This briefly 
describes the role of the domestic workers union during the 1980s. But "Struggles" seems 
cursory. While domestic workers have become somewhat unionised, their organisation has 
hardly approached that of the metalworkers or mineworkers. Much more important than 
formal union resistance are the informal ways in which domestic workers resist their 
oppression. In fact, the domestic workers' environment presents a wide variety of 
opportunities for such informal resistance - from the classic 'borrowing' of large quantities 
of sugar to wearing the madam's best dress to a wedding and sneaking it back into die 
wardrobe on Monday morning. In her excessive focus on the oppressive nature of labour 
under apartheid, Cock has omitted another important side of the work experience of the 
women she and Kota interviewed. 
In addition, Cock's main concern here is with race and gender. While the position of 
the South African domestic work force is largely conditioned by these two factors, the writer 
has avoided giving much weight to class. As we are hopefully near the downfall of the 
apartheid regime, one wonders if black women domestic workers will fare much better 
under a majority rule government If Zimbabwe is anything to go by, there is little reason 
to think that rule by the ANC or some coalition of forces will spell total liberation for 
domestic workers. Cock could have given us a hint of things to come by including in her 
sample some black households which employed domestic workers. 
In spite of these shortcomings, Jacklyn Cock's Maids and Madams remains i 
masterpiece of both research rigour and political commitment. She and Kota deserve to be 
commended and creatively emulated by other social scientists who share their concern to 
eliminate race, gender and class inequalities. 
Reviewed by John Pape, Harare. 
References 
Bozzoli Belinda (ed) (1983) Town and Countryside in the Transvaal, Ravan Press, 
Johannesburg. 
Van Onsekn Charles (1982) Essays on the Social and Economic History of the 
Witswatersrand, Vote I and II, Ravan Press, Johannesburg.
BookRtvkwt 87 
No Child's Play: In Prison Under Apartheid, Caesarina Kona Makhoere, The Women's 
Press, London (121pp, price not known). 
This slim, accessible volume describes the author's experience during six yean in detention 
in South Africa, on charges under the Terrorism Act She was arrested and detained in 
October 1976 for involvement in the B antu education riots (that were met with the Sharpville 
Massacre), her whereabouts having been disclosed by her policeman father. She was only 
convictedayearlater.and then givenafiveyear sentence. She was released inOctober 1982, 
aged 27, having been in solitary confinement in various jails for almost her entire sentence. 
The book is written in a very immediate, informal style, expressing from the heart, the 
anger, frustration, commitment and courage of this powerful woman. She describes day to 
day life in various jails, and the continuing battle to improve conditions - with many 
successes over the years, because of her relentless determination. Despite the harshness of 
the conditions she maintains her objectivity and even a sense of humour, allied to a sharp 
sense of irony and justice. 
It is the descriptive detail that brings her experiences alive - such as the time a letter to 
a cousin was rejected on the grounds she had quoted the Bible, the only book to which she 
had been allowed access for two years. The sheer pettiness of the prison system is amply 
illustrated, quite apart from the generally inhuman conditions, and, of course, the underlying 
injustice of an elaborate apartheid system even within prison walls. 
For anyone concerned to learn more of the daily reality of political imprisonment in 
South Africa, Cde Makhoere's book provides a graphic, disturbing and inspiring personal 
account. 
Reviewed by Helen Jackson, School of Social Work, Harare. 
Women Race and Class, Angela Davis, The Women's Press, London, 1981 (271pp, price 
not stated). 
One of the frequently heard statements in our lives today is 'this is the status of women in 
such and such a country', as if women in that country live a uniform life and they have the 
same concerns. For those with this false notion that one can talk about women as one group 
Angela Davis* book is the book to read. Women Race and Class is a journey through the 
history of American women: Mack, white, poor, rich, and other groups. Davis shows that 
even in their struggles for equality women in America were not united. Middle class white 
women had their own concerns which were different from those of working class whites 
and from black women. 
