Marxism and the National Question
Alex Callinicos (1989)
Introduction (Drew Povey 2022)
Marxists are famous for declaring the right of oppressed peoples to self-determination. In the early 20th Century, Lenin developed this position to undermine the colonial empires and as part of the democratic mandate of his approach to socialism. But he also supported international solidarity of the working class. For Lenin, independence of the colonies and other oppressed peoples were meant to help to unite the global working class of all countries.
The short pamphlet “Marxism and the National Question” written by Alex Callinicos a leading British Marxist, who was born in Zimbabwe, explains the general approach to this issue by Marxists. In the introduction, we try to apply these principals to the current situation in Nigeria and conclude that socialists should not support independence for any ethnic group or region.
