Last week, we learned of the passing of Nelson Mandela, who may rank closest to a true hero that the human race has had in living memory. Alas, we also endured a litany of complaints from those for whom any association with the communism of the 1950 and 60’s is enough to taint a person forever.

This post at Booman Tribune captures the problem of applying our Western, especially our American, perspective to Mandela’s struggle. BooMan first offers Mandela’s own words, from his famous “I am prepared to die” speech delivered from the dock on April 20, 1964:

It is perhaps difficult for white South Africans, with an ingrained prejudice against communism, to understand why experienced African politicians so readily accept communists as their friends. But to us the reason is obvious. Theoretical differences, amongst those fighting against oppression, is a luxury which cannot be afforded. What is more, for many decades communists were the only political group in South Africa who were prepared to treat Africans as human beings and as their equals; who were prepared to eat with us; talk with us, live with us, and work with us. They were the only political group which was prepared to work with the Africans for the attainment of political rights and a stake in society. Because of this, there are many Africans who today tend to equate freedom with communism. They are supported in this belief by a legislature which brands all exponents of democratic government and African freedom as communists and bannned many of them, who are not communists, under the Suppression of Communism Act. Although My Lord I am not a communist and I have never been a member of the Communist Party, I myself have been banned, have been named under that pernicious Act because of the role I played in the Defiance Campaign. I have also been banned and convicted under that Act.

It is not only in internal politics that we count communists as amongst those who support our cause. In the international field, communist countries have always come to our aid. In the United Nations and other Councils of the world the communist bloc has supported the Afro-Asian struggle against colonialism and often seems to be more sympathetic to our plight than some of the Western powers. Although there is a universal condemnation of apartheid, the communist bloc speaks out against it with a louder voice than most of the western world. In these circumstances, it would take a brash young politician, such as I was in 1949, to proclaim that the Communists are our enemies.

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It is true, as I have already stated that I have been influenced by Marxist thought. But this is also true of many of the leaders of the new independent states. Such widely different persons as Gandhi, Nehru, Nkrumah, and Nasser all acknowledge this fact. We all accept the need for some form of socialism to enable our people to catch up with the advanced countries of the world and to overcome their legacy of extreme poverty. But this does not mean we are Marxists. Indeed, My Lord, for my own part, I believe it is open to debate whether the Communist Party has any specific role to play at this particular stage of our political struggle. The basic task at the present moment is the removal of race discrimination and the attainment of democratic rights on the basis of the Freedom Charter, and a struggle which can best be led by a strong ANC. In so far, My Lord, as that Party furthers this task, I welcome its assistance. I realise that it is one of the main means by which people of all races can be drawn into our struggle.

But from my reading of Marxist literature and from conversations with Marxists, I have gained the impression that communists regard the parliamentary system of the work – of the West as undemocratic and reactionary. But, on the contrary, I am an admirer of such a system.

BooMan then offers a modern perspective, addressed to those of us trying to pass judgment from 2013:

[W]hite South Africans, as well as many white Brits and white Americans, did not fully appreciate how much the Soviets gained from the West’s institutional racism.

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The oppression blacks experienced under Apartheid was different in kind from the oppression blacks experienced in America, but one obvious similarity was that both populations were systemically undereducated. Some degree of wealth redistribution was absolutely necessary in both countries if the blacks were going to be able to compete for jobs and become qualified for leadership positions within their respective societies. This was the case in all of Africa, including in Obama Sr.’s Kenya. Health and education were obvious areas that required socialistic solutions, but land reform was another. Wealth was concentrated in the colonialists’ hands to such a degree, that it is impossible to think of a political alternative to socialism for the anti-colonial movement. Yet, that did not mean, necessarily, an embrace of Marxism. Mandela wanted to take the best ideas from both the East and the West, and that is what he did.

Only in the simplistic, narrow-minded, dichotomous minds of conservative Cold Warriors were these allegations of communism and terrorism meaningful.

The Cold War ended twenty-four years ago. It was, and is, a very complicated world. Get used to it.

Photo credit: South Africa The Good News / www.sagoodnews.co.za [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.