Marx these historic words

The fact that the South African Communist Party has apparently abandoned its Marxist principles for the good life brings to mind a story published in Anthony Beevor’s book on the Spanish civil war, The Battle for Spain.

The 1936 elections that occurred just before the war began were characterised by a number of parties from extreme right to extreme left. The Spanish Communist Party downplayed its Marxist rhetoric to try to get support from the middle classes, as opposed to the extreme left, which wanted to destroy them. Some wit then came up with the slogan: “Vote communist and save Spain from Marxism!”

Dr Leon Jacobson Sasolburg