Abstract
After they became independent, the new African states had to adopt a specific political and economical orientation; they had the choice either to follow the system inherited from the European colonizers, mainly liberalism and capitalism, or to oppose the colonial politics by adopting socialism, considered by Karl Marx as the antithesis of capitalism. A large part of the African nationalist leaders had chosen the second ideology, socialism; capitalism was seen as the extension of imperialism and the continuation of colonisation by other means. The ideology of socialism has been largely influenced by Karl Marx's thoughts. Based principally on the Manifesto of the Communist Party, this essay will critically discuss the Marxist theory of the state and explain why this theory is not applicable to the African state.
