Intellectual Representations of Social Movements in Post-apartheid South Africa: A Critical Reflection

Mdlalose's [2014. The Rise and Fall of Abahlali baseMjondolo, a South African Social Movement. Politikon 41 (3): 345-353] personal account of Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) throws into stark relief the tendency among academics and intellectuals to ignore weaknesses and contradictions in social movements. It seems that many academics and intellectuals are more inclined to exaggerate the virtues of social movements, perhaps to accentuate their own theoretical and ideological commitments. It is with this in mind, I feel, that the letter of concern over the publication of Mdlalose's article in the Politikon should be read. In this article, I intend to show that Friedman [2015. Letter for Concern by Steven Friedman and Signatories. Politikon 42 (1): 129-131] and his co-petitioners, who have written on AbM, have a great incentive to defend the movement against Mdlalose's criticism of its practices. The petition works to defend the celebratory social movement narrative as manifested in the writings of left-wing academics and intellectuals on the movement (predominantly white, male and middle-class), through which, as Walsh [2015. The Philosopher and His Poor: The Poor-Black as Object for Political Desire in South Africa. Politikon 42 (1): 123-127] argues, they gained power to represent social movements in intellectual and other spaces.