Pale red star over Ghana?

“Ghana: End of an Illusion” was originally published in 1966 as an issue of Monthly Review, the independent Marxist magazine edited by Paul Sweezy and Leo Huberman. It's ideological orientation was broadly “Maoist”. The essay on Ghana was written by Bob Fitch and Mary Oppenheimer.

The writers scrutinize the politics of Kwame Nkrumah, who led this particular West African nation from 1952 to 1966. Before 1957, Ghana – then known as the Gold Coast - was a British colony. Nkrumah was a central leader of the independence struggle. After reaching an accommodation with the British, he was appointed “Prime Minister” of the colony in 1952. Nkrumah continued as Prime Minister after Ghana became independent, and later became President. Ghana was the first colony in Black Africa to achieve independent status, which gave Nkrumah an enormous moral and political authority. He was a hero to many socialists, Communists and liberation fighters around the world, while pro-Western groups saw him as a megalomaniacal dictator who wrecked Ghana's once prosperous economy. In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown in his absence by the Ghanaian military.

The authors believe that both Nkrumah's admirers and detractors are wrong. The Ghanaian leader wasn't a socialist. But no, he didn't wreck the country's economy. Ghana's economic problems were caused by capitalism and neo-colonialism, a system from which Nkrumah failed to break away. During the first years after independence, Nkrumah's politics were subservient to British neo-colonialism, which continued to super-exploit Ghana's economy. Later, Nkrumah turned towards an ostensibly “socialist” model, but the economy was still dependent on foreign Western capital, which continued to siphon off the nation's wealth. Meanwhile, Nkrumah did little to improve the low wages and generally bad conditions of the working class, even suppressing a general strike. The “masses” therefore abandoned him in 1966, instead cheering on the coup (which was really neo-colonialist and pro-Western).

“Ghana: End of an Illusion” does contain an interesting class analysis of Ghanaian society, criticism of the role played by the British colonial power, and some observations on Nkrumah's supposed “mass party” (the CCP) which completely dominated Ghana's politics during his tenure. It says almost nothing about Nkrumah's foreign policy. The authors believe that the People's Republic of China (i.e. Mao's regime) shows the way to economic development and modernization for the Third World. They end with a tribute to Amilcar Cabral, the leader of the PAIGC, the independence movement in Portuguese Guinea. The Marxist-inspired PAIGC was waging a guerilla war against Portugal, a war the authors compare to Mao's ditto in China. While there may be some truth in Monthly Review's criticism of British colonialism (and of Kwame Nkrumah), I can't say their alternatives inspire much confidence!

That being said, I will nevertheless give this book four stars, for being a good counterpoint to the more official-sounding books (both pro or con) about the pale red star over Ghana…