Let me publicly state, without apology, that I am an admirer of Muammar al-Qaddafi. Twenty-five years ago, as a young Officer Cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, I was first made aware of the existence of the man, and for what he stood, after being drawn into a debate between two fellow “overseas cadets”. One was from Saudi Arabia and the other from Ghana and while they had conflicting views about the man,s sometimes eccentric behaviour and controversial ideas, it was obvious that they both respected this young military officer, who at the age of 27 took over the governance of his country.
Over the years I have tried to follow the activities of the man who the western media loved to demonise and vilify. Qaddafi has never wavered in his call for Pan-Arab and Pan-African unity, and ironically, he has never shied away from supporting revolutionary movements. In his term as chairman of the African Union, he, more than any other current leader has been identified with the move towards a United States of Africa. He called for an emergency African Summit of the Organization of African Unity in September of 1999, which led to the formation of the organization of the continental body called the African Union in Durban, South Africa in 2002. Qaddafi’s consistency and determination has actually reignited the movement towards the formation of a United States of Africa that would make Africa richer, stronger, and more peaceful.
In 1975 Qaddafi outlined his political tenets in a document called “The Green Book”. As a result of the deliberately dishonest portrayals of the leader in the controlled media, not much is known regarding Qaddafi’s political thoughts and his guiding ideology. He is described in the media as a dictator, yet in “The Green Book”, Qaddafi outlines the actual governing foundation that supports the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. That foundation is The Third Universal Theory—which upon critical analysis—puts many so-called Western Democracies and Republics to shame.
Although aware of it’s basic ideas for a long time, only after the upheaval in Libya did I seek to read in detail, “The Green Book” . It is broken up into three parts:
Part One: Solution to the Problem of Democracy
Part Two: The Solution to the Economic Problem
Part Three: The Social Basis of the Third Universal Theory
Qaddafi says political decisions in which one candidate is granted victory, simply because they obtained the highest percentage of the vote by the electorate effectively “establishes a dictatorship in the seat of power garbed in the guise of democracy.” Especially when three or four losing candidates, whose votes combined would equal a higher total than the perceived winning candidate, split the vote. You only have to examine the make up of the current Trinidad & Tobago government to understand how coalition governments can be contrived to pervert the spirit of democracy.
He also has an interesting take on the parliamentary governmental structure. The mere existence of such, Qaddafi says, “underlies the absence of the people, for democracy can only exist with the presence of the people, and not in the presence of representatives of the people. Parliaments have become a legal barrier between people and their right to exercise authority. They exclude the masses in order to prevent them from practicing politics, and monopolize the control of politics in their name.”
Proportional representation by political parties and coalitions, such as what exists in Israel and the United States, Qaddafi says, is “rubbish” which only delivers power to the elites of society, and not the masses.
“Under such systems, the people are prey fought over by the predators: instruments of government compete in their power struggle for the votes of the people they in turn neglect and exploit.”
With elections in Barbados due very soon, all right thinking Barbadians need to at least bear in mind what Qaddafi had to say about the behavior of politicians in a democratic system of Government. He states that politicians are guilty of , “mud-slinging tactics to discredit one another. In order to rule, the opposition party must defeat the existing instrument of government. To do so, the opposition must undermine the government’s achievements and cast doubt on its plans, even if these plans were beneficial to society, to prove the incompetence of the current governing instrument. Consequently, the interests and programs of society become victims of the power struggle raging among the political parties.” Is this why we are now struggling with traffic problems in Warrens when the last Government had already started to implement a feasible plan using fly-overs? Is this the reason that taxpayers will be forced to pay tens of millions more for the Pierhead Marina Project when plans were already in place? Regardless of which side of the political divide you stand on. Qaddafi's point is that the system will encourage the existing Government to make rash decisions, not in the best interest of the people ahead of an election and conversely encourage any new administration to gain political mileage by arbitrarily changing any programmes put in place by their predecessors.
Watching partisan bickering occurring between the Democrats and Republicans in the American political system or indeed between the BLP and DLP in Barbados, it is hard to argue with his analysis. He also rightly notes that political parties can be bribed or corrupted by external and internal interests. I will not touch that one at this stage. His solution is direct democracy through the establishment of “People’s Conferences” in which all society members participate in shaping policy. The masses select their administrative leaders who then represent the direct will of the people and are answerable directly to the people. A real system of Constituency Councils without the encumbrances of political parties and Constituency Representatives?
Working & Wages
In Part II of “The Green Book”, he deals with economics, maintaining that, whether a worker received earnings from an individual business owner, or the state, “wage earners are but slaves to the masters who hire them,” Qaddafi writes. “To claim that income from a state-controlled establishment is re-injected into society and thus benefits the workers, as opposed to income from a privately-owned establishment which benefits solely the owner, is a true statement only if the general welfare of the society and private well-being of the workers is taken into account.” Qaddafi appears to question communism while simultaneously redefining socialism. Qaddafi’s solution is to abolish the wage system, which in his view, would “emancipate the human being.” A reversion to the natural law and relationship between workers and employers before stratification based on social class and status became widespread is recommended.
“The exploitation of man by man and the possession by some individuals of wealth exceeding personal needs are manifestations of departure from the natural rule. This signals the beginning of corruption and distortion in the life of the human community and is the beginning of the emergence of the exploitative society.”
