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Reds and Rights Zimbabwe’s Experiment*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Extract

In this day and age, Marxism-Leninism is the leading and least parochial theory of social revolution in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It strongly appeals to intellectuals who believe that capitalist imperialism in “neocolonial” forms perpetuates social injustice on a world scale; and that a “conscious minority’ ‘ or vanguard of the downtrodden should establish a “developmental dictatorship” dedicated to the pursuit of economic and social progress. Since the death of Mao Zedong and the subsequent repudiation of his economic theories in China, collectivism as an economic strategy has been reassessed and found wanting in other countries whose leaders are disposed to learn from China. For example, in the People’s Republic of the Congo, where collectivist methods, inspired by Marxism-Leninism have been discarded in favor of entrepreneurial methods, the minister of agriculture has said simply, “Marxism without revenue is Marxism without a future.”

Information

Type
Insight
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1985 

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