Says Davis, white middle class women "viewed male supremacy as an immoral flaw in 
their otherwise acceptable society". For them, being franchised was the only issue. Thus, 
in the very beginning of the franchisemovement both black women and working class white 
women were not involved. Davis shows that it was only after working class women realised 
that getting the vote would also enable them to fight for better working conditions that they 
took up the franchise issue.
88 Book Reviews 
Although Davis does not push Marxist rhetoric she analyses die women's struggle in 
Marxian terms. The alliance between race and class and its relationship to the capitalist 
systemiscleariy explained. Early feminists, whowerenotreallyeconomicallydisadvantaged, 
only analysed issues in the narrow perspective of men versus women. For working class 
women, economic conditions were the issues that they were fighting on. Women in the 
Socialist movement also saw beyond the race and sex issue, and took up the working 
women's cause, ie both black and white working women. 
Davis also analyses the issue of rape in a new way, to show how the capitalist system 
has made the problem of rape worse, and how sometimes it may lead to it. During the slavery 
era white men raped their black slaves, not because of lust but "as a weapon of domination, 
a weapon of repression". Again Davis refutes one of the myths about rape, that it is 
committed by lascivious men. She shows that rape is used as a way of dominating by those 
who feel they have the power to dominate. Davis shows that black men, and other working 
class men in America, can rape women just as privileged men can, but (p200): 
"since they (the disadvantaged classes) do not possess the social or economic 
authority... guaranteeing them immunity from prosecution, the incentive (to rape) 
is not nearly as powerful as it is for the men of the capitalist class". 
Davis goes on to say 
"The class structure of capitalism encourages men who wield power in the economic 
and political realm to become agents of sexual exploitation". 
The full import of what Davis says is not difficult for people in the Third World to grasp. 
Women are at the bottom of the pile in economic and social terms, and rape and the sexual 
harassment of women are daily occurrences. 
The most vivid parts of Women Race and Class are those dealing with the struggles 
of black women. Unlike other books that have been written about women under slavery, 
Davis' book does not dwell on the 'sexual role' of these women. In fact Davis shows that, 
unlike their white counterparts, black women have been taking part in the making of 
American history in their own name. Black women have always had to work outside the 
home and this gave them a measure of equality with their men. They fought side by side 
with their men against slavery: 
"If black women bore the terrible burden of equality in oppression, ... they also 
asserted their equality aggressively in challenging the inhuman institution of 
slavery". 
The Harriet Tubmans of American history made their mark in their own names, not just as 
wives of great men. 
Davis goes on to show, however, that even though black women had a measure of 
equality with their men, they still suffered sex discrimination. Black women suffer the 
double burden of working outside the home and having to come home and do all the work. 
The important theme of this book is that while women's struggles are the same to a certain 
extent, the issues they grapple within their day to day lives are quite different Thus thenresponses 
are different In this respect race and class play an important role. The temptation 
of talking about 'women' as some kind of homogeneous unit must be resisted. 
This is a very vivid and powerful analysis of women's struggles in a so called 'First 
World' country, and is a must for all feminists and women-in-development analysts. 
Reviewed by Everjoice J Win, Women's Action Group, Harare.
Book Reviews 89 
Intensify the Struggle to Abolish Apartheid. Nelson Mandela's Speeches 1990, Greg 
McCartan (ed). Pathfinder Press, London, 1990 (74pp, £2,95 pbk). 
This short publication includes a letter written from prison by Nelson Mandela to President 
P W Botha in July 1989, five speeches made at rallies in South Africa after his release from 
prison in February 1990, one speech at a rally in Luanda, Angola, and another speech to 
South African Business Executives. The book also includes the Freedom Charter of die 
African National Congress (ANC). 
In all the speeches, Mandela stresses the central issue of the need to abolish racism and 
apartheid, and all that it stands for. Even in his address to the business executives he stresses 
the need to support the struggle, to ensure that all the people ultimately enjoy a decent 
standard of living in conditions of freedom. The speeches aim to mobilise, educate and help 
the masses to understand the need to "intensify the struggle to abolish apartheid". 
