The Weapon of Theory

Introduction

Amílcar Cabral, leader of the PAIGC, the liberation movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, gave this speech in January 1966 at the first Tricontinental Conference of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America in Havana. He argues that national liberation must start from a concrete analysis of each society’s history and social structure; the motor of history, he says, is the development of productive forces, not only class struggle, which would otherwise leave societies without classes outside history. He also argues that the petty bourgeoisie leading the liberation struggle must commit “class suicide” in order to identify with workers and peasants. Cabral was assassinated in January 1973, months before Guinea-Bissau declared independence.

Connections

Builds on

• The Communist Manifesto1848 · Karl Marx