When Desperation Produces Strongmen
Why “Messianic” leaders always turn against workers
A SAFTU Political Education Pamphlet
Why do Strongmen rise?
Strongmen do not rise because societies are “stupid”. They rise because societies are desperately trying to find a way out of a deep crisis. They emerge when people experience:
- a) Mass unemployment and hunger
- b) Rising inequality and humiliation
- c) Corruption and collapse of public services
- d) Crime and insecurity
- e) Loss of hope — especially among youth
- f) Political parties that promise change but deliver betrayal
- g) Collapse in the national conscious and death of politics
In these moments, people start saying:
“Democracy is not working.”
“The constitutional order is a farce.”
“We need a strong hand, we have been betrayed by those we trusted.”
“We need a saviour to clean up – dictatorship is actually good – bring back a Whiteman – setlare sa moto ke lekgowa.”
That is the opening where cult politics grows.
Lesson 1 — Joseph Stalin: How Socialism Lost its Democracy
Before the Russian revolution promised:
- Worker councils
- Factory democracy
- Recallable leaders
- Mass participation
After power was concentrated under Stalin:
- Opposition banned
- Internal democracy crushed
- Unions subordinated to the state
- Strikes prohibited
- Mass purges
- Millions jailed in labour camps
Consequence: Fear replaced debate. Socialism became associated worldwide with dictatorship and repression.
Lesson: Socialism without democracy becomes bureaucracy and coercion; workers’ control cannot be replaced by “strong leadership.”
Lesson 2 — Mao Zedong: When a Leader Becomes Sacred
During the Cultural Revolution:
- Critics labelled enemies
- Youth mobilised to attack “opponents”
- Schools and workplaces disrupted
- Millions persecuted
- Personality cult flourished
Consequence: Economic chaos, fear, and destroyed institutions.
Lesson: No leader must ever become untouchable. When criticism disappears, abuse grows.
Lesson 3 — Italy: Why Benito Mussolini Looked Like “Hope”
Conditions that produced him after World War I:
- Unemployment and inflation
- Returning soldiers with no work
- Weak, corrupt governments
- Mass strikes and factory occupations
Elites feared worker power. Mussolini became popular because he promised order, stability, anti-corruption, national pride, and “strong leadership.” Desperate people believed him.
What he actually did once in power:
- Smashed unions
- Banned strikes
- Jailed socialists
- Ruled through violence
- Served big business
Lesson: Fascism rises to crush workers — not save them.
Lesson 4 — Germany: Why Adolf Hitler Won Mass Support
Conditions:
- Hyperinflation destroyed savings
- Great Depression caused mass unemployment
- Youth felt hopeless
- Political parties were discredited
He promised jobs, discipline, national revival, and an end to chaos.
First action in power: He destroyed independent unions and jailed labour leaders.
Lesson: Every strongman who promises salvation eventually attacks organised labour.
AFRICA TODAY: WHY COUPS AND “STRONGMEN” LOOK ATTRACTIVE — AND WHY WORKERS MUST BE CAUTIOUS
Across parts of West and Central Africa today, we see a similar pattern to Italy in the 1920s and Germany in the 1930s. Decades after independence, many countries face:
- Mass youth unemployment and deep poverty
- Corruption and looting of public resources
- Governments seen as agents of foreign interests
- Continued control of minerals and economies by multinational corporations
- Political parties that promise liberation but deliver misery
In the Sahel region especially, anger has grown against regimes seen as “French stooges”. When soldiers overthrow those governments, many ordinary people celebrate—not because they love military rule, but because they are desperate.
The danger sign workers must recognise:
When a strongman takes power, criticism becomes suspicious, questions become disloyalty, and opposition is labelled as “foreign agents”. Anyone who points out weaknesses is labelled an imperialist, counter-revolutionary, traitor, or enemy of the nation.
The Burkina Faso Example
Under Ibrahim Traoré, many Africans admire his anti-imperialist language. While the anger against neo-colonialism is justified, workers must ask:
- Are unions free to organise?
- Are strikes protected?
- Can civil society criticise openly?
- Can workers oppose decisions without being labelled enemies?
History shows: When leaders cannot be criticised, workers cannot defend themselves. Even leaders who begin with popular support can drift toward the centralisation of power and repression “in the name of unity.”
Lesson 5 — Frantz Fanon’s Warning about Post-Liberation Elites
Fanon warned that after liberation, a small elite often captures the state and replaces colonial rulers while keeping the same system. He warned:
“The party becomes a screen between the masses and the leadership.”
Meaning: leaders stop listening to the people.
Lesson 6 — Amilcar Cabral on Political Education
Cabral insisted:
- “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.”
- “Hide nothing from the masses… expose lies whenever they are told.”
- “Learn from life, learn from our people, learn always.”
Leaders who hate political education usually fear questioning.
Connecting to South Africa
We face mass unemployment, inequality, corruption, and youth despair. These are exactly the conditions that historically produce Messiahs, Strongmen, Coups, and Personality politics.
History teaches that strongmen always end by:
- Shrinking democracy
- Attacking unions
- Suppressing dissent
- Protecting elites
Even inside unions, the same dangers exist:
- Purges and Factionalism
- Corruption and Investment company capture
- Intimidation and Splintering
SAFTU’s Position
Workers must defend:
- Mandates
- Debate
- Criticism
- Recallable leaders
- Political education
- Collective leadership
Never surrender democracy for a hero.
Final Message
History is clear: Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Hitler. Different ideologies, same result. When democracy dies — workers suffer.
The answer is not a Messiah. The answer is organised, educated, democratic worker power.
