Debate on Class, State and Imperialism

Edited by Yash Tandon. A collection of the seminal 1976 Marxist debate at the University of Dar es Salaam on class, state, and imperialism. The debate first centred around Issa Shivji’s Class Struggles in Tanzania (1975) and D. Wadada Nabudere’s critique in his article Imperialism, State, Class and Race. Other publications forming the basis of the debate were Mahmood Mamdani’s Politics and Class Formation in Uganda and Nabudere’s Political Economy of Imperialism. Because of the importance of the issues raised and the necessity for absolute clarity, the debate extended into other areas and brought forth contributions from other comrades not initially involved. In the Marxist-Leninist tradition, the exchanges were sharp and uninhibited by bourgeois politeness or hypocritical applauses. Tandon’s volume captures the excitement and vigour of that debate, important not only to Marxists in Tanzania but also elsewhere in Africa and beyond. A. M. Babu, well-known Tanzanian Marxist intellectual, author of African Socialism or Socialist Africa, and former minister, contributes a valuable introduction. Companion to Row 353 (Shivji’s 50th anniversary edition of Class Struggles in Tanzania).