The Marxist Theory of the State and the African State

Résumé du document

After they became independent, the new African states had to adopt a specific political and economical orientation; they had the choice either to follow the system inherited from the European colonizers, mainly liberalism and capitalism, or to oppose the colonial politics by adopting socialism, considered by Karl Marx as the antithesis of capitalism. A large part of the African nationalist leaders had chosen the second ideology, socialism; capitalism was seen as the extension of imperialism and the continuation of colonisation by other means. The ideology of socialism has been largely influenced by Karl Marx's thoughts. Based principally on the Manifesto of the Communist Party, this essay will critically discuss the Marxist theory of the state and explain why this theory is not applicable to the African state.

Extraits

[...] To conclude, if capitalism is the thesis, Marx developed its antithesis with his theory of the state. Indeed, Marxism is based on class struggles (the proletariat against the bourgeoisie), the use of the state as a tool by the economically leading class (the bourgeoisie), and overproduction of capitalism which led to its own destruction; Marx' ontology is that the economic base determines the superstructure. While Marx wanted to spread the proletarian revolution all around the world in order to abolish capitalism, and so private property, classes and the state, and to liberate the humanity, the African continent proves empirically that classical socialism can only be adopted in a certain type of country, where capitalism has reached its highest stage and where the society is divided into social and economic struggling classes. [...]

[...] An introduction to international relations, 3rd edition, University Press, Oxford pp.225-249. Joseph, Jonathan. Marxism and social theory, Palgrave MacMillan, New York Katz, Stephen. Marxism, Africa and Social Class: A Critique of Relevant Theories, Mc Gill University, Montreal Nyerere, Julius. Ujamaa: Essays on African Socialism, Galaxy Books Internet sources Marx, Karl and Engels, Fredrick. Manifesto of the Communist Party, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist- manifesto/index.htm Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist- manifesto/index.htm Jean-Yves Calvez, ‘Marx et la philosophie Hégélienne de l'Etat', in La pensée de Karl Marx, pp.90-94. [...]

[...] This supremacy of the bourgeoisie feeds class antagonisms and leads to class struggles. According to Marx, history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles'[3], and the current ones take place between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, the bourgeoisie is defined as class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labour', and the proletariat represents class of modern wage labourers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labour power in order to live'[4]. [...]

[...] The case of Tanzania, where African socialism arrived at its clearest meaning with Ujamaa, is a particular interesting example. Julius K. Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania (independent in 1961), based African socialism on African cultural traditions, and the main objective was build a society in which all members have equal rights and equal opportunities'[14]. So Nyerere adopted large-scale nationalization and set up Ujamaa (=familyhood in Swahili) in 1967, taking into account that traditional African family lived according to the basic principles of ujamaa'[15]. [...]

[...] systems)[5]; ‘where the economy leads the state follows'[6]. Therefore, the state is an instrument of the bourgeoisie: executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole society'[7]. While the bourgeoisie has created the proletariat in order to increase its capital, it has also created what will cause its end. Indeed, the bourgeoisie is facing two major problems: on the one hand, this class increasing constantly its profit, it is becoming too powerful, and disorder has taken hold between the bourgeois and has endangered existence of bourgeois property'[8]. [...]