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Zaire The Subbourgeoisie
Underneath the politico-commercial class and the other
elite
groups, yet above the working class, is the
subbourgeoisie. This
group includes the nation's teachers and clerks, military
NCOs and
junior officers, and low-level bureaucrats or local
government
officials. Although the early members of the
politico-commercial
class came from the subbourgeoisie, the waves of
university
graduates that filled the upper echelons of government
from 1965
onward effectively blocked this class from any hope of
upward
mobility. Totally dependent on the state, yet marked by a
deteriorating income and status, this was a highly
disgruntled
group in the early 1990s.
The subbourgeoisie provides a clear example of what
Schatzberg
means by situational class membership. Relative to those
above them
in the class hierarchy, teachers, clerks, NCOs and chiefs
have felt
"out of the loop," without power or influence. Their
perceptions of
powerlessness are well justified. With the exception of
some
university-educated secondary school teachers, who might
be posted
outside their home areas, chances of geographical or
professional
mobility are nil. While totally dependent on the state as
a source
of livelihood, their salaries have fallen woefully behind
inflation. They frequently wait months to receive their
salaries
and, even then, their superiors might appropriate much of
what is
disbursed.
Nonetheless, from the perspective of those people below
them,
namely workers, peasants, and Zairians in the informal
sector,
these salaried members of the subbourgeoisie are part of
the
privileged, exploiting class. Many low-level state
functionaries
require bribes before exercising their services. Teachers
may
demand money to pass a student, government clerks may
request a
bribe in order to get funds disbursed or a certificate or
license
delivered. And state security personnel may demand a
donation in
order to let travelers pass an impromptu roadblock or
escape an
infraction of the law, whether real or imagined. Even for
those
state employees who retain a sense of professionalism, the
need to
feed their families when salaries go unpaid has proved a
powerful
inducement to abuse of official position. As a
consequence, a
member of the subbourgeoisie may be viewed as a member of
the
victimized lower class or of the victimizing upper class,
depending
upon the onlooker.
Historically, the position of the subbourgeoisie has
been most
precarious in times of trouble. During the 1964 rural
insurgencies,
for example, the subbourgeoisie lacked the ability of
elite
personnel to flee and consequently bore the brunt of
popular anger
against the establishment; tens of thousands of teachers,
clerks,
and low-level government personnel were killed in many
rebel-held
areas. Fear of such popular anger, together with the
habits and
mindsets of their professional roles, have kept the
subbourgeoisie
generally compliant in their role as, in Young's words,
"the
indispensable capillaries of the power system."
Data as of December 1993
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