The book marks a new stage in the struggle for a non racial democratic South Africa, 
Mandela urges the people to strive for peace, democracy and freedom for all South Africans, 
intensifying the struggle, even if it means promoting sanctions against South Africa. He also 
stresses the need for committed mass action to bring peace and security. He defends the 
armed struggle as a "defensive action against the violence of apartheid" and stress the need 
for the struggle to continue while the factors leading to its beginnings still exist. 
Mandela calls for mass action which is disciplined, with no violence, but intensified on 
all fronts, including schools, factories, mines and communities everywhere. The unbanning 
of the ANC is a vital step in the intensification of the struggle since it serves as a vital mouth 
piece for the people. Mandela's speeches too provide this mouth piece. Mandela attacks 
the apartheid education system as interior and labels it "a crime against humanity" which 
needs to be attended to by all concerned with it, ie students, parents, teachers, workers, and 
all organised sectors of the community. He appeals to the youth to struggle for a just 
education, and commends them for their leading role in the army Umkhonto we Sizwe, but 
he also calls on them to demonstrate a high degree of political maturity. 
While encouraging the activities of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Mandela stresses the sanctity 
of life and abhors violence for the sake of violence. He says people, especially youth, need 
to respect each other's point of view and should not resort to violence as a way of settling 
differences amongst them. There is need to unite as brothers in the fight against apartheid, 
noteach other. He urges women to join hands in supporting each other and, especially, their 
menfolk to take action against deprivation. 
For justice and equality, Mandela stresses the need for the redistribution (sharing) of the 
wealth of South Africa, to replace the situation in which a racist minority monopolises 
economic wealth at the expense of the majority of the oppressed and poverty stricken black 
people. All talks, therefore, between the government and the ANC have to be genuine 
negotiations seeking strategies to resolve conflict, based on the acceptanceof the basic rights 
of every human being. While the Pretoria regime should be commended for taking steps to 
negotiate with the ANC and unban it, this is not enough without the end of apartheid. 
Mandela makes a pointed attack on some of the homeland leaders for siding with and 
supporting an oppressive South African government rather than siding with the majority and 
promoting equality and justice.
90 Book Reviews 
In all his speeches, Mandela commends and thanks groups of individuals throughout the 
world whose support led to the unbanning of the ANC and his release from goal. 
Romanticism and emotiveness is apparent in Mandela's speeches and makes his references 
to past history and personalities, and his use of comparisons, emotionally striking. These 
are the speeches of a politician seeking to sway people to his cause. For those interested in 
the politics of the South African situation, and the story of the ANC, this book will be useful. 
Reviewed by Eulita Nyatito, Social Work Diploma student, Harare. 
Agroforestry in SubSaharan Africa. A Farmer's Perspective, Cynthia Cook and Mik»el 
Grut, World Bank Technical Paper No 112, IBRD/World Bank, Washington DC, 1989 
(94pp. US$7,95). 
"The ecological problem of our time lies in modern science's uncontrollable desire to break 
everything down into parts which can be neatly analysed." I cannot remember whose 
quotation this was, probably an obscure fanner or gardener. But it is one that I am forced 
to recall almost daily. This was especially so reading this World Bank Technical Paper. 
There is no doubt it is a goodpaper, well researched, well planned and carefully put together. 
And it will be useful to students of agroforestty, providing an overview of pertinent points 
in the dynamic development of agroforestry as a discipline. But, like the discipline of 
agroforestry itself, the paper insists on separating out an aspect on the land (ie the use of 
woody perennials in agriculture) which perhaps should not be seen as a separate entity. 
Reading numerous agroforestry papers one senses this struggle going on: the struggle 
between the rational scientist of the twentieth century, trained to specialise and present 
specific data, and the very nature of agroforestry which is a first step in seeing the landscape 
as an interconnected web. Perhaps, however, because of its integrating characteristic, 
agroforestry can lead the way to seeing the land and the people on the land as a whole. But 
the worrying question is: will the scientists drink when still tethered to a methodology of 
division into parts? 
