The Congress on the Dialectics of Liberation took place at the Roundhouse in July 1967. It was quite an event. The hippies were out in force while a dazzling array of talent spoke from the platform. It would be incorrect to say that it was uniformly brilliant. It was characterised by considerable unevenness: the important and creative jostled awkwardly with the pretentious and frankly boring. This recent book is a very fair record of that fortnight.
Perhaps the most important speech was given by Stokely Carmichael on Black Power. This importance largely arose as this was one of the first major Black power speeches made in Britain. The newness of the concept was shown by the confused and often antagonistic response accorded to his speech. Even taken out of this historical juncture the essay still stands as being of considerable importance.
Far more is included than just Carmichael. Gerassi contributed a very sound piece on South America, while Sweezy explores the likely future for capitalism. As always, the anti-psychiatrists manage to make the activist look at politics from a new viewpoint. It is certainly a book worthwhile reading to gain an insight, albeit brief, into what some layers of the left are thinking now.
* The Dialectics of Liberation edited by David Cooper, Penguin [illegible].