Housing
In Qaddafi’s world, related to housing, everyone would have adequate housing for themselves and their families and it should be their own, and not the property of another. “A person living in another person’s house in return for rent, or even without rent, is not a free person.” Relating to income, “there are no wage earners, only partners.”
Vehicles
Relating to vehicles, Qaddafi calls it an “essential need for the individual and the family” and “no person or party may own private means of transportation for the purposes of renting to others, because this represents controlling the needs of others.”
Land Ownership & Farming
Likewise, land is no one’s private property. “Everyone has the right to exploit it for farming or grazing for the duration of his or her life and the lives of their heirs.”
The Rise of the Black Race
Some Black people may be offended in a portion of the book in which Qaddafi states that the Black race is at present in a dire and backward social condition. "To be offended by the fact that one forthrightly states the Blacks masses are in the worst shape economically, socially and politically as well as suffering all manner of health-related problems, indicates that one has bought into the “post-racial” society proffered by many Black and White liberals, as well as White apologists that represent the wishes of their White masters." In the section preceding the word written above, he writes of the tragedy of slavery and his prognostication is that, “Now it is the turn of the black race to re-emerge. Black people will prevail in the world,” he writes.
Land Ownership & Farming
Likewise, land is no one’s private property. “Everyone has the right to exploit it for farming or grazing for the duration of his or her life and the lives of their heirs.”
The Rise of the Black Race
Some Black people may be offended in a portion of the book in which Qaddafi states that the Black race is at present in a dire and backward social condition. "To be offended by the fact that one forthrightly states the Blacks masses are in the worst shape economically, socially and politically as well as suffering all manner of health-related problems, indicates that one has bought into the “post-racial” society proffered by many Black and White liberals, as well as White apologists that represent the wishes of their White masters." In the section preceding the word written above, he writes of the tragedy of slavery and his prognostication is that, “Now it is the turn of the black race to re-emerge. Black people will prevail in the world,” he writes.
If there is one recurring theme throughout “The Green Book” it is his emphasis on liberation.
The conclusion of “The Green Book” brings to a close his explanation of the Third Universal Theory which, Qaddafi says, is “a harbinger of the final deliverance of the masses from all the constraints of injustices, tyranny, exploitation, and political and economic subordination. It also heralds the advent of all people’s society in which all individuals are free and equal in authority, wealth and arms.”
“The example of the new socialist society is to establish a happy society deriving its happiness from being free. Such a society is realized only through the fulfillment of the individual’s spiritual and material needs, and this can be achieved by liberating these needs from the control and manipulation of others. Satisfaction of needs should be realized without exploitation or enslavement of others.”
Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, history should not be allowed to deny his impact on world affairs and revolutionary movements. Muammar Qaddafi’s legacy should be an admirable one. He should be remembered as a theoretician, and a revolutionary always willing to provide inspiration, monetary and military resources—to aid those fighting for self-determination. That is an honorable legacy to leave behind, and more are needed like him in Africa. He was not perfect and like most leaders did not always practice what he preached but the message he was trying to bring to Africans and black people in general is no less valid. What saddens me is that the majority of Black people all over the world will only know of Qaddafi the “Dictator”.
The reason Muammar Qaddafi was a target is because he has been a thorn in the side of anti-revolutionary forces since he took power in Libya, overthrowing the King and nationalizing the oil industry so that the people could benefit from their oil resources. Libya ‘s Revolution brought free health care and education to the people and subsidized housing. In fact, students in Libya can study there or abroad and the government gives them a monthly stipend while they are in school and they pay no tuition. If a Libyan needs a surgery that must be done overseas, then the government will pay for that surgery. That is more than we in the “free” world can boast. While Libyans enjoy subsidized housing, members of the U.S. military risk foreclosure while they serve their country abroad. Money from oil is directly deposited into the accounts of every Libyan based on oil income. Qaddafi’s revolution believed that it is the responsibility of the government to provide the basic needs of its citizens.
Under Qaddafi. Libya had the highest Human Development Index in Africa and the fourth largest GDP. He must have been doing something right. 99% of the population of Libya is Muslim. The West in their ongoing vendetta against Muslims promoted civil unrest in Libya with the the realization that as long as Muslims are fighting each other they won’t have time to focus on Israel or Palestine; And as for logistics, AFRICOM, the United States military’s Africa Command, was not created for nothing: it was created to deepen the U.S. military presence and control over a Continent rich in oil, land, water and precious minerals, formerly under the control of U.S. allies and now facing aggressive penetration by China. A penetration welcomed by Qaddafi.
I could go on for pages about the issues that other governments had with Qaddafi’s Libya and I will do so at a later date. I will urge all you students of politics, all who value justice and freedom, to read The Green Book and see for yourself the vision the man had for his people and for Africa. I have attached a link.
He may had been narcissistic, maybe even a psychopath but no one can deny that he was sincere in his belief that he was doing what was best for his people. It is our duty to never let the world forget the truth about the ideas behind the man the world had been taught to hate. I will finish by saying that the world has lost a visionary. To his supporters and family I say, “ Allāhu Akbar.” Be Strong.
Quotes of the Day
Excellently researched, I was wonderiong if I was the only one who felt this way about Qaddaffi
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