Agroforestry In SubSaharan Africa is divided into five chapters: 
I. Introduction: which explains how the study was carried out. 
II. Agroforestry in Africa: which divides existing agroforestry practices into 10 
different categories ranging them in an order which starts with the more passive and 
ends with those which involve much more active planting and management of trees. 
Their categories are as follows: savanna, grazing, farmer parklands, tree crops and 
shade trees, forested fallow, planted farm trees, homegardens, farm woodlots, forest 
plantation farming (taungya), fodder trees, alley cropping. 
HI. Seven case studies: which is the main part of the paper and looks at seven situations 
in which agroforestry is being practised. The case studies are from East and West 
Africa, cover new and indigenous practices, and are drawn from three different 
environments: humid lowlands, semi arid lowlands and cool highlands. Research 
for the case studies included spending a week at each place conducting interviews 
with across section of the communities concerned, the point being made that "most 
of the time was spent in the field with villagers", presumably justifying the subtitle 
of the paper: "A Farmer's Perspective"! The seven case studies are:
Book Reviews 91 
1. CARE, Kenya Agtoforestry Extension 
2. Chagga Homegardens, Tanzania 
3. Agro-Pastoral Project, Rwanda 
4. Alley Farming in Western Nigeria 
5. Agroforestry in Northern Nigeria 
6. Acacia albida in Southeast Niger 
7. Majjia Valley Windbreaks 
IV. Identified Issues: which cover lessons learned both from reviewed literature on 
agroforestry and from the case studies. 
V. General conclusions and recommendations for future project design and 
implementation. 
I enjoyed Chapter III the most but then I'm a fanner at heart and not an academic! 
Chapter m is interesting and alive. Chapter II is useful for someone wanting to pass an 
examination in agroforestry while Chapters I, IV and V are very dry, but if you are a patient 
reader and a policy maker they are useful. Itisapity that Chapter III was not developed more 
fully (including diagrams/drawings) and that Chapters I, IV and V were not put in as 
appendices, leaving readers the chance to develop their own conclusions from the case 
studies. Unfortunately,asareviewer.IhadnooptionbuttoploughthToughtheveryprecise, 
carefully presented and sub headinged list of identified issues, conclusions and 
recommendations. I actually absorbed far more of these from my own deductions while 
reading the case studies. 
The points that come through most strongly in the paper are: 
* agroforestry already exists all over Africa and has its roots in traditional practices. 
* agroforestry must be integrated into the whole farm, the technical aspects must not 
ignore the social 
* farmers arelookiiigmorefoTshorttermfmaiKialretumsthanlongtenTienvirorimental 
benefits 
* success of agroforestry is not more closely linked to private ownership compared 
to situations of communal land tenure. Success is far more complicated than such 
a simplification 
* the only experts on the land are the fanners themselves. 
The first four come into the author's conclusions in some form or another. The fifth is 
mine. The trend in agriculture is to start to recognise this latter point and this paper reflects 
this trend: the importance of the farmers is emphasised again and again but the fact that they 
are the only real experts is not spelt out. I cannot help feeling that when it is discovered that 
every situation on the land is so unique that the only experts can be the users themselves, 
research will starttomoveinauseful direction This paper, however, is a step in that direction 
as reflected by the statement in the Preface: "The challenge now is to find ways to integrate 
the new knowledge with the knowledge that farmers already have, so that widespread 
adoption of agroforestry systems will improve the welfare of farmers today, as well as the 
prospects for sustainable economic growth in the future." 
The final 30pages(of 94) is a comprehensive bibliography of agroforestry publications. 
Reviewed by John Wilson, Fambidzanai Training Centre, Harare.
92 Book Reviews 
Zimbabwe: A Revolution that Lost its Way?, Andre Astrow, Zed Press, London, 1983 
(no price stated). 
Zimbabwe: Politics, Economics and Society, Colin Stoneman and Lionel Cliffe, Pinter, 
London, 1989 (no price stated). 
