Issue 45 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, the quarterly theoretical journal of the International Marxist Tendency, is available to order now! This issue focuses on the revolutionary struggles of the people of the African continent, the crimes of imperialism, and the lessons of the anti-colonial struggles of the postwar period.
50 years ago this year, revolution rocked Ethiopia, bringing down the semi-feudal despotism of Emperor Haile Selassie. As in other places in the African continent in the postwar period (including Somalia, Mozambique and Angola), the revolution culminated in the abolition of landlordism and capitalism and the establishment not of a healthy regime of workers’ democracy, but of a deformed, top-down regime. In this issue, we look at the peculiar historical conditions that gave the Ethiopian revolution its character.
In the anti-colonial struggle of the postwar period, one name in particular stands out: that of Franz Fanon, author of The Wretched of the Earth, which is regularly cited as a handbook for anti-imperialist struggle around the world. In this issue, we separate the real Fanon from his postcolonial interpreters from the world of academia, explaining the strengths and flaws of his ideas.
Today, a series of coups have brought to the fore the hatred that exists across West Africa towards French imperialism, which until the postwar period held the region under its colonial jackboot, and has continued to maintain its domination down to the present period. In this issue we look back at the crimes of French imperialism, specifically in Cameroon, the legacy of the dirty war that the French waged there, how their methods changed, and the lessons of the anti-imperialist struggle.
We also republish two pieces from the archives: Lenin’s Draft Theses on the Colonial Question, which formed the basis of the discussions on the colonial question at the Second Congress of the Communist International in 1920, and give the clearest possible summary of the genuine Marxist approach to the struggle of oppressed nations against imperialism. And finally, we republish Trotsky’s 1933 letter to South African communists, around the relationship between calls for a ‘Black Republic’ and the need for a socialist revolution. Today, 30 years after the fall of Apartheid, a great deal in that letter has proven to be extremely prophetic.
Issue 45 also includes a beautifully designed pull-out poster promoting the World School of Communism / Image: own work
Today, the African continent is a powder keg, and has witnessed mass movements, coups and wars erupting the length and breadth of the continent. The lessons of this rich revolutionary history are vital for African communists today. The need for a genuine communist International, present on every continent, has never been greater.
It is to this question, the most urgent of our age, that Alan Woods dedicates this issue’s editorial, which you can read here. The article also explains why we, the comrades of the International Marxist Tendency, will be founding a new Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), to carry the struggle for communism to every corner of the globe.
The RCI will be founded at this year’s World School of Communism in June. We strongly encourage readers to register now to watch this historic event!
Issue 45 also includes a beautifully designed pull-out poster promoting the World School of Communism, if you need any further encouragement to order your copy now!