Caliban’s Freedom: The Early Political Thought of C.L.R. James

C.L.R. James worked for over 50 years within the Marxist tradition, and counted as his greatest achievement his efforts to clarify and extend the Marxist-Leninist heritage. His commitment to Marxist thought informed his work on pan-Africanism, West Indian nationalism and Black power. His work represents a unique fusion of the Black radical tradition and Marxism. Tony Bogues examines the key elements of James’s political methodology, tracing their evolution from his early life in colonial Trinidad and the influence of nationalist movements on his thinking. Bogues looks at the growth of James’s independent Marxism and its relevance to the present crisis in Marxist thought, arguing that James ranks with Gramsci as one of the key 20th-century political thinkers.