What do you think?
Rate this book
Walter Rodney's Intellectual and Political Thought
Placing Rodney's work in the larger tradition of West Indian involvement with continental Africa, Walter Rodney's Intellectual and Political Thought traces the evolution of Walter Rodney's political ideas through biography, analysis of his writings on Africa and the Caribbean, and his political practice. Rooted in transatlantic history and politics, Rodney's intellectual and political thought critiqued the British Empire and capitalism in the diasporic locations of Guyana, Jamaica, London and Tanzania, as well as the processes of recolonisation. A West Indian, Pan-Africanist and Marxist, Walter Rodney functioned in the intellectual tradition of C. L. R. James, Henry Sylvester-Williams, and George Padmore of Trinidad and Tobago, Theophilus Scholes and Marcus Garvey of Jamaica, and the collective force of the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica during the 1950s and 1960s - although his post-colonial-era perspective also set him apart from these earlier figures and movements.
- GenresBiography MemoirAfrica
298 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 14, 2025
Walter Rodney was a Guyanese political thinker and organizer who was most active in the 1960s and 70s. This book by Rupert Lewis is part biography, part intellectual exploration. It shows why Rodney was so influential and respected. And why he was assassinated by his political enemies.
Rodney received his PhD in African History from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He got a job as a professor in Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam. Two years later he got a job as a professor at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica.
In Jamaica, he earned a reputation as someone who walked the walk, spending time teaching in working class neighborhoods. He recognized the revolutionary potential of Rastafarianism and was active among adherents.
In 1968 the Jamaican government banned Rodney, blocking his reentry into the country after a trip to Canada. Their justification was his past travel to Cuba and the USSR, but astute observers will point to the government's fear of working class radicalism.
Rodney returned to teaching in Dar es Salaam. This was a time of huge changes in the country under the leadership of socialist Julius Nyerere, and Rodney was active in debates about pan-Africanism, decolonization, and more. It was in this period that he published his most famous work How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
Rodney returned to Guyana in 1974 and became active in politics. He argued that the government of Forbes Burnham was socialist in name only and was repressing any kind of grassroots democracy, in addition to deliberately inflaming racial tensions. His vocal activism led the government to assassinate him.
Several things stand out about Rodney:
His focus on the role of the petite bourgeoisie in newly independent countries.
His belief that racial dimensions of struggle develop a degree of independence from class.
His insistence that socialists should not be dismissive of "bourgeois" rights like freedom of the press.
He was beloved by all of his students and comrades. His commitment to be directly involved in revolutionary activities was inspiring but ultimately got him killed. His Pan-Africanism and non-dogmatic Marxism continue to inspire.
Rodney received his PhD in African History from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He got a job as a professor in Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam. Two years later he got a job as a professor at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica.
In Jamaica, he earned a reputation as someone who walked the walk, spending time teaching in working class neighborhoods. He recognized the revolutionary potential of Rastafarianism and was active among adherents.
In 1968 the Jamaican government banned Rodney, blocking his reentry into the country after a trip to Canada. Their justification was his past travel to Cuba and the USSR, but astute observers will point to the government's fear of working class radicalism.
Rodney returned to teaching in Dar es Salaam. This was a time of huge changes in the country under the leadership of socialist Julius Nyerere, and Rodney was active in debates about pan-Africanism, decolonization, and more. It was in this period that he published his most famous work How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
Rodney returned to Guyana in 1974 and became active in politics. He argued that the government of Forbes Burnham was socialist in name only and was repressing any kind of grassroots democracy, in addition to deliberately inflaming racial tensions. His vocal activism led the government to assassinate him.
Several things stand out about Rodney:
His focus on the role of the petite bourgeoisie in newly independent countries.
His belief that racial dimensions of struggle develop a degree of independence from class.
His insistence that socialists should not be dismissive of "bourgeois" rights like freedom of the press.
He was beloved by all of his students and comrades. His commitment to be directly involved in revolutionary activities was inspiring but ultimately got him killed. His Pan-Africanism and non-dogmatic Marxism continue to inspire.
Displaying 1 of 1 review