Liberation is a magazine published by the Movement for Colonial Freedom. The MCF was a leading anti-colonialist group. The group had a strong affiliation with the British Labour Movement and represented a cohesive movement of different groups coming together in solidarity with an anti-colonialist agenda. Prominent Labour politicians such as Tony Benn and Harold Wilson were involved with the group. 

This issue from March/April 1970 surveys the problems facing the MCF going forward into the new decade. In an article by the Labour politician and MCF founding member Fenner Brockway, imperialism is redefined as primarily an issue of economic and financial nature. Economic power is the “dominant imperialist issue of our times”, writes Brockway. Whilst nations may have political independence, this independence is undermined by the capitalist and financial classes of other countries. This is a new kind of imperialism based on economic influence. The article points to the example of apartheid South Africa where despite campaigns against its system of racist segregation, the UK continued to support the regime through being the largest investment contributor. It is necessary to remove this financial support in order to truly affect change for equality and resist new methods of imperialism.

The Commonweal Collection includes around 25 copies of Liberation published between 1957 and 1972. Other materials in the Collection about Colonialism (Rh) can be found on the catalogue here.

Josie Mulligan (Commonweal volunteer).

A full list of over 1,700 magazines, newsletters, bulletins and journals that are in the Collection can be found here.