Along with Mandaza's The Political Economy of Transition, these two volumes represent 
the most serious attempts to analyse Zimbabwe's version of socialism. Writing nearly a 
decade ago, Astrow was probably the first author to predict that newly independent 
Zimbabwe would never become anything approaching a socialist state. For Astro w this was 
a foregone conclusion, a "predictable result of the nationalistleadership's class interests and 
the nationalist movement's entire strategy" (p2). 
A Marxist of the orthodox Trotskyist variety, Astrow repeatedly stresses that the 
working class was neverrealry asignificantcomponentof the struggle to liberate Zimbabwe. 
Without working class involvement, Astrow argues, any transition to socialism after 1980 
was impossible. This situation Astrow blames on two factors. First, he targets the trade 
unions. Before 1980 he contends that the role of trade union leaders was "policing the 
African working class" (p25) rather than mobilising the workers for action. The author 
documents how the pre-independence federations such as the Southern Rhodesia Trade 
Union Congress actively tried to keep unions out of nationalist politics and steer them in a 
capitalist direction. 
Aside from the historic weakness of the workers' movement in Zimbabwe, Astrow also 
criticises what he calls the "Political Programme of the Petit Bourgeoisie" (pi 35). The 
writer argues that the leadership of both ZANU and ZAPU, despite rhetorical remarks to the 
contrary, never were genuinely socialist The goals of the liberation movements, in 
Astrow's view, was "to democratise the existing political structure, in order to eliminate 
racial discrimination'* (pl36). However, due to the intransigence of the settler regime, a 
moderate political leadership was forced to take up arms and make radical promises to the 
masses in order to enlist their support. 
Astrow demonstrates this dynamic between the leadership and the masses by concretely 
examining ZANU andZAPU's positions on the land question. While the military wings of 
both groups mobilised peasants with promises of land, according to Astrow at no point did 
either movement promise unequivocally that they would expropriate a large proportion of 
settler farms. While ZANU often suggested that all land would be nationalised, Mugabe's 
quote of 1978 puts these suggestions in context (pl39): 
"You cannot start off by nationalising everything. You have to take into account the 
realities of the situation". 
Reading Astrow's work nearly ten years after it was written is an interesting exercise. 
The hindsight of ten years of independence can surely verify some of his points, many of 
which seemed outlandish in the early 1980's. Yet for all Astrow's documentation of what 
he calls the "petit bourgeois interests" of the liberation movements, his analysis is too facile 
and formulistic. One reason for this is that the book was based on a PhD thesis Astrow wrote 
without ever visiting Zimbabwe. While he displays a comprehensive knowledge of 
historical and political documents available to overseas researchers, his work lacks the 
critical insights that can only be gained by actually talking to participants in a struggle.
Book Reviews 93 
Although even the best researcher cannot gain a full understanding of political and historical 
dynamics in just a short visit to a country, to so comprehensively condemn the outcome of 
a liberation struggle without any direct contact with those involved smack* of the worst type 
of First World academic arrogance. Astrow's words would ring much truer to residents of 
Zimbabwe if they were supported by primary sources which were readily available to him 
had he managed to visit Zimbabwe or neighbouring countries before 1980. 
Aside from this major shortcoming Astrow's work suffers from the rigidity of his 
ideological outlook. like many dogmatic Marxists, Astrow simply reduces things to the 
lowest common denominator. According to Astrow's party line, there is no progress 
without the total overthrow of the capitalist system. Though independent Zimbabwe may 
be a disappointment to many, the situation is more than Astrow paints it a simple change 
from white leadership to black leadership. The whole intertwining of change and continuity 
in post-1980 Zimbabwe is much more complex thanblackleadershipreplacing white. Many 
of Astrow's conclusions may be valid but he doesn't quite grasp the subtlety of the social 
forces which are involved in the class struggle in Zimbabwe. 
