There is a real danger that township politics becomes dominated by a logic of exclusion — a “voracious tiger” of reactionary nationalism feeding on desperation and fear, threatening to devour the possibility of working-class unity. Against this background, the socialist left confronts an urgent strategic task: how can this cycle of scapegoating and violence be broken? Can meaningful left unity be built without clearly confronting xenophobia and nationalist scapegoating? The united front was developed as a method through which independent working-class organisations could coordinate action while maintaining political independence. The fragmentation and decline of civic organisations, unions and working-class formations has created a vacuum in many communities.