ABSTRACT

This chapter illustrates how Fidel Castro’s worldview evolved to include Marxist beliefs as well as the ideas of Lenin and how it transcended various stages. It explores the Cuban leader’s thinking on revolution, which he opted for in pursuit of a Marxist-Leninist state. The chapter examines his insights into socialism and revolutionary nationalism and details, generally in his words, how the Cuban socialist state emerged and why it was necessary to build a vanguard party to guide it. The social and political aspect of Karl Marx’s thought intrigue Castro. In particular, the Cuban leader admires the German’s emphasis on the social theory of the working-class movement, exactly the aspect of his thought that Marx hoped would be recognized as significant. Fidel also realizes that many analogies between the Russian and Cuban revolutions break down. Cuban socialism places more emphasis on the practical aspects of revolutionary thought than on strict adherence to dogma, such as obtained in the Soviet Union.