Certainly a richer work than Astrow's is Zimbabwe: Politics, Economics and Society 
by Colin Stoneman and Lionel Cliffe. Like Astrow, the two authors are leftwing critics of 
Zimbabwe's brand of socialism. However, unlike Astrow they have been frequent visitors 
to Zimbabwe and display a much deeper understanding of the country. In this relatively 
short work (slightly more than 200 pages) Stoneman and Cliffe review various aspects of 
Zimbabwe's political and economic landscape, from party structures to the agricultural 
sector to the development of the working class. Their approach is far more systematic than 
Astrow's and the work is further enhanced by the availability of a wide range of data on 
Zimbabwe's first years of independence. 
Of particularrelevance is Chapter Five, "Class and Race". Here the writers try to analyse 
the position and power of various class groupings which they label the bourgeoisie, the black 
petty bourgeoisie, the working class and the peasantry. They also include a very superficial 
section on "the special position of women". Unlike Astrow, they do not present a rigidified 
class structure, but one in flux. With respect to the bourgeoisie, the authors try to explore 
to what extent Zimbabwean capitalists represent a "national bourgeoisie" (ie one devoted 
to local economic development) as opposed to a "comprador bourgeoisie" (one which is 
totally the servant of transnational corporations). While they do not reach definite 
conclusions on the question, they do neatly detail the battleground where a large degree of 
Zimbabwe's fate has been and will continue to be decided. In light of the present moves 
toward trade liberalisation, the authors' depiction of this power struggle is useful for 
assessing the contradictions of the future. 
In examining the working class, Stoneman and Cliffe also display an emphasis different 
from Astrow's. In fact they label Astrow a "Marxist purist" for making the blanket 
conclusion that workers had nothing whatsoever to do with the liberation struggle. Though 
the organised trade unions gave little assistance to the liberation movements, many 
individuals "did participate orgivesupport to the nationalist struggle, but often clandestinely" 
(p65). Astrow'sclassicalMarxistvision of theZimbabwean working class sees them either 
as the inevitable emissaries of a socialist order or nothing at all. His portrayal of 
Zimbabwean workers neglects the links that many workers still have to the rural areas.
94 Book Reviews 
Cliffe and Stoneman are aware of this nuance of the Zimbabwean working class when they 
observe that "workers and peasants cannotyet be regarded as distinct classes" (194). In this 
context there is little wonder that Zimbabwean working class history has been something 
different than Marx's traditional characterisation. 
In concluding, Stoneman and Cliffe do not self assuredly give a prescription for the 
revolutionary path as Astrow has done. Nonetheless, they do project a negative view of the 
country's attempts at socialism (pl92): 
"Certainly there has been precious little attempt so far to transform the socioeconomk 
structure or to change the terms of the country's involvement with the world 
economy in directions that would suggest a transition to socialism and that are 
differentiated from a more Africanist-oriented path of capitalist development after 
the decades of racial capitalism". 
In the end, for Stoneman and Cliffe, Zimbabwe"s "Marxist ambitions" may be merely 
a "camouflage for an ambiguously neo-colonial and capitalist project" (pl95), nonetheless 
they back off from a view of total predetermination (pl94): 
"In these circumstances Zimbabwe's prospects are still not completely determined. 
They are, however, limited..." 
Both of the volumes reviewed here are important contributions to an indepth analysis 
of post-independence Zimbabwe. The views of all authors represent a leftwing critique of 
Zimbabwean political parties which rarely sees the light of day within the country outside 
thepagesof SAPEMor Social Change and Development. Despite both volumes almost 
total neglect of women they do ask many of the right questions. Astrow's key concern is 
whether the liberation movements ever were socialist in character. His answer is an 
unwavering no. Stoneman and Cliffe focus on to what degree the present problems in the 
country are a product of the failures of government policy and political orientation. They 
present this as a dynamic situation rather than succumbing to Astrow's more static view. Of 
the two, Stoneman and Cliffe's work is more valuable and comprehensive, but both should 
be carefully read by those at all concerned with the path this country has followed and where 
it will go from here. 
Reviewed by John Pape, Harare. 
References 
Mandaza Ibbo (ed) (1986) The Political Economy of Transition, CODESRIA, Dakar.